Future looks bright for museum after £4.5m revamp

An award-winning museum in Cumbria has fully reopened after a £4.5million revamp – with architecture, design and masterplanning practice FWP playing a major part in delivering the project.

Visitors to Tullie in Carlisle now have full access to a new exhibition space dedicated to the city’s diverse and rich history.

The entrance to the museum has also been developed and there is a cafe, shop and events space as part of the programme to enhance the venue’s visitor experience.

The work, which began in 2023, was carried out in stages and FWP acted as project manager for phase two, which included the sensitive restoration of Tullie’s historic gatehouse building. The FWP team was also involved in the successful National Lottery Heritage Fund bid for phase three of the project.

The restoration of Tullie’s Grade I listed gatehouse, made possible with funding from Historic England, has allowed its removal from the Heritage at Risk register.

Funding for the museum’s revamp came from the government's Town Fund and Future High Streets Fund, Arts Council England and Cumberland Council.

The 130-year-old museum has been a centre for learning since 1893 when it was opened as the city’s ‘Public Library, Museum and School of Art’.

It is the second major heritage project that FWP has been involved with in Carlisle in recent years.

It acted as project manager and quantity surveyor on the award-winning transformation of the medieval Fratry at Carlisle Cathedral – another complex project on a sensitive site. The development, which included essential conservation work, has brought that building back to life.

Sarah Ward, project manager at Preston headquartered FWP, said: “Tullie is a unique building and is a special place for the people of Carlisle.

“The museum team had a clear vision to create an innovative, welcoming and sustainable cultural hub that represents local communities. We are pleased we were able to play our part in helping turn that vision into reality.

“Parts of the project, including the restoration of the gatehouse building, with its iconic clocktower, did prove challenging but the results are there for all to see. The transformation of the museum is tremendous.”

FWP, which also has offices in Manchester and London, has built a reputation for its work on sensitive heritage projects.

Its specialist team worked on the delivery of Rochdale Town Hall’s spectacular £20m restoration, acting as quantity surveyor and cost manager on the project to breathe new life into the Grade I listed building.

FWP has extensive experience in project and cost management across a wide range of sectors.  Over more than six decades, the firm has played an important role in delivering iconic developments across the UK.

It is currently working on the conversion of a former magistrates court building in the centre of Preston, using all its design experience working on historic and sensitive sites to turn Amounderness House into a modern and flexible workspace hub.

FWP has also helped successfully deliver a number of National Trust and National Lottery Heritage Funded-supported conservation, restoration and regeneration programmes over the last five years.

Its portfolio also includes the restoration of Rivington Terraced Gardens on the edge of the West Pennine Moors and work on the Walton Hall Estate, near Warrington, which included returning its spectacular glasshouses to their former glory.

FWP led on the challenging restoration of the Victorian market canopies in the heart of its home city of Preston. The much-loved listed structures underwent extensive refurbishment as part of the regeneration work taking place in the city’ historic Harris Quarter.

For further information on FWP and its portfolio, visit: www.fwpgroup.co.uk