Work has begun on the £50m redevelopment of a country house and surrounding gardens at a historical country estate in Greater Manchester.
Haigh Hall has been described by the local council as the “jewel in Wigan’s crown”.
Wigan Councillor Chris Ready said: “I got married here, and it means so much to the people of the borough, so everything has got to be checked.”
The newly-restored Haigh Hall will include an art gallery, an education area for children, an event space for weddings, a rooftop terrace and a restaurant.
Ready said: “This is for the people of Wigan and I want the restaurant to be affordable, so I don’t want £100 steaks in here.
“I don’t want people looking through the window at rich people eating food.”
Haigh Hall was built between 1827 and 1840 by the 24th Earl of Crawford before the estate was transferred to Wigan Corporation (now Wigan Council) in 1947.
Exterior works on the hall were completed in the summer of 2025, and included restoring the stonework and making the roof of the building watertight.
Wigan & Leigh ArchivesWork is also underway to transform the Bothy Yard and the walled kitchen garden at Haigh Hall, which will be used as a space to teach horticultural students.
The site was once home to a zoo which had camels, reptiles, monkey and zebras.
The yard will have a heated glasshouse for tender plants, such as bananas and pineapples, and a cooler zone for hardier plants, such as grapes and peaches.
There will also be a small shop in the yard, which will stock produce grown in the kitchen garden, and supply food to the restaurant in the hall.
Work is also set to begin on repairing the lining of the ornamental pond, which will mean carefully removing the fish, draining the water and maintaining the fountain.
The restoration of Haigh Hall is expected to be completed in the spring of 2028.