Following the appointment of Ipswich-based award-winning contractors Gipping Construction to carry out base-build construction earlier this year, work has commenced at Ipswich Museum on this important phase.
The exciting project will cast a spotlight on one of our town’s most loved attractions. Ipswich Museum is well-known for its Victorian charm and many Grade II* listed features. To ensure our beautiful Museum can be enjoyed by visitors for years to come, essential repairs to structural components are being carefully carried out to preserve the history of the building.
If you pass Ipswich Museum, you will notice scaffolding being erected around the outside of the Museum. This is to allow crucial external carpentry and masonry works, as well as cleaning which will rejuvenate the Museum’s magnificent exterior.
The first priority when works began was to protect important historical features which could not be removed because of their large size. This includes the main staircase, balustrading and glazed cabinets around the first floor balcony above the main gallery. The whale skull which previously overlooked the geology gallery has also been left in place and surrounded by scaffolding to keep it safe during the works. Other items which have been protected include the Bass Rock display, giraffe, dinosaur footprints and the ichthyosaurus skeleton.
Birdcage scaffolding has been installed in the main hall, including a temporary wall to protect the large exhibits. The scaffolding will allow for works to the approximately 10m high ceiling and internal roof truss timbers. The team are also making progress with internally raising differing floor levels so that the galleries are all to one level, in order to improve ease of passage around the Museum and make the space more accessible. Old stud walls have been stripped and surveys have been done for temporary propping ahead of openings being made in some internal walls in order to create large open walkways for visitors.
The Ipswich Museum redevelopment project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Clore Duffield Foundation, Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Lord Belstead Trust, Wolfson Foundation, and The Friends of the Ipswich Museums, alongside Ipswich Borough Council.