Restoring the Almonry

In 2016, Historic England placed the Almonry on the Heritage At Risk Register. The register helps to identify buildings that are at risk of being lost, in the case of the Almonry through decay.

You can read our listing on the Heritage At Risk Register on the Historic England website.

Last year we were fortunate enough to recieve funding from Historic England via the Culture Recovery Fund to pay for a series of in depth surveys on the fabric of the building.

Over 2 days, surveyors and historic building experts took measurements, photos and analysed nearly every inch of the Almonry. The reports show that the Almonry now needs full restoration to preserve it.

The scope of the restoration is huge. Examples of the work needed include the Costwold stone roof that has reached the end of it’s life and needs to be completely replaced. Parts of the timber frame will need replacing and modern cement mortar that has been used to repoint the stonework will need removing.

We have been repairing the Almonry as and when necessary but now we need to press ahead with a full restoration project.

What would the project involve?

Alongside the restoration of the building, we want to refurbish the museum. This means new energy efficient lighting and heating throughout the building. We will refurbish the museum with new display cases, new displays and exhibtion areas and refit our musuem stores. We will also remodel the gift shop and Tourist Information Centre and improve our toilet facilities. One of the most important aspects of the project will be to look at our accessibility; as a Grade 1 listed medieval building it’s not easy to make our building accessible to everyone so we will look at digital technologies and work with other mueums and experts to ensure we can share our stories with a broader audience.

What happens now?

We have been invited to apply for a major grant to repair and restore the fabric of this beautiful C14th building.

Because of the size of the project we are looking at doing the work in 2 phases. Phase one will be ther restoration phase, ensuring the Almonry remains standing for another 600 years.

The second phase of the project will be a full refurbishment of the museum, stores, shop, reception, and Tourist Information Centre. 

How can you help?

As part of our research and preparation we will be conducting a series of community consultation activities over the next 12-18 months.

Over the next few years we will be putting on events and activities to raise money to support the restoration fund. If you have any ideas or want to help in any way please contact the Almonry Manager, Ashleigh Jayes ashleigh@almonryevesham.org

Fundraising Events

Pilgrimage to Evesham – Clive and Matt raised over £1000 by completing a pilgrimage from Tewkesbury Abbey to the Almonry over the Easter weekend 2022. Huge thanks to Clive and Matt who were exhausted when they arrived!