2011 will be an historic year for Peterborough Museum
as it undergoes a 12-month redevelopment that has been
funded by Vivacity, Peterborough City Council and the Heritage
Lottery Fund. On Christmas Eve 2010 museum staff waved off their
final visitors until early 2012 when the redevelopment project is
due to be complete. However, although the building will be closed,
the Museum Service will continue throughout the year, as staff take
the Museum out on Tour to venues across the city.
Peterborough Museum is one of the city’s most popular
attractions – playing host to tens of thousands of visitors each
year.
It is also housed in one of the city’s most historic buildings,
which dates back to the Georgian era. But in order to keep
entertaining its growing band of visitors with an even better
visitor experience, some essential restoration work is needed to
both improve and preserve the Priestgate premises. Plans for the
redevelopment include a cafe, a new-look gift shop and upgraded
toilets Some of the Museum's exhibition galleries will be
redesigned and redisplayed with more objects on display, new
hands-on displays and much more.
But, as Gillian Barclay, Vivacity’s head of Culture and Heritage
explained, this doesn’t mean that the museum team are taking a
break. In fact they are facing their busiest year ever.
She said: “We have planned a variety of ways to bring museum
services to the community while the community cannot come to us.
From exhibitions in shopping centres to activity days, there will
be plenty going on. The public can also find out about the museum
restoration project in an exhibition at Central Library and we are
planning an historic medicine exhibition at the new Peterborough
City Hospital in the Spring. Our education service will be taking
the Museum directly into schools, and our popular programme of
guide
d walks around the city will carry on as usual.”
For the first three months on 2011 museum staff will be moving
all the exhibitions out of the building for safe storage. The
refurbishment work is due to take up to four months to complete and
then the remaining months will see the new-look galleries fitted
out while staff move back in.
Gillian added: “The decor will reflect the building’s Georgian
heritage with period decor and restored original features. Plus we
will have a cafe for the first time and new look galleries. The
building used to be the city's hospital between 1857 and 1928 and
the project will also see the room on the top floor of the building
restored to its original use as the operating theatre.”
Facts and figures about the refurbishment:
As a result of the refurbishment, the following will take
place:
- New visitor facilities including a new look Museum shop, new
toilets, a café and community gallery space and refurbished public
areas.
- A new central heating system for the building as well as new
air conditioning systems in selected areas.
- Restoration of much of this historic building including many
period building features with appropriate period décor.
- A first stage restoration of the historic operating theatre in
the building which will be open to the public for the first time.
More additions will take place to this area after reopening.
- Restoration of the historic kitchen for the building as an
education space
- Improved education and meeting areas
- A newly refurbished and redisplayed Geology gallery,
highlighting the internationally important collection of Jurassic
marine reptiles
- A newly refurbished and redisplayed Norman Cross gallery,
showcasing the internationally important collection of Napoleonic
Prisoner of War work and the story of the prison camp
- A newly refurbished and redisplayed Wildlife gallery, with
displays on the Ice Age creatures that roamed the Peterborough
area, and on modern habitats and wildlife
- A newly refurbished and redisplayed Changing Lives gallery,
telling the story of the changing city of Peterborough and its
people over the last 200 years.
- A new history of the building gallery, telling the story of the
Museum building through its changing roles as Tudor mansion,
Georgian house, Victorian hospital and modern museum. The people
and stories of those who have lived and worked here will be told
using new technology in a period setting.
- Trails and interpretation on the historic building
- A newly refurbished and relocated conservation lab for work to
continue on our fossils.
The following areas are not included in the current phase of
redevelopment, but will be changed and improved as part of later
projects:
- The Archaeology Gallery
- The period shop
- Staff facilities, storage and behind the scenes areas
- The historic cellars under the building
- Ongoing additions to the preservation and interpretation of the
historic operating theatre
The overall cost of the project is £3.2 million, funded by
Peterborough City Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The
project is being managed by Haley Sharpe Design on behalf of
Peterborough City Council and Vivacity Culture & Leisure.
For regular updates on our offsite events and on the
refurbishment, visit our new Facebook and Twitter pages which will
go live during January.