Greater Anglia and Railway Heritage Trust has announced that major repair work has been completed on Bury St Edmunds Railway Station's old Station Master's House, bringing a new lease of life to the building.
With £592,000 put towards the work (£400,000 from Greater Anglia and £192,000 from Railway Heritage Trust), work focused on the exterior of the property which saw the roof being made watertight, attention to brickwork, along with new doors and windows.
This work started back in 2019 when the 1847-built Grade II listed building had been empty for 24 years.
The House has operated as a hotel, bar, restaurant and nightclub over the years, with the hope that another business will utilise the building soon, as it plays a key part in heritage and development of the local area.
The station received a restoration and modernisation back in 2016 as well as improvements to the car parking at the station in 2019.
Greater Anglia's Asset Management Director, Simone Bailey, said, “We are very grateful to the Railway Heritage Trust for their help and support in restoring this beautiful grade II listed station, to conserve its unique features for future generations to enjoy and to protect the building, making it fit for use in the 21st Century.”
Executive Director of the Railway Heritage Trust Andy Savage said “The RHT is delighted that Greater Anglia has taken on the restoration of this building, and we are very happy to give a grant towards that work.
“We had previously sponsored work on the building in the 1980s and were very disappointed that previous operators of the station had allowed it to deteriorate so much.
“We congratulate Greater Anglia on its responsible attitude to its heritage and look forward to seeing a tenant and the building back in use in due course.”
Cabinet Member for Growth at West Suffolk Council Councillor Susan Glossopsaid said “The station is an important gateway to the town and prior to COVID-19, we had been seeing increased use and in the long term we expect that to continue.
“That is why this investment is so important and one which we very much welcome.
“It preserves this Grade II listed piece of our heritage, improves the station area and supports the wider work of the town centre masterplan.
“We will work to assist Greater Anglia in finding new tenants for the building and look forward to more improvements to include the new north side station entrance.”
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What about the top?
(This question will soon turn insignificant because work on the top part of the building will have already started….)
Maybe turn that masters house into a B&B hotel.