A landmark building in St George’s Square, opposite the Grand Master’s Palace, will undergo restoration work after the Planning Commission granted development permission for the works to go ahead. 

Due to its historical and architectural importance, the Planning Authority had scheduled the Main Guard building as Grade 1 in March 2008.

Known as the Main Guard, and probably built at the beginning of the 17th century by Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt, the Valletta building served as quarters for the guards of the palace, just across the square. 

This function was retained for more than 350 years, until the early 1970s. 

The restoration works will include stone repair and replacements, removing of detached plaster and loose material, cleaning of masonry and restoration of timber aperture, a Planning Authority spokesperson wrote in a statement.

An internally vertical access point will also be created, he added.

When the Main Guard started being used by the British in 1814, the building underwent some changes including the addition on its frontage of the neoclassical portico and the converting of the ground floor into an Officers’ Mess, he explained.

The Officers’ Mess has become a remarkable attraction for the wall paintings painted by various officers who formed part of the regiments over the course of 150 years, he said.

These representations consist of regiment badges, caricatures, historical episodes, and other related subjects. 

The building consists of a single floor on the front part and three floors on the rear onto Triq id-Dejqa owing to the differences in level between the streets. 

The work restoration method statement has also been approved by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.