Work to get Workington Hall off the ‘at risk’ register will be carried out this month.

The iconic building is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade One listed building, which stands on the grounds of Hall Park.

It is currently on English Heritage’s ‘at risk’ register, but Allerdale council is carrying out the work so that it could be taken off the register in the future.

A spokesman for Allerdale council said: “The current contract is for approximately £200,000 and is another phase of consolidation works, working towards getting the Hall off the at-risk register.”

A report prepared ahead of the authority’s full council meeting this week said work was likely to take between four and five months.

“The work will be centred on the south-eastern range and includes works to wall heads and consolidation of loose areas of stonework. A large proportion of the works are being grant funded by Heritage England.

“The works are expected to take between four and five months depending on weather conditions and ecological considerations.”

The 106 hectares of landscaped park encircling Workington Hall is classed as a Grade Two listed historic monument.

Workington Hall had evolved from a timber pele tower into a substantial residence in its own grounds.

Most of what can be seen today dates from the 18th century and old photos record lavish interiors from its glory days. Some sections of the original stone fortification dating from the 14th century are however still in evidence.

It was the couple Isabella Curwen and John Christian (who took his wife’s surname) who spent money upgrading the hall and its parklands in the late 18th century.

The Curwen family, Lords of the Manor of Workington, would in 1568 famously give shelter to Mary Queen of Scots on her flight from Scotland before her imprisonment and execution. It was from Workington that she wrote her fruitless plea for help to the cousin she had never met, Elizabeth. She had arrived a free woman but left under armed escort to be taken to Carlisle Castle.

Workington Hall was occupied as recently as 1929 but was vacant when in 1939 it was requisitioned for troop billeting by the War Office at the outbreak of the Second World War.