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Ravensmount

William Percy trained as a tailor in Alnwick and worked at Marshall and Snelgrove in London, before returning to Alnwick and taking over William Hindmarsh’s drapery business. Ravensmount was built for him in 1912.

William's brother, Charles, built Hillcrest.

Ravensmount became a care home but is currently unused, although proposals have been submitted to convert it to eight luxury apartments. The building earned an entry in "The Arts and Crafts Movement in the North-East of England" by Barrie & Wendy Armstrong.

“Ravensount, Alnmouth Road is a late nineteenth century stone-built house with black and white detailing and a later large black and white extension which stands impressively overlooking the valley. It has been a care home since 1960 but has retained its art nouveau stained glass in its staircase windows and other smaller windows downstairs. The glass is reminiscent in style of those at the UR church in Wooler with luscious looking stylized peach-bearing branches”.

Brownfield register:

Former 3-storey care home that has been closed for a number of years and is currently standing vacant. The building is deteriorating and is at risk of vandalism and the impacts of natural elements. Conversion and alteration of the building is likely to be the most appropriate method of redevelopment. Various options have been considered for the reuse of the building. An initial application for conversion to a 'boutique hotel' was approved in 2016 (16/00451/FUL). Works commenced on this project but have since stalled. After reconsideration, the owner was unable to complete the work and the project was shelved. However, a revised proposal for conversion to 8 flats was approved in 2021. Scheme involves demolition of the old laundry and timber out buildings and retention of the main building for conversion to 'luxury apartments' across three-storeys. As the original permission (2016) for conversion to a hotel has been implemented and it will not lapse, theoretically either scheme could still be progressed. However, it is understood the intention of the landowner/developer is to delivery the residential scheme. Forecast for completion within the next 5 years