Salisbury Museum: Conservation and Repair Work in association with the Past Forward Project

The recent creation of new galleries at the Museum had been accompanied by a thorough-going exercise in ensuring that the building, Grade I listed and with a very distinctive historic character, was in tip-top condition. The visible work was mostly to the exterior, particularly to the stonework of the windows. Photos and a visit showed the judges that this had required major interventions, with problems of stone decay often exacerbated by the expansion of rusting ironwork within the stones. The judges could see that the remedial work was all of high quality, as it was in other areas such as repairs to leaded lights. The roof timbers had been overhauled and renewed as necessary, and rainwater disposal problems sorted out through repairs to lead rainwater goods and other measures. Invisibly, work had ensured the integrity of high quality early C17th  plaster ceilings in some of the first floor rooms, where clumsy earlier repair attempts had been replaced by intricate measures to re-attach them to the timbers supporting them. The project had also included a large new entrance into what is now the new Salisbury Gallery, set into a new wall of carefully executed flintwork and now enabling large display objects to be brought into the building. This was felt to be a very successful design. Overall, the project had clearly met the needs of the building, at a time of a major upgrade to the way it functions as a museum, and the judges applauded the achievement.

Lead Architects: Dmitri Martin Associates, London

Conservation Architects: St Ann’s Gate Architects, Salisbury