Barts Heritage is delighted to announce receipt of a £151,600 grant from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. The crucial funding will allow us to continue our project to restore the Grade I listed North Wing and Henry VIII Gatehouse, creating both a bridge to connect the public to the historic hospital and a new model for heritage and wellbeing beginning with pilot programmes co-designed with Hospital staff.
With many major grant-giving programmes currently suspended or focused primarily on Covid response, we have now reshaped our programme into two smaller phases of work that will address the most pressing works, securing the historic fabric and opening up the principal spaces for public use. The first phase of the project is planned to coincide with the 900th anniversary of St Barts and will secure the fabric of both buildings and renovate its two principal interiors.
We are currently working with the Hospital to provide urgently needed facilities for the staff within the west pavilion of the North Wing. These will serve as important pilot projects in 2020, co-designed with Hospital staff, that will inform how we shape the programmes in the upgraded building. Facilities will include relaxation areas for individuals to gather and unwind; smaller private rooms for professional services such as psychological care; spaces for creative and innovate thinking in teams and larger spaces for group exercise and physiotherapy. We also hope to be able to offer wellbeing programmes for wider audiences as the project develops, including schoolteachers, community leaders and youth workers, subject to consultation and further planning.
William Palin, CEO of Barts Heritage says:
We are thrilled to have been awarded £151,600 from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. This crucial grant will enable us to continue our pioneering project to restore our Grade I listed buildings as a new model for heritage and wellbeing. This funding will enable us, at this challenging time, to press ahead with project development, implement pilot schemes, build our volunteer base, and further strengthen our partnership with St Bartholomew’s Hospital as it approaches its 900th anniversary.
Professor Charles Knight, CEO of St Bartholomew’s Hospital says:
The historic North Wing is at the heart of our working hospital. It is both a physical manifestation of excellence and a representation of the principle of universal care which inspired the foundation of St Bartholomew’s Hospital nearly 900 years ago. Saving it is an urgent and time-limited opportunity for us and, thanks to the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage, Barts Heritage can continue to develop its plans to restore the fabric of this wonderful building and create a much-needed new health and wellbeing hub for staff, patients and visitors, where the beautiful historic spaces can become places of healing, contemplation and inspiration.
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A copy of the full press release may be downloaded here.
