Focus Consultants project manages Gilbert White and The Oates Museum redevelopment

Gilbert White's House

After supporting a successful Round 2 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bid in Spring 2016, Focus Consultants are pleased to announce that the renovation of the museum housing The Gilbert White and the Oates Collections in Selborne, Hampshire, has begun construction. Focus were appointed to project manage the £2.5 million redevelopment of the 17^th Century Grade II Listed house by the Gilbert White & The Oates Collections Trust (GWOC). 

The redevelopment work consists of the restoration of the stable yard and brew house, providing a new entrance, a shop and a café for visitors, as well as the conversion of the upstairs into a lettable flat. Additionally, the work includes the general refurbishment and reconfiguration of the layout to the main house, which will allow new exhibitions to be created, a new library, and which will increase the space to show more artefacts than ever before, many of which will be on display for the first time, including one of the few surviving original copies of “Aurora Australis”, the first book to be written, printed and bound in Antarctica. 

Once the home to naturalist Gilbert White, often regarded as the father of ecology, the museum, which offers educational and family orientated events throughout the year, boasts an extensive range of well-maintained gardens, which acted as a research base inspiring White’s most popular work The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, one of the most printed works of literature in the English language. 

The house, named The Wakes became a museum in 1954 when Robert Washington Oates secured the home as a memorial to the naturalist. Here he also established The Oates Memorial Museum and Library in honour of his cousin Captain Lawrence Oates, who was part of the fatal ‘Terra Nova’ expedition to the South Pole, and his uncle Frank Oates, famed explorer and one of the first Europeans to reach Victoria Falls.

The added exhibition space will allow the museum to take visitors on a journey through the exploration of the natural world, in particular linking to the three men. 

“It is always gratifying to be a part of a project like this, and the vision the Gilbert White & The Oates Collections Trust have for the museum is inspiring,” said Focus project manager Dan Mason. “I am confident the work the team is doing here will pay homage to the house’s fascinating history.”

The renovation is due to be completed and open to the public in Spring 2018.

Nottingham-based Focus Consultants, which also has branches in London, Leicester, Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, has, since 1994, secured for clients more than £953 million of grants for projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

It also offers a range of services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, quantity surveying, project management, and sustainable development support.

For more information, visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Contractor J Tomlinson completes multi-million pound redevelopment of Coventry Transport Museum

Construction company J Tomlinson has completed work on a £9.5 million redevelopment of Coventry Transport Museum and Old Grammar School. 

The museum, which houses hundreds of unique exhibits including the world’s fastest cars ThrustSSC and Thrust2, has been completely transformed following a 15-month redevelopment programme. 

Nottingham-based J Tomlinson’s role included £4 million of the work, which involved building two new extensions, structural and internal alterations, as well as external modifications. 

Twelve of the museum’s 14 galleries have been completely transformed, including the creation of a stunning all-new permanent World Land Speed Record Exhibition for ThrustSSC and Thrust2. 

The project has also involved the redevelopment of the museum’s neighbouring Grade 1 listed, 12th Century Old Grammar School, which has been brought back into public use as an exhibition, education and events space. 

Martin Gallagher, Construction Managing Director at J Tomlinson, said: “Coventry Transport Museum holds the largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles in the world, and J Tomlinson is proud to have been involved in this redevelopment scheme which has created a new home for them, and for the hundreds of other exhibits on display. 

“This is a world-class museum that showcases Coventry’s rich transport heritage. The adjacent Grade 1 listed, 12^th Century Grammar School is also a very special building, and we are very pleased to have given this a new lease of life as it opens the next chapter in its long and illustrious history. 

“J Tomlinson has completed the project on time and on budget, and we are delighted that the museum is now fully open again for the public to enjoy.” 

Coventry Transport Museum fully re-opened on Saturday 20^th June with a special event involving supercar stuntman Terry Grant, who is famous for holding over 20 stunt-related World Records, and petrolhead duo and presenters Harry Metcalfe and Amanda Stretton who showcased a Trailblazing Cars of the World tribute; including a Ferrari F40, Porsche 911, Jaguar C-type, original Range Rover and many more. 

Culture Coventry chief executive Gary Hall said: “Re-launching the museum is the culmination of seven years of hard work by the team. It marks yet another landmark for Coventry’s transport heritage, but also preserves its rich history. The museum provides a haven for visitors to immerse themselves in the past, present and future of Coventry’s transport legacy - capturing the imagination of visitors of all ages.  We are extremely grateful to the European Regional Development Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund and all of the other organisations who have supported this project throughout.” 

J Tomlinson, which is based in Lilac Grove, Beeston, near Nottingham, and operates mainly throughout the East and West Midlands, provides a range of services including construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering, energy efficiency, fit out and facilities management. 

Coventry Transport Museum’s redevelopment project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, Garfield Weston, as well as Biffa Award and WREN via the Landfill Communities Fund, and Arts Council England.

For more information visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk