THE wraps will be coming off restoration work at historic Whitecliff Furnace, near Coleford, this week.

Scaffolding will be removed revealing the newly pointed furnace.

Works to date have included the insertion of 27 two-metre steel rods into the inside of the flue to stitch the liner in place and safeguard the monument from collapse - a nail biting process for the contractors from Abergavenny.

Members of the public are being invited to come to the Main Place in Coleford between 2pm and 5pm on January 26 to look at photographs of the works in progress and find out more about the work done by the Overlooking the Wye scheme over the last three years.

The Overlooking the Wye scheme will also be organising a free seminar on Thursday February 9 at The Chase Hotel, Ross-on-Wye which will be an opportunity to find out what has been achieved with the £2.8m funding within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Spaces will be limited – book with Julie Godfrey (01600 891527).

The work has been funded by Overlooking the Wye through the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Forest of Dean Local Action Forum, part of the RDPE programme for England, English Heritage and the Historical Metallurgy Society with thanks to the landowners Dean Heritage Museum Trust.

Whitecliff Furnace is one of the most important historical sites in the Forest of Dean: it was the first coke fired blast furnace in the area.

David Mushet became involved with the site and this in part brought the Mushet family to Coleford. It is an imposing structure, standing nearly 30m high and currently owned by the Dean Heritage Museum Trust.

The next stage will be to undertake further surveys of the site to enable engineers and English Heritage to discuss the best way to conserve the rest of the site.