Heaton Hall’s chandeliers have been returned to their glittering best following intensive works to refurbish and refresh the ornate lighting features as part of a major programme to rewire the heritage building.
The Grade I listed property, the jewel of Heaton Park, has been closed to visitors since summer 2025 for ongoing refurbishment to protect the Hall from further deterioration, improve safety and safeguard the building for future generations. While the Orangery building has been closed since 2012.
The programme to rewire Heaton Hall has been ongoing since November 2025, requiring a detailed room-by-room project plan to encase and protect the various priceless paintings, statues and furniture items, as well as doors and flooring – before any work could even begin.
A full renewal of the electrical systems has taken place to make sure modern fire detection and alarm systems are in place throughout the hall, while also improving security systems and electrical reliability – reducing the need for maintenance and future investment. (Find a detailed list of improvement in the notes to editors’ section)
The Hall will be ‘future-proofed’ with improved Wi-Fi and data infrastructure, while exterior spotlights have been installed capable of active light projections to enliven the building for historical and cultural events.
And this investment will also support further commercial filming and specialist cultural uses. For example, the Hall has been used as a location for recent productions ‘The House of Guinness’ and ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’.
The heritage-led programme, undertaken by MC Construction Limited, has followed best practice guidance from Heritage England, and to respect the heritage interior, all cabling and services have been discreetly routed through existing voids and behind skirtings to avoid visible surface wiring wherever possible.
Specialist company Brotheridge Chandeliers were also appointed to refurbish and repair the historic chandeliers across the principal rooms throughout the Hall – including the Music Room, Saloon, Cupola Room, Library, Billiards Room, Dining Room along with various corridors and hallways.
Over several months, a total of five large ornate chandeliers along with seven smaller suspended light fittings, have been carefully removed, conserved, rewired and reinstalled prioritising the retention and reuse of historic fittings – with the earliest chandelier dating back to the early nineteenth century.
New chandeliers or replica fittings were proposed only where existing fittings were missing, inappropriate in scale, or beyond repair, and all new introductions were subject to conservation approval.
Following the rewiring works, Heaton Hall will be prepared to welcome back visitors later this year with tours organised by the Friends of Heaton Hall.
The expert volunteers will take small groups through the property providing visitors with fascinating historical insights about the hall and the various collections within the property – including furniture items, artworks and the priceless murals that adorn the ceiling of the famous Cupola Room.
More information about the tours, including how to book on to a session, will be made available in the coming months.
As part of the long-term investment into the estate, the Council also announced significant works to the Orangery building at Heaton Hall. The vision is to bring the building back into use as a high quality events and dining venue after being vacant for more than a decade.
Works to repair the Orangery roof will start this month lasting around 12 weeks.
Following the completion of the roof works the internal refurbishment works will start. This will create a high-quality dining and events space in the Grade 1 Listed building. The main refurbishment works will take around 48 weeks after which an operator will add the finishing touches ready for reopening in late 2027-early 2028
The Lakeside Café refurbishment is now complete, alongside improvements to the toilet facilities, all of which are fully open. The upgraded spaces include fresh decoration, new fittings, modern cladding, updated heating, and improved accessibility features.
These enhancements create a cleaner, brighter and more comfortable environment everyone, marking another positive step in improving visitor facilities at this much-loved park.
Inclusivity continues to be at the heart of improvements across the park, with new features designed to support visitors of all abilities.
A brand-new wheelchair-accessible pedalo has been introduced on the historic boating lake, enabling up to nine people – including a wheelchair user – to enjoy time on the water together.
Nearby, accessible picnic benches have been installed outside the Lakeside Café, complemented by thoughtful indoor features such as lowered counters and comfortable seating to better support visitors with mobility needs.
Together, these improvements help create a more welcoming and inclusive environment, ensuring everyone can enjoy everything Heaton Park has to offer
