THE chairman of York-based building restoration specialist William Anelay has showcased his firm's work to royalty twice in as many days as Prince Charles visited two of the company's projects last week.

The Prince of Wales coincidentally saw two examples of the William Anelay's work last week when his diary included visits to two historic properties brought back to life by the Osbaldwick-based company.

On Tuesday Prince Charles viewed The Wedgwood Institute near Stoke-on-Trent, where The Prince's Regeneration Trust has led on the first phase of restoration work which was carried out by William Anelay.

These include major repairs to the roof of this striking Venetian Gothic building.

Then on Thursday, the Prince, accompanied by The Duchess of Cornwall, toured the newly restored Grade II listed Wilton’s Music Hall in London’s East End. It was built in 1858 and is the world’s last surviving Grand Music Hall.

The Wilton's Music Hall Trust was formed in late 2004, and over the next decade the team worked tirelessly to bring the building back to life and stop the building from falling down. The William Anelay team completed their work on it at the end of last year.

William Anelay chairman Charles Anelay represented the company, on both days, at each venue and was able to explain more about the projects to The Prince of Wales.

Mr Anelay said: "We are delighted that HRH The Prince of Wales saw the work that we have done for The Prince's Regeneration Trust and The Wilton's Music Hall Trust. and it was pleasing to be able to explain more about our work and outline some future plans for the buildings.

"The Prince took a great interest. These two fantastic buildings have a fascinating history and are highly significant from a heritage perspective. They also continue to play an important role in modern life."

William Anelay’s work on Wilton’s began with the stabilising of terraced houses, dating back to the 1690s, which were knocked together to form the Hall’s original structure in the nineteenth century.

Fireplaces, Georgian brickwork, rotten window frames and a railway track built into the works were among the features preserved.

The firm's on The Wedgwood Institute has been initiated by The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, who launched the project to save the institute in 2009 for the benefit of the local community. During the project the company completed emergency roof repairs to make the building safe and also undertook a clearing out.

William Anelay, which is thought to be one of the oldest construction companies in the world having been founded in 1747, had previously worked with The Prince’s Regeneration Trust on the nearby Middleport Pottery.