Roof Restoration Work Begins on Listed Newcastle Museum

Keith Merrin, Director of North East Museums and Nick Butterley, Customer & Facilities Manager of Discovery Museum outside the museum

A multi-million-pound project to restore the roof of Newcastle’s Discovery Museum is now under way.

The Grade II listed building, known as Blandford House, was once the headquarters of the Cooperative Wholesale Society (CWS), finished in 1899 by Newcastle architects Oliver & Leeson, and has been a museum since 1981.

Repairs will be carried out on the East Block of Blandford House, which houses the museum.

Roof Restoration Begins

The restoration of the building’s unusual roof, which features intricate copper domes and Lakeland slates, is being undertaken by Howarth Litchfield Architects and Todd Milburn with John Flowers Ltd as contractors.

The work to is being funded by a £3 million Government grant through Arts Council England. Newcastle City Council, which owns the building, is also contributing £865,000 towards work on the brickwork and windows while scaffolding is in place.

Neil Turner, Howarth Litchfield Director and Conservation Architect, said: “We were delighted with this appointment by Newcastle City Council, which was awarded based on our experience.

“We specialise in preserving, re-developing and repairing historic buildings so they can continue to be used successfully. In this case, we are involved in the detailed design and delivery of the project on site.

“Working on a roof six storeys in the air with an atrium on one side poses various challenges so an engineered scaffold design will be required and this formed part of the tender package.”

Important archives will also need to be protected during window restoration works.

Blandford House

Challenging Project

Cllr Karen Kilgour, Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “Blandford House that houses the Discovery Museum has been part of our city since 1899 and has fulfilled various roles down the years.

“It attracts over 300,000 visits a year as the region’s premier science, maritime and local history museum, and plays an important part in telling the story of our city to visitors of all ages.

“However, like all buildings it requires maintenance to keep it in good condition and safe for people to visit, that’s why the council is happy to contribute towards the restoration of its roof.

“At six storeys high this will be a challenging project, but I am confident that when it’s complete the building will be well equipped to deal with future generations of visitors.”

The museum will remain open to the public throughout the works with the occasional short closure when unavoidable. The restoration of the building is scheduled for completion in August 2026.

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