ONE of Malton’s last remaining links with the use of the River Derwent as a trading route is set to be restored in a £150,000 project.

Work has begun at Owston’s warehouse, a vacant 18th century building where goods brought into the town by barge along the river were unloaded and stored. Roddy Bushell, estate manager at Fitzwilliam Estate, which owns the property, said the refurbishment was being carried out to secure the future of the former depot.

A spokesman for Fitzwilliam Estate said it did not yet know what the ex-storehouse, set below York House on the banks of the river, off Yorkersgate, might be used for.

Mr Bushell said: “We welcome approaches from people with ideas for commercially viable uses for this riverfront building.

“We have already had one approach from a professional firm seeking a distinctive location and building for their office.

“The significance of Owston’s warehouse lies mainly in it being almost the last physical remains of Navigation Wharf – the place where goods were unloaded, stored and then transported into Malton since medieval times.”

He said Fitzwilliam Estate was aiming to make the one-time store secure and water-tight.

The scheme, which is expected to be completed by late summer, will involve repairing and conserving all the external walls, windows and doors, and replacing the 1960s concrete roof tiles with traditional clay pantiles, a form of roof tile.

Internally, rotten floor and roof beams will be replaced where necessary and the warehouse made ready for further investment once a use for it has been found. Fitzwilliam Estate has recruited a team of local craftsmen, including Nigel Copsey to do conservation and masonry work, joiner Brian Cole and Direct Roofing Ltd for the roof repairs.

Mr Bushell said: “Wherever possible we will use traditional methods of repair, and traditional materials, so that the building retains a maximum of its original fabric and historic character.

“Many people have forgotten that the River Derwent was navigable to barges and trading craft and played a central part in the commercial life of Malton from Roman times right up until the 20th century. “Our hope is that by making this investment we can place the building at the centre of a revitalised historic riverside, remind people of the town’s waterborne trading past and bring back to life the town’s once close links with the river.”