FWP works to deliver historic city museum's ambitious revamp

Work has now started on the second phase of the multi-million-pound redevelopment of the historic Tullie museum in Carlisle.

Leading architecture, design and masterplanning practice FWP has been appointed to project manage the work on the 130-year-old museum in the heart of the city.

The revamp has been made possible with funding by the UK government, including support from the Town’s Fund and Future High Streets Fund.

It has been further supported with £2million of public funding administered by Arts Council England. Work is set to be completed in summer this year.

Tullie has been a centre for learning since 1893 when it was opened as the city’s ‘Public Library, Museum and School of Art’.

This 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 the building back to life.

Once this second stage of ‘Project Tullie’ is completed, the popular museum will have a revitalised and more accessible entrance and atrium space.

There will also be a new ground-floor gallery dedicated to the ‘Border City’. The aim is to give Tullie a “fresh, more accessible, look”. Construction work is now underway.

Sam Shuttleworth, associate quantity surveyor and project manager at FWP, said: “We are delighted to be playing our part in the revitalisation of Tullie and we’re looking forward to seeing this important development take shape over the next few months.

“The new and improved ground floor spaces that are being created will enhance the visitor experience and make the museum more user-friendly and accessible.

“The museum team has a clear vision to create an innovative, welcoming and sustainable cultural hub that represents local communities. It is great to be able to play our part in helping turn that vision into reality.”

FWP’s specialist team is also working on the delivery of Rochdale Town Hall’s restoration, with the building which reopened to the public this month (March).

It has acted as quantity surveyor and cost manager throughout the project, to ensure that it remains within budget.

With its offices in Preston, Manchester and London, 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, growing its staff in numbers to more than 60 in the process.

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 has included returning its spectacular glasshouses to their former glory.

FWP also 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 historic Harris Quarter.