Tone Works Wellington receives a major grant

5 February 2021

Integral have been working on a fascinating site at Tone Works in Wellington, Somerset.

They were extremely pleased that the project was awarded a £348,420 grant by Historic England, as part of the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund. The site is a last of its kind – a cloth finishing works – owned by the Fox Brothers since 1796 and closed in 2000. It has most of the machinery and equipment from the 19th and 20th centuries left in situ revealing stages in the development of the textile industry. The aspiration is to build on the sites unique heritage, turning it into a resource for local groups and utilising its proximity to the River Tone to create a wildlife-rich environment.

“We have been working alongside Taunton and West Somerset Council and project architects, Thread, to secure the structural stability of the buildings. Some sections of structure are in poor condition or already collapsed and need to be made safe to prevent further damage and to allow asbestos clearance contractors in. In the future we hope to work alongside Thread to develop the proposals to bring the site back into use, protecting the buildings and machinery for future generations.”

Chris Gross,
Conservation Accredited Engineer