HISTORIC England has awarded a grant of £286,110 for repairs to John Harvey House in Hayle.

The grant will fund repairs to the roof, walls and interior of the Drawing Office, completing a programme of major structural repairs which began in August 2024.

Now home of Hayle Heritage Centre and managed by Harvey’s Foundry Trust, the Grade II* listed building will reopen in autumn 2026 with improved public access and additional education, event and exhibition space.

The building was added to Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register in 2021 due to structural movement. The final phase of repairs are designed to secure the building for the future as Hayle’s cultural hub and see it removed from the Register

This award is the latest in a series of Historic England grants given to the conservation of John Harvey House, now totalling more than £554,070.

John Harvey House is in a prominent position on Foundry Square, Hayle, the world’s most important mining port in the 19th century.

The building dates from 1780 with 19th century additions. It was the main office for Harvey & Co Ltd, one of Hayle’s two great iron foundries, which built ships and produced mining machinery for export across the world.

Great engineers such as Arthur Woolf and Richard Trevithick worked in the drawing office of Harveys, most recently located in an 1888 addition at the rear of the building.

Today, John Harvey House comprises the remains of the original 18th century foundry with a furnace, lime kiln, and part of the original yard with cobbles and drain.

The smart, early 19th century offices retain two large, iron-plated armoured strong rooms and an impressive granite staircase. The first floors are supported on cast-iron pillars, and 19th-century railway tracks have been repurposed as ceiling beams.

In 2016 structurally significant cracks appeared around the building. Investigations revealed that poor drainage had caused the ground beneath the building to shift, creating structural movement. The damp also led to the cracking, corrosion and movement of the re-used rails, compounding the problems. The building was placed on the Heritage at Risk Register in 2021.

Laura Walton, heritage and business manager for Harvey’s Foundry Trust, said: “We are grateful to Historic England for supporting our long-term regeneration scheme to save Harvey’s Foundry, turning this derelict but historically vital site into a vibrant area, and John Harvey House is the cultural linchpin of the site and town.

“This grant will save the Drawing Office, enabling us to re-open it to the public, creating a space where we can hold temporary exhibitions, have talks workshops and school visits.”

Rebecca Barrett, South West regional director at Historic England, said: “Historic England has been working with the Harvey’s Foundry Trust and other partners over the years to secure the future of John Harvey House.

“We’re delighted to support this final phase of repairs with a grant, and help ensure the building continues to be a place where the story of Cornish ingenuity comes to life.”