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20
Jul
Ripon Workhouse Museum to reopen after £2.8m restoration
Ripon Workhouse Museum will reopen tomorrow (July 21) after a £2.8 million redevelopment.
Called the Inspiration For a Fairer Futures project, the work involved the restoration of the workhouse buildings which date back to the 1850s.
The work began in November last year and was part of a wider £3.3 million ‘Inspiration for a Fairer Future’ project, which was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The refurbishment offers a new immersive visitor experience and has also seen previously closed-off areas opened to the public for the first time ever, including the cellar of the Grade II listed building.
The reopening marks the culmination of extensive conservation and restoration work undertaken as part of the project.
The largest building on the workhouse site, the Residents’ Block, where paupers ate, slept and worked, has had a complete and sensitive restoration as part of the scheme.
The museum offers lots of immersive experiences. Credit: James Glossop Photography
This building had been acquired by Ripon Museum Trust in 2017, but was in a state of disrepair after years of changing uses such as a care home and council offices, with a leaking roof and rotten windows.
Revamped rooms include the Old Men’s Day Room, Kitchen and Dining Hall, and the original workhouse cellar, which has been opened up for the first time.
Dr Laura Allan, curator at Ripon Museums Trust, said:
The cellar is particularly exciting as it’s the only part of that building that had been untouched since it was turned into council offices. It has the massive original meat block table where the workhouse pigs would be butchered, trough and sink. It's like glimpsing behind the curtain, seeing how it truly was.
Alexa Vernon, director of Ripon Museums Trust, said:
This project is about much more than restoring a historic building. It is about preserving important heritage, creating opportunities for communities and young people to engage with history, and inspiring visitors to reflect on how we can build a fairer future.
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