The Hereford Museum and Art Gallery has submitted a planning application for an £18 million redevelopment of its Grade II-listed building.
The project will extend and transform the current building, resulting in a state-of-the-art museum with six new galleries and display spaces, a temporary exhibition area, and new facilities including a retail space, café and events space.
Additionally, a viewing beacon and roof terrace will be accessible from the fifth floor’s courtyard, offering spectacular 360-degree views across Herefordshire.
The plans were developed in partnership with communities and organisations across Herefordshire, including more than 800 young people.
The new museum will be home to the recently acquired ‘Herefordshire Hoard’, a store of Viking treasure discovered in 2015 by metal detectorists.
Museum to display ‘Herefordshire Hoard’
“This is a hoard of enormous historical significance both for Herefordshire and for the nation as a whole,” said the British Museum‘s Gareth Williams.
“The hoard raises many questions for our understanding of the period and those questions can only be answered in full if the hoard is secured for posterity in a museum collection.”
Buried around 878, the Herefordshire Hoard includes a gold arm bangle, a gold octagonal ring, a silver ingot, a pendant, and 29 coins.
The development, which will significantly enhance Hereford’s cultural offering, received £5m in funding from the UK government’s Towns Fund, and £8m in council funding.
The Hereford Museum and Art Gallery has submitted an application for the remaining £5m to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Hereford Museum and Art Gallery is due to open in 2025.
