The major £30 million redevelopment will see additions to the site including a new visitor centre and two new galleries housed within an extension to the Ducal Palace. The Castle hopes to attract around 350,000 visitors in the year after re-opening.
Preliminary work involved stripping back and returning much of the site to its original 1870s state, including the removal of the roof which had been altered several times due to fire damage and design modifications since the 19th century.
Due to the delicate nature of the structure, only limited parts of scaffolding were allowed to touch the building. This strict policy was by no means an isolated case, with loading restrictions enforced across the site due to the large number of historic caves under the Castle’s grounds.
“The impressive scaffold wrapping the Castle for the last twelve months has been something of a landmark on the Nottingham skyline,” Councillor Dave Trimble, Nottingham City Council portfolio holder for leisure and culture, noted.
“Now works on the roof are complete, people will definitely notice its disappearance, marking a significant step towards finishing the transformation of the Castle as we move towards re-opening next year.”
Further to the new Robin Hood and Rebellion galleries in the Ducal Palace extension, visitors will be able to explore a space dedicated to the permanent display of the site’s collections and new interactive stations designed to boost engagement with the Castle’s history.
“This is an iconic yet complex development, so each step forward is a major victory,” stated Richard Oldfield, project manager at G F Tomlinson, the contractor overseeing the project’s delivery.
“The temporary works have been key for the overall development – if it was not for the scaffolding and temporary roof, the building would have been at great risk of damage from the weather, so the extensive works have been worthwhile.”
The Castle’s £30m redevelopment is being funded by the National Lottery Heritage fund, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, Nottingham Castle Trust, and Nottingham City Council.
