Restoration work that's taking place at a Grade II listed building has discovered its actually almost 200 years older than originally thought. 

Many local residents have spotted construction workers and traders coming and going at the grand property at Daltongate.

The 19-bedroom Georgian townhouse was once the Lonsdale House Hotel and was bought by the Cameron Investment Group in 2020.

The plans are to convert the building into 13 apartments which will be available for short-term rental as well as it being a destination for special occasions.

This includes weddings with many people choosing to hold their receptions there over the decades.

The Mail: The building was in poor condition when bought in 2020

Neil Cameron of Cameron Investment Group said: "I am from the South Lakes area originally, but now live in London. I have been involved in property development for a number of years but wanted to do something in my home area.

"I bought the property when it was a hotel, complete with mints on the pillows and about 10,000 sachets of coffee.

"The plan for the property is to convert it into 13 apartments, which can be used for short-term rentals for both business and tourist customers. We are also going to market it as a venue suitable for weddings/christenings."

The building was built for the Fell family in 1787 before moving to Flan How around 1870. The property has seen life as a boarding school before becoming club rooms at the very end of the 19th century.

It then became a hotel in 1950s.

A heritage assessment done by Greenlane Archeology staircases revealed that the main original features left after modernisation were its decorative plasterwork, door surrounds, roof trusses and sash windows. 

Cameron Investment Group is working hard to restore these original features as well as revamping the surrounding gardens and basement.

The Mail: The historic boundary wall at Lonsdale HouseNeil added: "The property itself is very interesting. We had a historical survey undertaken, which identified that a number of parts of the building date from the 1600s - 200 years older than was originally believed to be the case.

"Many local people believe the rear 'castle folly' wall was built by WW1 veterans, but it is actually much older and dates from the 1800’s.

"We are planning to hold an open day once work has completed next summer."