Royal Museums Greenwich gets £1.25m towards Royal Observatory revamp

Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) has received £1.25m towards a “once-in-a-generation” capital project to redevelop the Royal Observatory.

The grant from the Wolfson Foundation will support the renovation of the Longitude Gallery, a key part of RMG’s “First Light” redevelopment scheme.

The First Light project, which has also received lottery funding, aims to preserve the site’s significant architectural heritage and “unlock and fulfil the observatory’s long-held potential to inspire visitors and build cultural and science capital in the UK”.

The institution is among several museums and galleries to benefit from grants in the latest round of Wolfson Foundation funding, which saw £17m awarded to almost 80 projects.

RAF Museum

The RAF Museum secured a £650,000 grant towards its £28m Midlands Development Programme. The project will deliver a regional engagement programme alongside a site transformation, including the creation of a new immersive exhibition exploring the role of the RAF since 1980 to today and how the service will adapt in future.

A new learning centre co-designed with students and teachers will also be built, enabling to museum to accommodate an additional 8,000 students per year. The centre will feature state-of-the-art facilities including two analogue and two digital classrooms, lunch spaces for up to 120 students, and spaces for outdoor learning.

The funding will also support a new purpose-built Collections Hub, enabling the museum’s stored collection to be brought on site and opened to the public for the first time, as well as the development of a new public realm with spaces for outdoor activities, rest and relaxation, and picnicking.  

Maggie Appleton, CEO of the RAF Museum, thanked the foundation for the "generous" investment.

"Support from the Wolfson Foundation underscores the importance of education, and we are delighted to have them as a key partner in this transformative project," she said.

The transformation programme is due to be completed in 2027.

Charleston

Charleston, the modernist home and former studio of the Bloomsbury Group artists in East Sussex, is moving ahead with plans to create a permanent cultural centre in Lewes after receiving a £250,000 grant. The new space will feature, galleries, learning spaces and an archive.

The institution recently opened a temporary space, Charleston in Lewes, which features exhibitions, community projects, and gallery activities and educational programmes.

North East Museums

Meanwhile, North East Museums (formerly known as Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums) has received £200,000 towards a redevelopment at the Discovery Museum.

The funding will go towards transforming the museum’s Working Lives gallery into a reimagined temporary exhibition space to showcase stories of the region using existing collections. It will also contribute towards the creation of a new under-fives area to replace the former Play Tyne space.

Keith Merrin, director of North East Museums said: “We are extremely grateful to the Wolfson Foundation for supporting Discovery Museum with this grant, allowing us to create a new flexible exhibition and event space which will mean we can continue to refresh the museum offer for our visitors and a dedicated under-fives space to provide experiences that cater to the full age-range of our family audience.”

Full list of grants for museums, galleries and heritage

• Royal Museums Greenwich
  £1.25m towards the renovation of the Longitude Gallery, part of the wider “First Light” redevelopment of the Royal Observatory
• Charleston, East Sussex
  £250,000 for a cultural centre in Lewes with galleries, learning spaces and an archive
• North East Museums
  £200,000 towards the redevelopment and interpretation of the Discovery Museum
• Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent
  £100,000 to support the restoration and interpretation of the 1704 Commissioner’s House, Britain’s oldest intact naval building.
• Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, west London
  £250,000 towards the restoration and redevelopment of its grounds to create new education and community facilities
• National Motor Museum, Hampshire
  £75,000 to support the refurbishment of its ground floor galleries
• Royal Air Force Museum
  £650,000 to support the redevelopment of the RAF Museum Midlands in Cosford
• Watts Gallery Museum, Surrey
  £150,000 for an environmental systems upgrade
• William Morris Gallery, London
  £250,000 towards the refurbishment of its exhibition galleries
• Friends of Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust, Oxfordshire
  £150,000 towards the restoration of the abbey buildings
• London Library
  £100,000 for the refurbishment of exhibition and learning spaces
• University of York
  £700,000 for a digital archaeology and heritage laboratory
• National Space Centre, Leicester
  £500,000 for the redevelopment of its Outer Solar System Gallery