Project Snapshot

Project title:

Future Classic

Programme: Heritage Grants
Applicant: University of Oxford
Grant awarded: £15,000,000

One of the world’s leading museums, the Ashmolean in Oxford, reopened on Saturday 7 November 2009 having completed a multi-million pound redevelopment. The project has been funded with a £15million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Additional major support has been received from the Linbury Trust, along with numerous trusts, foundations and individuals.

The new building, designed by award-winning Rick Mather Architects, will provide the Ashmolean with 100% more display space. Located to the north of Charles Cockerell’s original Museum built in 1845, it comprises 39 new galleries, including four temporary exhibition galleries, a new education centre, state-of-the-art conservation studios, and Oxford’s first rooftop restaurant The Ashmolean Dining Room. In the Cockerell Building, the newly refurbished galleries of Western Art will reopen after 10 months of closure.

The Ashmolean is a teaching and research department of the University of Oxford. It produces research and publications of the highest standard in the academic fields of art history, history, archaeology, numismatics and Oriental studies. Education has always been central to the work of the Ashmolean, not just as a resource for scholars but seeking to awaken a lively interest in all visitors.

Ashmolean Museum re-opens after £61m makeover

Sector

Buildings and Monuments

Activity

Conservation; Participation; Learning