Work has begun on a 140-year-old building at the Science and Industry Museum’s site, formerly the world’s first intercity passenger railway station.
The works are part of the £14.2m worth of urgent repairs, funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Science and Industry Museum receives £14.2m DCMS funding for repairs
Scaffolding has now been erected around the museum site’s New Warehouse building, which will stay open to visitors throughout the works.
The building, originally built in the 1880s, now houses the main museum entrance, three permanent galleries, three changing exhibition spaces, a café, shop and conference space. Its roof, the size of two Olympic pools, will be retiled with Welsh Slate Tiles from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.
The works are also hoped to improve thermal efficiency, making the building more environmentally sustainable. Single-glazed rooflights will be replaced with heritage style double glazing, and roof insulation made from environmentally friendly and natural wood fibres is to be added.
Sally MacDonald, Director of the Science and Industry Museum said “Whilst this repair work will bring some disruption to our site, including our largest scaffolding structure to date, the changes taking place now will mean visitors can enjoy our museum for years to come.
The New Warehouse work is expected to be complete by mid-2025.
Image: New Warehouse from Upper Yard – Science Museum Group Collection – © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum – Lee Mawdsley
