Many of our visitors will have noticed that we have two areas fenced off for Public Safety Reasons.
The Hoffmann Kiln
The Hoffmann Kiln has a suspected fault in part of the roof. After concerns were raised by the volunteers in mid 2025, Shropshire council sent a surveyor to look at the internal roof structure of the Hoffmann Kiln as it appeared to be shifting downwards. The shift being in the area where the demonstration limestone walls are placed. After an inspection, the surveyor declared the kiln unsafe and that the whole of the kiln should be put out of bounds to the public. At the end of September 2025, crowd control barriers were put in place in the area where the stone supports are located, see image below:
In order for the whole of the kiln to be fenced off, the council decided to purchase Standard Heras Fencing. Enough panels were purchased to surround the exterior of the Hoffmann Kiln and were put in place in December of 2025. See the image below:
Since the Heras fencing was erected, the local vandals have frequently removed the fence clamps to gain access to the kiln. The fencing itself has also been subjected to brute force attempts to move it, breaking the support frames and detaching the metal grill from the support frames. If you see anyone entering the kiln or damaging the fencing, please report it to the local police.
Shropshire Council are engaging with Historic England and other parties to carry out investigations to determine what, if any, work is needed to make the structure safe. Whilst budgets have been applied for, any investigation work is not expected to take place until the financial year 2027/2028. This means that any remedial work probably won’t be carried out for at least 12 to 18 months.
The Tally House
The Tally House had suffered damage due to vandalism for a number of years, with bricks being knocked out of the support structure. See the image below.
The volunteers had informed the Council of this several years ago, but no action was taken. In subsequent years the issue was raised with the Council each time they visited the site, but again no action was taken. Eventually a visit by the Council Surveyor declared the Tally House unsafe and Heras fencing was erected around it. This fencing has now been in place for over a year.
Shropshire Council have completed their discussions with Historic England and other parties and formal approval for works is expected in the near future, with work hopefully being carried out by the end of 2026.
If you have any questions, please talk to any of our volunteers, or add a comment below.