Work to turn derelict site into Wiltshire Museum to begin

The £14.5m transformation of a derelict courthouse building into the new home of a county museum is set to begin in weeks.

The Grade II* listed Assize Court in Devizes was built in 1835 and has been unused since it closed in the 1980s.

It is expected to reopen in 2030 as the new home of Wiltshire Museum - which is currently based in a smaller building in Devizes and has a number of collections, including gold items found in burial sites near Stonehenge.

Museum director David Dawson said things were "about to get very exciting" as work to prepare the building for the renovation would commence "over the next few weeks".

Wiltshire Museum was granted planning permission by Wiltshire Council to restore Assize Court in August 2025.

"It [the building] gives us everything we need...we'll have a fantastic state-of-the-art exhibition gallery with conditions that mean we can borrow items from national collections the whole year round," Dawson said.

"We'll have dedicated facilities for schools and everything on tap for them...everything will be in one place," he added.

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As well as exhibition space, the new museum site will have a cafe, learning space, multi-use event space and gardens.

Speaking about the future of its current site, Dawson said: "Sadly there's not enough space over there to hold all the collections...it will become a collections discovery centre, a place where people can come and research the collections

"We've been here for 150 years, we'll still be here for probably another 150," he added.

Dawson said more than £12.5m had been raised so far to finance the £14.5m project.

"We're still putting in grant bids and we're very confident we will close that gap before all the bills are due - we are pretty much there," he said.

He added that the imminent enabling works were expected to take 12 weeks, with contractors due on site in the new year.

Nicholas Elliott, trustee of Devizes Assize Court Trust, said preparation work starting was an "exciting moment".

He added that the site had been "a blight" in the area for years and the redevelopment would make the community proud.

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