Looking back at Bargain Hunt
31 March 2022
In 2019, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings welcomed the film crew from BBC One’s Bargain Hunt to site. The footage and interviews were shown in an episode that aired on BBC One on 3 April 2020.
The Bargain Hunt team spent the day with Historic England’s Nick Hill and the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings’ Richard Benjamin. Presenter Christina Trevanion learnt all about the fascinating story of the Flaxmill Maltings.
The site has changed a lot since that day and the crew captured some memorable footage. Nick showed Christina the stripped-back columns of the cast iron frame, with all of their original casting marks exposed. The columns have now been treated with a special paint to help protect them.
Christina also got a sneak peek of the newly-restored coronet, which returned to site on the day that filming took place. The coronet had been at a local workshop in Shrewsbury for repair and repainting. It has since been put back in place at the top of the Jubilee Tower.
As days on the project go, this was a truly memorable one.
Firstly, it was such a coup for the project to welcome a national TV programme like Bargain Hunt to film at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings. We always relish the chance to tell more people the story of the world’s first iron-framed building, and talk about the current regeneration of this historic site.
The crew were lucky to get a close-up view of the restored coronet before it was put back too. Sitting proudly on top of the Jubilee Tower, it is an iconic feature of this internationally-important site, and a much-admired landmark on the Shrewsbury skyline.
Nick Hill, National Conservation Projects Manager, Historic England
The Main Mill opened in 1797 as a purpose-built flax mill. The site has grown and been repurposed and adapted many times since then. It was a maltings from 1897 to 1987, a temporary army barracks during the Second World War. Today, under Historic England’s ownership, it continues to evolve as a workspace and a place to celebrate and explore the past.
The focus of the current restoration is the Grade I listed Main Mill and Grade II Kiln. This part of the project will be completed in 2022 when the Flaxmill Maltings will open and we will welcome people to eat, learn, visit, work and enjoy everything this amazing place has to offer.
You can find the clip featuring the Flaxmill Maltings from Series 55 on the Bargain Hunt website.
If you are interested in filming at the Flaxmill Maltings, please visit our Filming and Photography page for more information.