Monmouthshire County Council has appointed Purcell and their team of consultants to support the successful Heritage Fund grant application for the development phase of the Shire Hall and to integrate the museum and its collections, including the internationally significant Admiral Lord Nelson collection.
These exciting developments will create an enhanced cultural destination and foster a sense of community. The new galleries, shared learning, and community space will engage and inspire residents and visitors, creating a sustainable museum offering. This will increase footfall, drive economic activity, and provide a welcoming space for all in the historic core of the town centre.
Following the completion of work over the summer, plans will be formally submitted for building consent later in September.
We’re now inviting the public to view the designs and share their feedback during the week commencing Monday 23rd of September at the Shire Hall.
The proposals will complement other improvements in Monmouth. Creating a venue with a shared community/learning space will enable the local authority to ensure future services’ sustainability.
The current brief being developed is to reconfigure the existing external and internal spaces to reinterpret and display the museum collections to tell the town’s stories, including the role Shire Hall played in this history through notable events such as the Chartist uprising and the history of local and national democracy.
The museum move also provides an opportunity to explore the life and passions of Lady Llangattock, whose own gift forms the basis of an internationally significant yet relatively unknown and unpublished collection relating to Admiral Lord Nelson.
The museum’s object collection relates to the social history of the town and surrounding area, and using loaned items, it has developed more contemporary modern themes such as the Rockfield recording studio and local artists.
Monmouthshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Equalities and Engagement, Cllr Angela Sandles, said: “It’s very exciting to see the plans for the Shire Hall Museum coming into fruition. Creating a new modern space to showcase our history will attract more visitors and allow residents to learn more about the amazing local history here in Monmouth.”
