Information about this scheme

The project at Ely Museum involved a complete renovation and restoration of the Grade 2 listed building, formerly the Bishop of Ely’s goal, and its extension to create new facilities and to make it fully accessible to all users for the first time. All collections have been redisplayed, lift access has been introduced and a new flexible-use education and community room has inctresed the Museum’s visible presence in Ely. It has seen a badly degraded historic building lovingly restored and extended to create a resource for the whole community, who are now using the building to the full. A forensic approach was taken towards working in the old Gaol building, peeling back layers of unsympathetic alterations to reveal as much of the historic fabric as remained in situ, and opening out the floor plan while not attempting a reconstruction of a particular moment in time. Historic building features have been revealed as artefacts in the museum’s collection, resulting in a multi-layered exhibition design where the stories of the collection and that of the building itself are woven together. The extension hinges around a new stair in a double-height space where a historic window in the original external wall of the Gaol gives glimpses from old to new. The new education and outreach space is an airy and welcoming space, fully equipped with storage and kitchenette, and can be accessed and used independently of the exhibition spaces in the museum, allowing it to be hired out to local groups out of hours without an undue management burden. This has been a huge success for the client, with the room now very well used as one of the few spaces of its size to be fully wheelchair accessible and well-equipped in the city centre of Ely. The museum celebrates the people who have lived there and the fascinating landscape in which the city is embedded. The project shows the value of heritage, and the importance of investment in high quality regional museums.

Judges’ Comments:

“A bespoke labour of love community asset right in the heart of historic Ely, that is fully accessible to all.”