Offer made to buy Wakefield's historic Elizabethan Gallery
The Grade II-listed building, on Brook Street in the city centre, was built in 1598 and was the original home of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.
An offer has been made to buy a council-owned building which dates back to the Tudor period.
Wakefield Council put the Elizabethan Gallery on the market in September last year, saying the property was in “considerable need of very costly repairs.”
The Grade II-listed building, on Brook Street in the city centre, was built in 1598 and was the original home of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.
The council purchased the building in 1979 and it was used as an exhibition space for the city’s art gallery.
More recently, it had been hired out as an events space but has been vacant for more than seven years.
It is being marketed by commercial estate agents Vickers Carnley, with offers in excess of £200,000 requested.
According to signs outside the property and the company’s website, it is now under offer, which means a seller has accepted a buyer’s offer in principle but the sale is not yet legally binding as contracts have not been exchanged.
A description on the company’s website states: “An extremely rare opportunity has arisen to purchase one of Wakefield city centre’s most prestigious and renowned properties.
“The property would lend itself to a variety of uses such as restaurant/bar, leisure, place of worship, training centre, clinic, community centre to name but a few and subject to planning permission.”
The building was funded by the Savile family and became the grammar school’s first home after it was founded by Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I.
The school moved to its current site on Northgate in 1855 and the building became the Wakefield Cathedral School.
Jane Brown, Wakefield Council’s service director for property, facilities and health and safety, previously said: “The Elizabethan Gallery has been vacant for a number of years and is in considerable need of very costly repairs.
“It is now on the market for those with the right expertise and commitment to invest in the property and give it a new life.”
A council audit committee was told last month that the council is expecting to receive around £20m from the sale of public land and property during the current financial year.
The authority also generated around £5.4m last year from asset disposals as part of efforts to downsize its estate portfolio due to financial pressures.