Ipswich Museum
Ipswich Museum
We have been working as structural engineers alongside PRS Architects to advise on the refurbishment of Ipswich Museum on behalf of Ipswich Borough Council and The Friends of Ipswich Museum.
Ipswich Museum was set up in the 1840s by a local industrialist with the aim of public improvement, scientific study and public debate. Moving to its current site in the 1880s, it was a hub of arts, science and learning that was a leading museum of its time which quickly gained a national reputation. The museum is now home to over 200,000 individual objects, many of which have outstanding national and international significance.
Following a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £4.3m in 2023, this £11.4m project has involved: the refurbishment and restoration of the purpose-built museum building; the introduction of new visitor facilities; the redisplay and reinterpret the museum’s galleries; and new spaces to support the museum’s vibrant events and activity programme that will engage local people with the museum and its collections. The project includes the original 1879 Museum Building by Horace Cheston (Grade II* listed) and the 1887 Former Free Library, which is Grade II listed.
The project is due to complete in 2026.
Client: Ipswich Borough Council and The Friends of Ipswich Museum
Architect: PRS Architects