Conservation Management Plan, Hereford Museum & Art Gallery

In Brief

Client: Council Sector: Heritage Services:

Conservation Management Plan

Location: Hereford Museum & Art Gallery (HMAG)

Key Points

  • HMAG is housed in a Grade II Listed Victorian Building designed in an Anglicised Venetian Gothic revival style typical of the late 19th century. The need for a robust plan is especially acute in view of the major multi-million redevelopment proposed for Herefordshire.

Summary

The new museum facility is provisionally titled Hereford Museum & Art Gallery redevelopment and provides additional new-build floor space contained entirely within the existing footprint of the Broad Street site with the intention to showcase local treasures such as the Herefordshire Hoard.

Discovery of the Herefordshire Hoard (previously the Leominster Hoard) was publicised in 2019 following a lengthy police investigation. When HMAG acquired the hoard in 2022 it was the most important acquisition made in the museum’s history. For the county, the hoard represents is the single most important archaeological find of the past 50 years. 

The Conservation Management Plan expanded on the understanding of the heritage asset, with an assessment of the history of the building and the significance of the collections and programme actions. Risks and opportunities were also described in depth with an action plan devised according to key aims and objectives.

View the successful project here:

Hereford Museum and Art Gallery revamp receives £5m National Lottery funding boost | The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Millions in lottery money for ‘world-class’ Hereford museum | Hereford Times

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-66226011

Results

The Conservation Management Plan was prepared to inform decisions appropriate to the care and continuing development of the Museum & Art Gallery. It identified the significance of the building and its collections and the principles and policies considered necessary to manage change, alterations and maintenance so that the significance of the building may be enjoyed by future generations