What’s going on behind the door? If you have walked by the Heritage Museum recently you may well have asked yourself this question. It has been so exciting to see the work progressing onsite during the major redevelopment of the museum and garden and we wanted to share our progress! Thanks to National Lottery players, national and local funders, and private donors, we are securing the long-term future of the Heritage Museum & Garden, creating an engaging and accessible space for stories to be told.

The museum has been closed for redevelopment since February 2024. 2024 saw the major restoration of the roof – a hugely challenging project that resulted in an entirely new roof structure installed. With the roof completed in autumn 2024 by LTM Group, plans were launched for the next phase.

The front of the museum after the roofing works were complete (September 2024).

In October 2024, Colorado Construction took over the museum and garden and, while it doesn’t look like much has taken place from the front door, we now have a new exhibition space taking shape! The new building will also provide visitor facilities and an office, as well as being an accessible space for changing exhibitions.

The site itself is hugely challenging. The only way to get materials in and out is through the front door (or over the roof!) of the existing museum. Our contractor has met this challenge through the use of cranes, electric wheelbarrows, and plenty of labour. Archaeologist, Derek Hall, provided a watching brief as the foundations were being prepared and, thankfully, only a small midden and pottery shards were discovered. The foundations were laid in December once the archaeological survey was complete. By Christmas we had the bones of a building.

Out of the ground by Christmas! The new building has been strategically built one meter away from the historic wall shared with our neighbours at Dean’s Court.

At the start of 2025 the roof and walls were erected to make the new building wind and watertight, and the important drainage work was completed. The team has been busy over the last couple of months preparing the interior of the building. We have come so far since October!

The next phase of works will see the outhouses and covered area transformed into two exhibition spaces, and the refurbishment of the existing museum. This will include improving the physical accessibility of the museum, a new entrance area, and new lighting and décor. The final phase will see the reinstatement of the sensory garden, new garden landscaping, and the fit-out of no less than seven exhibition spaces with our exhibition design team at Lateral North. Safe to say we have a busy summer ahead of us…

Interior of the new exhibition space looking north towards the visitor toilets and entrance area. The team were awaiting delivery of the windows and doors (March 2025).

View of the new exhibition space looking east. Scots larch cladding has started to be installed on the exterior (April 2025).

Project Design Team:

• Architect: Oliver & Robb Architects
• Contractor: Colorado Construction
• Structural Engineer: Dryburgh Associates Ltd
• QS: Thomson Gray
• M&E: EDP
• Exhibition Designer: Lateral North