Skip to content

City museums to undergo £58m makeover

Ant Clausen, National Museums Liverpool Liverpool Albert Dock buildings, showing the slavery and maritime museum, with the River Mersey in the backgroundAnt Clausen, National Museums Liverpool
The Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum will close for three years during the works

Two Liverpool museums are set to undergo a £58m makeover after planning permission for their redevelopment was approved.

The International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum on the Royal Albert Dock will close in early 2025 for three years during the upgrade.

It will see the two Grade I-listed buildings link up to bring displays on the history of the slave trade together.

Architect Kossy Nnachetta said the new-look site would become the first museum in the world dedicated to the transatlantic slave trade, adding that "Liverpool, the UK and the world is ready for this".

Ms Nnachetta, of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, said: "This project – like both museums within it - embodies a determination that our collective and shared history is expressed.

"It boldly addresses themes of restorative justice through space."

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios An artist impression of how the slavery museum and maritime would look - a red brick building with an iron entrance coming out of the frontFeilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Computer generated images show how the International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum will look

National Museums Liverpool, which runs seven venues, said the redevelopment forms part of the wider Waterfront Transformation Project which aims to partner up storytelling, heritage, community and hospitality.

The project received £9.9m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £10m from the government in March.

Works will see the entrance of the International Slavery Museum move into the Dr Martin Luther King Jr building, formerly the dock traffic office.

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios An artist impression of the new iron entrance on the side of the Martin Luther King Jr buildingFeilden Clegg Bradley Studios
The revamp includes a new entrance at the International Slavery Museum's Dr Martin Luther King Jr building

National Museums said a new entrance will create an "inspiring welcome and a stronger sense of identity".

Internally, the building will become a space for learning and community, with an iron and glass bridge connecting the re-imagined International Slavery Museum galleries in the Hartley Pavilion to the Dr Martin Luther King Jr building.

The Maritime Museum, which opened in 1986, will get its visitor welcome space improved.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to [email protected]

Related stories