COUNTY HALL IMPROVEMENTS
“English Heritage, Oxfordshire County Council and the Vale
District Council have been working with Abingdon Town Council to
secure the future of the County Hall Museum, bringing Abingdon’s
seventeenth-century building in the heart of the town in line
with the needs of today, whilst carefully conserving the iconic
Grade 1 listed building,” said Dr. Lauren Gilmour, Curator of
the museum
In summary the project will:
·
Enlarge and improve education and community facilities;
·
Provide facilities for showing temporary exhibitions and
permanent displays at all times and hanging
space
for photographic and picture collections.
·
Building and improvement works will be accompanied by a
programme of community consultation,
education, marketing and audience development before and after
reopening.
·
Improvements to the building’s environment and security will
finally enable the Museum to give people
access
to important collections from Abingdon’s history.
·
Provide disabled access via a platform lift from street level to
the basement and arcade.
·
Provide public and disabled toilets;
The basement cellars, the Sessions Hall Gallery and the second floor will
all see improvements. The basement will be refurbished
completely to provide education space, new toilets and a cafe
with shop and display space, all providing community space after
The lovely seventeenth-century Sessions Hall Gallery
will be improved environmentally so that more delicate and
valuable objects can be displayed and the room, so hot in
summer, cold in winter and always noisy, will be improved for
visitors and staff alike.
The attic floor will house an enlarged and improved MG exhibition and
improved Craft Collection display.
The reserve collection will be displayed and there will
be facilities for study.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to bring a much loved
building, the symbol of Abingdon, into active use for the
twenty-first century,” said Museum Management Committee
Chairman, Cllr. Julie Mayhew-Archer.
“The elderly, the disabled, and parents with buggies will
be able to use the building in comfort via a platform lift,
placed discreetly at the back of the building, which goes to the
basement and Arcade, and enjoy virtual tours and on-screen
presentations of the collections and exhibitions without having
to tackle the stairs.”
Stuart Mcleod, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the South
East, said:
"We're
passionate about helping breathe new life into historic
buildings so that they can remain at the heart of local
communities. Today's news will help Abingdon Town Council
to do just that, by enabling them to lay firm foundations for
their long term plans to transform the experience for visitors
at the Old County Hall."
Abingdon Town Council Leader, Cllr. Lesley Legge, said,
“Our four well attended public consultation meetings have
demonstrated the public’s support for improvements.
Responses to the
Town Crier questionnaires and other surveys also showed that
people were keen to see the
“The project will provide a valuable enhancement to Abingdon’s
town centre facilities,” said Town Clerk Nigel Warner.
“The Museum will be looking to raise funds from other
bodies, charitable sources and individuals.
The Town Council has already had firm support from both
Oxfordshire County Council and the Vale of White Horse District
Council. We hope
very much that the public will support this project through the
Abingdon Museum Friends or in any way they can.”
The project now moves into the “Building contract phase.”
It is anticipated that work “on the ground” will commence
in mid autumn 2010 and will be completed in spring 2012.
