Northumberland Hall
Proposed Relocation of Bailiffgate
Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery is an award-winning museum, run by volunteers, that shares the fascinating history of Alnwick and District with its residents and visitors to the area. The museum is currently exploring an exciting opportunity to potentially relocate to the centre of Alnwick, at Northumberland Hall – the town’s historic Assembly Rooms and Market Hall. This Grade I Listed Building has been significantly underused for many years, with the ground floor retail units now vacant.
The relocation is subject to planning and listed building consent, and securing funding, which is ongoing. However, as a people’s museum, we fully recognise the importance of feeding your views into this process, and will be consulting with the community and stakeholders over the coming months.
Sketch view looking west showing potential new entrance and new glazing
The Emerging Proposals
The relocation would provide the museum with a prominent, more central location in Alnwick. This would make it more accessible to residents and visitors, whilst also bringing its audience to the heart of the town, supporting local shops, services and facilities.
Northumberland Hall provides an impressive, more flexible and increased space for the museum to re-imagine and grow their offer, in a way that will appeal to existing visitors and new audiences – this is vital to the museum’s long term appeal and sustainability.
The revised museum would provide:
- A new, more accessible public entrance to the building / museum.
- More space to display our collections.
- An impressive exhibition space, with an enhanced offer for local and visiting exhibitions.
- More flexible space to accommodate new activities, groups etc. (e.g. visiting schools).
- Meeting space for community use and with the potential to generate an income.
- An improved museum-related retail offer that will complement local retail provision.
- Additional back of house space for administration, volunteers and storage.
The proposals also provide an opportunity to secure a new use and the future of this important building, bringing new visitors and activity to the heart of the town.
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IMPORTANT UPDATE
Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery are delivering a project titled Heritage, Creativity & Community in the heart of Alnwick. The project has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and will support our ambition to move to the Grade 1 Northumberland Hall in the centre of Alnwick. The project will convert this magnificent building into a creative, cultural hub where collections and exhibition bring to life the past, present and imaginative narratives that celebrate our place and its people.
We have completed a feasibility study and now have planning permission in place for the refurbishment of Northumberland Hall.
We are in the early stages of the Development Phase of the project and there are a number of pieces of work we wish to offer tender opportunities for. These must be completed on time and in budget according to our project plan and achieve the objectives specified by our grant funders, The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The respective pieces of work will support us to pass the project Development Phase Review and to submit a successful application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for grant funding for the Delivery phase of our project in November 2024. Some of the works may pause after the development phase and then continue into the Delivery phase subject to a successful grant application.
You are invited by Baliffgate Museum & Gallery to submit a tender for any of the following elements of project work. The Invitation to Tender document has all the necessary information and guidance for tendering and detail of the specification for the respective elements of work.
Completion dates for various elements are detailed in the invitation to tender document.
For an informal conversation or any questions about the tender email Louise Dawson Company Secretary at Bailiffgate at companysecretary@bailiffgatemuseum.co.uk
Please send responses to Louise Dawson at companysecretary@bailiffgatemuseum.co.uk)
Any interviews and clarification meetings will take place the week commencing 29th July 2024.
Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery welcomes applications from a broad diversity of talent from all sections of the community. If you can be as passionate about this project as we are we would like you to apply
Sketch view of proposed interior leading up to main hall on the first floor
(New lift to the right of image for disabled access)
Sketch view looking south
Sketch view of proposed interior leading up to main hall on the first floor (2)
All images copyright Mosedale Gillatt Architects 2022
Please Note: In line with our recent advertisements for the Northumberland Hall development work, we have received feedback that some of the publications were not uploaded on the dates we had intended. As a result of this we have decided to extend the dates for the following pieces of work only. The extended deadline is 5pm on 1st August 2024 for Audience Development & Marketing, Bid Writing, Evaluation and Fundraising
The deadlines for Architect Services, Interpretation & Design and Project Manager are 5pm 26th July.
1. Audience Development & Marketing
Total budget £10k excluding VAT Term: 1 August 2024 to 18 October 2024 Closing date 5pm on 1st August
See the invitation to tender document
3. Fundraising
Total budget £12k excluding VAT Term: 1 August 2024 to 18 October 2024 Closing date 5pm on 1st August
The invitation to tender document can be found here.
4. Evaluation
Total budget £15k (£5k Development, £10k Delivery) Term: August 1 August 2024 to January 2027. Closing date 5pm on 1st August.
The invitation to tender document can be found here.
5. Project Manager
Total budget £49,800 (£9k Development phase, £40,800 Delivery) Term: 1 August 2024 with a break after the Development phase and then expected to be April 2025 to December 2026. Closing date 26th July 2024.
The invitation to tender document can be found here.
6. Architect Services
Total budget £336k (£7250 Development, £328,820 Delivery) excluding VAT Term: August 2024 through to completion expected to be December 2026. Closing date 26th July 2024.
The invitation to tender document can be found here
7. Bid Writing
Total Budget £7,500 excluding VAT Term: 1 August 2024 to 18 October 2024 Closing date 5pm on the 1st August
The invitation to tender document can be found here
8. Interpretation & Design
Total Budget £30k excluding VAT Term: 1 August 2024 to 25 October 2024 Closing date 26th July 2024
The invitation to tender document can be found here
Please note that the successful company may be invited to take the design through to delivery stage, subject to grant funding being awarded and the design being approved by Trustees.