A CIVIC group has objected to the conversion of a listed Leominster building it believes is shrouded in 'hidden history'.

An application to convert the ground and first floors of Brook Hall, on Broad Street, into four self-contained flats has been submitted to Herefordshire Council.

The ground floor of the building has previously been used for meetings while the first floor is currently a three-bedroom flat. The second floor, also a flat, would be unaffected by the proposal.

However, Leominster Civic Society has submitted an objection to the scheme on the basis that, if approved, it could result in history hidden at one of the town's most historic buildings being lost forever.

John Farrar, Chairman of the group, said: "It's a very important building. You might look at it and think that's a bit of a dump. It's a Georgian, Victorian building but it's built straight round a medieval hall."

A few years ago, part of the outside wall on one side of the hall was removed, revealing a timber-framed building. It is believed that the building was built in the late 16th century, perhaps for a leather merchant, and changes were made to it in the 17th century.

Remarkably, in the 1990s, firefighters responded to a fire in the building and discovered medieval paintings hidden beneath the wall panels. Sadly, no record was made of where these paintings – which included a hunting dog – were located in the property.

The Civic Society has said it does not oppose the principle of conversion to domestic use for the ground floor of the building, but strongly opposes to the detailed proposals for the two floors.

It is requesting that the wall paintings are uncovered and carefully recorded professionally as part of the building operation.

In its objection, the society said: "We feel that the owner may actually gain from the process whereby the building's status is recognised and its importance recorded. It would probably be necessary to cover them over again, but then the question of their current state of repair would be known and not subject to future disputes.

"The wall painting photographs would then form part of the local archives, and additionally could be related to known examples such as those in Kathryn Davies' book 'Artisan Art -Vemacular wall paintings in the Welsh Marches, 1550-1650."

Mr Farrar added that, without details, a proper assessment cannot be made as to what is inside the building and what needs to be protected.

"It's probably one of the most important buildings in Leominster," he said.

"A lot of people will walk past and think there's nothing there, it's not very interesting but it's because things are hidden."

The Hereford Times contacted the applicant's agent who declined to comment.