Landmark cone-shaped monument in Black Country to be restored
BBCA landmark cone-shaped monument where glassware was made over 140 years is to be restored.
Red House Glass Cone, which was completed in 1794 at Wordsley in the West Midlands, will be repointed during the 18-month £1.5m project.
Vegetation sprouting from the Grade II* listed structure, one of only four surviving glass cones in the UK, will be removed and a new lift put in place.
The site was "very much still open for business", Dudley Council said.
Work would include internal and external "repointing of the entire structure from top to bottom with authentic lime mortar", it added.
In tackling the vegetation, bricks surrounding each growth will be taken out and the root growth removed, before bricks are replaced.
Inside the cone, which is 100ft (30m) high and 60ft (18m) wide at the base, the internal gantry and lift will be taken away "to create a more open accessible space".
A lift is to be added by the visitor centre to allow wheelchair access to the upper level, where a viewing platform will allow people to see into the cone and hot glass studio.
The studio will remain open while work takes place and be updated with a more eco-friendly kiln during the project.
Brierley Hill Conservative councillor Adam Davies said: "Local people, we look at the cone, we drive past, we walk past and we just think... 'we really want those weeds gone'.
"It's a long project now, 18 months, but by the end of it the cone will be in the best state it's been in and ready to be a museum that can last for generations to come."
The shop, visitor centre, coffee house and craft studios are to remain open throughout the works.
The council, which said it was investing £1.5m for restoration and ongoing maintenance, has worked with an architect and Historic England to secure permission for the changes.
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