‘Braver, more accessible and more sustainable’: funding boost for museums in Leeds

Two museums in Leeds have unveiled details of their redevelopment plans.

New funding for the Thackray Museum of Medicine will support an upgrade to its Grade II listed building and the development of fundraising and income generation strategies.

Ahead of its 30th anniversary next year, the Leeds-based museum has been awarded more than £420,000 in new funding from grant organisations led by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The money, which includes £249,500 from the lottery fund, will be used to explore opportunities to replace its roof and test the viability of adding an additional floor for future programmes, partnerships and commercial activity.

The museum first opened in 1997 in a former Leeds Union Workhouse building next to St James’s University Hospital.

“As we prepare to celebrate 30 years since opening, this support gives us the time and space to think ambitiously about what the museum can become over the next three decades, and how the museum and its collection can best serve our visitors and the wide-ranging communities – from healthcare professionals to diverse Harehills residents – around us,” said Edward Appleyard, the Thackray’s chief executive.

The museum reopened after a major capital project in 2021, and was named a finalist for Art Fund Museum of the Year that year. It was shortlisted for European Museum of the Year in 2023.

As well as launching a new exhibitions programme and ticketing system, the small museum has also looked to diversify both its audiences and its income model.

“Looking ahead to 2027, this new support will allow us to build on our progress by rethinking how our spaces are used, open-up more opportunities for people to connect with our collections, and work with communities, creatives, researchers and partners to make Thackray even braver, more accessible and more sustainable for the future,” Appleyard added.

In February 2027, Thackray will open a new exhibition called Complexion exploring the experiences of people with melanin-rich skin. And in April, it will open a new Collections CoLab, an accessible co-working and creative engagement space funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport/Wolfson Museum and Galleries Improvement Fund.

Jousting in the streets

Across the city, the Royal Armouries at Leeds Dock is planning a major £100m redevelopment to enhance its conference and events offering.

The venue, which hosted the Museums Association's 2024 conference as well as other major events such as the UK's Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum, plans to create more than 8,000 sqm of conference, exhibition, hospitality and leisure space, including a new 3,500 sqm exhibition and events hall.

Last year, the museum used a government-backed loan to purchase the freehold of the land it operates on. The £11.69m deal includes waterfront buildings adjacent to the museum where its outdoor jostling events currently take place.

Construction for the Waterfront Development is expected to begin in the first half of 2028. Once complete, it will more than double the venue’s conference and events space at the Tiltyard site, and provide additional space for jousting and other historical reenactments.

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In a LinkedIn post, Nat Edwards, the director general of the Royal Armouries, said: “These developments are going to be great for the city and for the museum. However, they are in a context of a necessity borne of rising costs and diminishing funding that is affecting our whole sector.

“We are hugely fortunate to enjoy the support and confidence of the city council and other stakeholders – but it’s only part of the puzzle. Now is the time to demand a better deal for culture and heritage.”