Devizes Assize Court plans get go-ahead

An historic building will soon be restored to its former glory, after restoration plans were approved.

Grade-II listed building Devizes Assize Court is set to become the new home for the Wiltshire Museum, which houses nationally important artefacts such as neolithic and bronze age objects found at Stonehenge and Avebury.

The planning application and listed building consent was given the go-ahead by Wiltshire Council.

The new museum will have new facilities, including a café, a dedicated learning space, a multi-use event space and gardens and new galleries, which cannot be provided in the body’s current building.

The new restoration will also be fully accessible to all visitors, and will include lifts and a large toilet adapted for guests with disabilities.

Caroline Kay, chairwoman of Wiltshire Museum, said: “We are grateful to the local planning authority for their careful consideration and approval of our comprehensive planning and listed building consent applications.

“This essential enabling step moves us and our supporters to a further position of confidence that this is a deliverable project for the people of Devizes, Wiltshire, and beyond.”

Wiltshire Museum and the Devizes Assize Court Trust have been working together to develop the project Assizes for Devizes: Unlocking Wiltshire’s Stories, which received initial funding support of £300,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund in June 2023.

Having completed a National Lottery Players-funded Development Phase project to draw up architectural plans and a robust business case for the Assizes vision, the bodies are preparing to submit a delivery phase application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund later this year, with a decision shortly afterwards. The Museum says it has been working closely with its architect Purcell Architecture and the wider design team on the proposals.

The plans are claimed to blend conservation, sustainability, and new build interventions to create a museum that is “inviting, inclusive and reimagines the display of the museum’s internationally significant collection.”

Clare Phillips, conservation associate at Purcell, said: “This planning success is rooted in team’s collaboration with the museum and community groups to restore the Assize Courts, which are in a desperately poor state, into a vibrant new museum teeming with community activities.”

The approval of planning permission means that the museum can now submit funding applications to a wider range of trusts and foundations, as well as seeking support from philanthropists and benefactors as permission is in place for the project.

It has already attracted funding of more than £1 million.

If the application to the Heritage Fund is successful, work will start on the Assize Court building in 2026, with a target opening date of 2030.

Peter Troughton, chairman of the Devizes Assize Court Trust, said: “It is excellent news that Wiltshire Council have seen fit to approve and support the vision of this project to relaunch Wiltshire Museum into the restored Devizes Assize Court, so long neglected, for the benefit of the town of Devizes and the county as a whole.”

In June, Wiltshire Council awarded the project £350,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy funding – which is the money paid by housing developers to support the enhancement of an area.

Helen Belcher, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for economic development, regeneration and assets, said at the time: “The Assize Court has stood as a symbol of Devizes’ rich history for generations, and this is a fantastic opportunity to create a first-rate museum in the heart of the town, while saving a landmark building of national importance.

“We are proud to support this ambitious and visionary project, which will help to promote Wiltshire’s distinctive culture to both residents and visitors, while also attracting more visitors to Devizes.”

The Devizes Assize Court was built in 1835 and has been derelict since the 1980s. It has been on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk register since the scheme’s inception in 1988.

Wiltshire Museum’s current home in Long Street, Devizes opened to the public in 1874.