Nottingham Castle
Value: £16M
Type: Heritage Redevelopment & Refurbishment
Partner: G F Tomlinson
The transformation of Nottingham Castle to become a world-class visitor destination, with improvements funded by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), D2N2, Nottingham Castle Trust and Nottingham City Council.
The redeveloped site includes a new contemporary visitors centre and remodelling of the grounds, as well as an extension to the existing Ducal Palace, which houses the new Robin Hood and Rebellion galleries to tell the stories of the city’s legendary outlaw and history of rebellion.
Refurbishment of the existing Ducal Palace, including essential lime plastering repairs displays the Castle’s wonderful collections of fine and decorative arts. Externally the Palace benefits from extensive roof repairs and stonework restoration to protect the external fabric of the building.
New handrails and lighting provides improved access to the caves within the Castle Rock.
This project delivers the step change required to establish Nottingham Castle as a world class heritage site. It is estimated to bring an additional 400,000 visitors annually and bring £90 million into Nottingham City’s economy whilst celebrating Nottingham Castle’s unique and diverse 1,000 year heritage.
To ensure no damage to the Grade I Listed Ducal Palace, we implemented a solution of a self-supporting scaffolding system in collaboration with our specialist scaffolding subcontractor and in-house Engineer. The ‘Kentledge Battress’ scaffolding was supported using water barrels, eliminating the need for this to be fixed to the structure and therefore removing the possibility of causing damage to the building fabric.
Through extensive site surveys, we found buried existing ventilation ducts which we then used for the utility services works. This avoided us having to construct new service ducts within the building, thus saving time on the programme and reducing costs for the Client.
Project highlights
- 788 hours of social value activities
- 4,627 hours dedicated to employment and skills
- 97% local labour within 40 miles
- Supporting local charity, Framework through sponsorships, engagement with career activities, work experience placements and employment opportunities.
- Full time apprentice opportunities created on site, along with work experience placements and a one year out placement for a local University student.
“The completion of this part of the castle works on such a historic site and despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and periods of adverse weather is a big achievement. I’d like to thank G F Tomlinson for its commitment and dedication during the period they have been working for us on this project.”
Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture – Nottingham City Council