Tour of Royal Hospital landmark

An x-ray machine, treatment table and ventilator stand rotting among piles of debris as wallpaper rips off in chunks from the walls of an old Black Country hospital.

The Royal Hospital's old inquiries desk complete with medical bible is preserved like a snapshot into the past as green signs lead to wards which were left to rot decades ago.

It is as if time has stood still at the important Wolverhampton landmark.

And here is an exclusive glimpse of how history is being brought to life as part of a £50 million project to restore it back to one of the city's greatest treasures. Eleven buildings on the complex have already been consigned to the past as part of the redevelopment, leaving a dozen more also facing the bulldozer.

And workers from Great Barr-based Coleman & Co are now busy stripping the hospital's grand main building and nurses quarters back to their basics ready for their transformation into the new jewels of Wolverhampton's crown.

Rooms and piles of rubble are being cleared, with scaffolding expected to appear within days, as the roof of the grand building is taken down. And a host of historic features from the 19th century site are being preserved for future generations, including stone plaques in the hospital's operating theatres, decorative ceiling panels and timber window shutters.

Supermarket giant Tesco is carrying out the work at the Cleveland Road site in All Saints, marking the end of 10 years of neglect which has seen it fall victim to the hands of vandals, arsonists and yobs who have roamed the corridors. Crumbling buildings blocking out views of the hospital are being ripped down so the site can stand proudly as a backdrop behind a sweeping driveway of new homes and office buildings.

Around 280 new homes will be created as well as offices, small shops and possibly a primary care health centre.

Site supervisor Eddie French said: "It is all going really well and pretty much to plan at the moment. With any historic building like this you are always aware there could be delays and we have to be careful to keep some of the historic features."

The demolition and basic restoration phases are expected to be complete within three months before builders then move on to the site to carry out the next stage of the transformation. Tesco has owned the bulk of the 15-acre plot since 2001. Bosses had wanted to build a new supermarket on it.