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Wordsley Manor in Wordsley, Stourbridge, West Midlands is a red brick, four floor ‘small mansion’ dating back to 1722. The imposing manor house was originally set in significant grounds and was built for Black Country industrialist John Holt at the height of the West Midland’s Industrial era.
The House was then acquired by the late owner’s great, great grandfather and has remained in the Firmstone family from 1850 until now. The property went up for auction at SDL Auctions Bigwood’s December 2018 auction at Villa Park, Birmingham. The property’s new owner a 20 year-old Pharmacy Student, bought the property after seeing it advertised online.
An asbestos refurbishment survey to specific areas was required. An asbestos refurbishment survey is more invasive than an asbestos management survey and plans are needed to detail the parts of the building due to be refurbishment and included in the scope of works. The surveyor on site will undertake a more invasive survey on areas of the building which are part of the planned renovation work and they suspect may contain asbestos. This may involve removing floor tiles, wallpaper or floorboards. The surveyor will only do this in the areas earmarked for refurbishment works detailed on the plans for work. At Wordsley, this included the roof and bay windows which would be affected by the first works to begin on the property, including making it watertight.
Prior to the recent sale, the historic Grade II listed property which dates back to 1722 had previously been in the same family for more than 170 years. The previous owner Christopher Firmstone, an architect had dedicated many years attempting to restore the his childhood home to its former glory. Christopher and his wife inherited the house in 1991 and attempted to maintain the house however it is currently in need of significant renovation, modernisation and improvement works.
The property comprises of three reception rooms, seven cellar rooms and five bedrooms. It has two wings of additional accommodation. It also comes with an unexpected and quirky addition – a 49 seat cinema with a Christie organ and projection and switch rooms. The cinema was created in the 1930’s and involved converting part of the attics and also included the addition of a projection room.
The manor which originally stood in impressive grounds has gradually had its land sold off through much of the 20th century. In 2013 the owners agreed a deal with developers in exchange for another parcel of the land. As part of the deal, it was agreed that a £400,000 payment was to be made towards the restoration of Wordsley Manor.
EMS wish all involved with the project to restore Wordsley Manor luck and look forward to seeing the completed project in the near future.
