Beaumanor Hall is closing temporarily, after engineers identified safety concerns with the building’s historic chimneys.
Ongoing assessments by structural engineers show that the main building’s 175 year old chimneys have deteriorated and that they pose a potential risk to the public and staff.
A spokesperson for Beaumanor Hall said, “We’re really sorry to announce that Beaumanor Hall – the main building, rather than the whole site - will be closed to the public from today due to potentially serious safety concerns about the main building’s chimneys – some of which weigh over seven tonnes.
“We’re estimating that we’ll need to close the main building for at least 10 weeks in order to investigate further and look at making the building safe.
“People’s safety has to be our number one priority. But we know that many people have events booked – wedding receptions, ceremonies and conferences - and will be concerned, so it’s been our immediate priority to contact them and discuss options. We’ve hired a marquee for wedding ceremonies and are looking at alternative venues for couples with wedding receptions.
“Anyone with an event booking at Beaumanor Hall will be contacted as soon as possible, if not already. If you have a booking, and haven’t heard from us by the end of this week, please get in touch.”
The main building at Beaumanor Hall is the only area affected by the structural issues. The rest of the site, such as the outdoor education centre and school residential stays will continue.
People with appointments to register a birth, death or give notice of a marriage at Beaumanor Hall will have been contacted and moved to another venue or time.
New appointments can be made on the registrar’s website.