Alexandra Palace given £550,000 restoration grant

Alexandra Palace's derelict offices will be restored with the help of a £550,000 grant from Historic England.

It is the latest stage of restoration for the Grade II listed north London venue.

Over 500,000 people have visited the Palace's Victorian Theatre since it reopened in 2018.

CEO of Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust, Emma Dagnes, thanked Historic England for a "significant grant in our 150th year".

"The funding will start us on the journey to bring these spaces back for public benefit," she added.

Work on the North East Office Building will be the next phase of the East Wing restoration project, which has reopened the venue's theatre and East Court to visitors in the last few years.

Madonna, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran and the Earthshot Prize have been hosted at the theatre since its 2018 opening, after it had been closed for 80 years.

The trust said the offices are the last remaining truly inaccessible area in the seven acre "People's Palace" site.

They were used as far back as 1875 to house the administrators office, a ticket office, porter facilities, costume room and the Palace's First Superintendent.

This part of the building was also used extensively as television studios by the BBC from 1935 to 1981 for a range of programmes.

Structural work will start in December and includes removing decayed brickwork and timber, storing historic roof lanterns and installing a new roof covering.

The project funding comes via Historic England's Heritage at Risk programme, which helps significant sites across England pursue restoration projects.

Historic England's chief executive, Duncan Wilson, said: 'I've always loved Ally Pally and am delighted to hear that the 25th anniversary of our Heritage at Risk programme has coincided with the 150th anniversary of the Palace in such a fruitful way."

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