Last Updated on January 3, 2024
We are delighted that the restoration of the Bury St Edmunds Guildhall, a project which we designed and oversaw, has been shortlisted in this year’s RICS Awards.
The RICS Awards ‘showcase the most inspirational initiatives and developments in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure’. As such, we are proud to see that our efforts spent reinvigorating an important piece of Bury St Edmunds’ history have been recognised with a nomination for not one, but two categories in the East of England shortlist: Building Conservation, and Tourism and Leisure.
When we were appointed to this conservation project, the Guildhall was deteriorating, having been out of use for several years. The oldest civic building in Britain, the Guildhall was once a centre of enterprise for prominent people of the town, and was often used for business discussions, celebrations and feasts. We prepared a masterplan which included overhauling the roof structure, removing unsympathetic alterations and upgrading access and ancillary facilities with the view that, on completion, the building could once again be a thriving hub of activity.
With grants from many sources including the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England, the £2 million restoration was completed in 2018. The Bury St Edmunds Guildhall is now a functioning civic building and tourist attraction which complements the network of historic architecture within the area.
If you have a potential restoration project which requires a knowledgeable and experienced architect, please call us on 01284 760421.