TWO men, Ian Sanders and Toby Newrick, are currently restoring The Old Town Hall in the Market Place, and hope to restore other Westbury buildings back to their historic look.
The new owners of The Old Town Hall, Salima and Yavuz Parmak, have contracted Ian and Toby, who each have their own businesses – Ian Sanders Roofing and Maintenance and TN Maintenance – to get the Town Hall back to its former glory.
They are currently completing extensive leading work, a slate roof restoration and Bath stone repairs on the parapet, with further works planned for the future. And the Town Hall’s iconic clock is also being restored.
The takeaway inside, currently Olympia, is also undergoing refurbishment, with the possibility of it becoming a restaurant.
The Town Hall clock’s mechanism has been fixed and it is now in fully working order, keeping to perfect time. Nearby residents and people visiting the Market Place pubs were unsure as to when the clock was last working and say that it will be a key moment for Westbury when it is finally back up and running.
The clock face will be restored and repainted before it is put back, pride of place, on top of the Town Hall.
As well as improvements to the Town Hall, Ian is also undertaking further improvement works to two cottages on West End, number 6 and number 8.
“I love Westbury, it’s such a cute little town,” said Ian. “I’m originally from Bristol but I love all the historic buildings and history in Westbury. I have been in talks with Historic England and the Heritage Centre where I have got an 1800s picture of the cottage. I’m currently in the process of transforming it back to how it looked in those days, including the original door colour, replacing parts of the Bath stone and making sure the guttering and roofing is back in keeping with the old style that is also found on the nearby Marlborough House.
“Once i’m finished with number 6, the owner of number 8 wants me to do the same to his cottage. This I hope, after seeing these two and the Market Place, will encourage other people to want to revert back to how Westbury looked and keep the history alive.”
PICTURE: The two cottages on West End
Toby Newrick and Ian Sanders with the Old Town Hall clock.
