Museum gets £1m to restore historic building

A museum has received £1m in grants towards the refurbishment of a historic judicial building.

Wiltshire Museum received two grants worth £500,000 each from the Rothschild Foundation and the Julia Rausing Trust to go towards restoring the Devizes Assize Court.

The Grade II* building, which was built in 1835, has been derelict since it closed in the 1980s.

It is expected the building will reopen in 2030 as the new home of Wiltshire Museum.

David Dawson, director of Wiltshire Museum, told BBC Radio Wiltshire: "People in the office know when there's good news as they hear a shout, and this time they heard two shouts when I found out.

"It is fabulous news for us.

"We are applying to the National Lottery Heritage Fund this year, but in order for the project to happen we need to raise much more money as well.

"This puts us ahead of where we expected to be."

The museum will still need to raise several million pounds to open the building.

If funding is successful, work will start in 2026, with an estimated opening date of 2030.

The museum is home to Bronze Age archaeology, which has been designated by the government as being of national significance.

Mr Dawson said: "The building will be completely transformed, and it'll be a major attraction on the side of the canal, bringing visitors in and revitalising that part of Devizes."

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