Mansion restoration continues

The mansion is believed to have been the scene of a murder

Conservationists working to restore a Gothic house in Gloucestershire have completed another significant phase.

Woodchester Mansion, near Stroud, is thought to be haunted after builders suddenly abandoned the site during its construction in 1873.

Stonemasons have just finished work on the West Range, having already completed The Grand Stair and the Drawing Room.

The house is now a major tourist attraction, and recently housed several police officers in a BBC Children in Need "Hauntathon".

In 1988 the Woodchester Mansion Conservation Group was set up with the aim of stabilising the house and preserving it in its unfinished state with regular public access.

Its chairman, Steven Davis, told BBC News Online: "Restoring the chapel is the next major work to be undertaken. There is also the North Range and the old brewery to look at."

The trust also wants to provide a centre for training in stonemasonry, conservation and architecture.

The group has so far been successful in securing a lottery grant of £815,000, and receives funding from a variety of sources including English Heritage.