IT is little more than a year ago that I last stepped foot inside the Master’s House, the historic mediaeval building at the heart of this busy market town, but a lot has changed in that time.

My last visit, in August 2011, was at a time when work on the ambitious project to restore the beloved timber-framed building and create a library and hub for public services was very much in its infancy.

Stepping inside today, it is immediately clear that Speller Metcalfe, the local firm appointed to oversee the sensitive project, has not wasted a single moment.

Work completed to date mainly centres on the newer, Victorian west wing of the building, which has been completely refurbished to provide modern office accommodation for staff from Herefordshire Council to go about their work.

While not the most attention- grabbing aspect of the redevelopment, this early work still performs a vital function for the building, even beyond the obvious benefits a modern workplace has to offer.

The installation of a new lift helps the Master’s House to comply with modern disabled access regulations, while moving staff in has freed up the rest of the building for the ambitious overhaul that is in store.

Moving further inside the building, notably to the original 15th century mediaeval hall at its centre, it is clear once again that a lot has changed over the past year.

Rooms have been cleared out and stripped back, many to their original timbers, with many later additions ripped out as the goal of restoring the building as close as possible to its original feel takes shape.

Work to date has also opened up much more of the timber roof in the former main hall, more recently the tourist information centre, a feature described by Herefordshire Council’s head of special projects Andrew Tector as the old building’s “crowning glory”.

“It is believed to be one of the oldest remaining in Europe, dating back to the late 1400s, and everybody who sees it just says it is truly spectacular,” he said.

While stripping back some areas of the building have highlighted entire sections where the timber is in need of serious work or complete replacement, Mr Tector and the team from Speller Metcalf were thrilled with the roof’s condition.

Ed Mandrell, site manager for Speller Metcalf, said: “Especially considering its age, the roof is in amazing condition. We had to open it up to know what we were dealing with, but beyond slight bits of water damage most of it is perfect.”

The hall is set to play an important role in the 21st century reimagining of the Master’s House.

It is now earmarked as the front office for the new library and customer service centre and, with plans to re-instate the main entrance in its original location on the south side of the building, it will be the first room visitors see when they step through the door.

Herefordshire Council, Speller and specialist architects Butler Hegarty have been working closely with English Heritage throughout the process.

Its completion as planned is still dependent on a successful bid for more than £1 million in Heritage Lottery funding.

The finalised bid is due to be submitted next month and Mr Tector said he was “very optimistic” of success.

All going to schedule, scaffolding will appear all over the building at the turn of the year, allowing Speller to get to work on the challenging timber work inside.

This process will last throughout next year and most likely into 2014, with the latter part of that year the date targeted for overall completion.