Six of the best new HERITAGE ATTRACTIONS
Rhiannon Ba en rounds up an exciting selection of new and soon-to-reopen museums across the UK
Museum of Making, Derby
Built in 1721, and considered the world’s !rst modern factory, Derby Silk Mill is a key part of Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site, a blueprint for the many industrial se"lements that followed. Post restoration, the mill is reopening this spring as the Museum of Making. It will tell 300-plus years of industrious history through a collection of 30,000 objects, including the world’s tiniest engine (run with a human hair) and a jar of burgundy and black silk samples said to have been made at the mill itself. A cafe and shop will also be on site, as well as a Make Works facility, fostering local manufacture for artists, designers and makers. Silk Mill Lane, Derby, DE1 3AF (01332 641901; derbymuseums.org)
Boscobel House and The Royal Oak, Shropshire
Fresh from a renovation and re-planting of its oak pasture, this English Heritage site is reopening imminently. One-time hiding place of the future King Charles II as he #ed defeat at the Ba"le of Worcester in 1651, the property includes a timber-framed hunting lodge, formal gardens and a neatly preserved Victorian farmyard roamed by chickens. Having !rst hidden in an oak tree (today’s ‘Royal Oak’ is a descendant of the original), Charles spent the night in a priest’s hole within the lodge. Inspired by this history, visitors will be able to follow a new hide and seekthemed self-guided tour. Brewood, Bishop’s Wood, Shropshire, ST19 9AR (01902 850244; english-heritage.org.uk)
Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds
Aptly situated beside ‘Jimmy’s’ hospital, in a Grade II-listed former workhouse, the focus here is the history of medicine. First opened in 1997, the museum closed in 2019 for a £4m refurbishment and reopens this year with innovative galleries to display its collection of 50,000 medical objects, plus a new cafe and shop. Highlights include a range of Wilkinson English Del$ware apothecary jars, Prince Albert’s personal medicine chest and a selection of 18th and 19th-century surgical equipment, including some rather gruesome amputation knives, saws and trepanning instruments.
Beckett Street, Leeds, LS9 7LN
(0113 244 4343; thackraymuseum.co.uk)
Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln
One of Europe’s !nest Gothic buildings, Lincoln’s soaring Minster has long been appreciated for its beauty and cra"smanship. The writer John Ruskin went so far as to describe it as ‘out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles’. This year is an especially timely one to pay a visit – in spring the cathedral launches the results of its recently completed £16.5m conservation and construction project. You’ll now !nd a contemporary visitor centre, shop, cafe and contemplative outdoor space, which will make a !#ing entry point to the restored cathedral.
Lincoln Cathedral, Minster Yard, Lincoln, LN2 1PX (01522 561600; lincolncathedral.com)
Museum of Oxford, Oxford
It may not have the glitzy renown of Oxford’s Ashmolean or Pi# Rivers museums but this small institution shines. Sharing stories from Roman times to the present, it’s less about bringing global artefacts to Oxford and more about sharing the city’s curiosities with the world. From a silk suit made by a local fashion house for the premiere of Hugh Grant’s !rst movie, to an Elizabethan wall painting taken from a long-lost Oxford tavern, and a marmalade tin from then-local company Frank Coopers that travelled to Antarctica with Captain Sco#, it’s all here. Or will be from the autumn when the museum reopens following a major redesign. St Aldate’s, Oxford, OX1 1BX (01865 252334; museumofoxford.org)
No ingham Castle, No ingham
This legendary fortress, with its elegant 13th-century gatehouse, was built at the behest of William the Conqueror in 1068 and developed into a mighty royal residence in the Middle Ages before being mostly razed towards the end of the Civil War. A ducal palace later built on the site was destroyed in the 1830s by rioters angry at conditions in the then-industrial city’s slums. Rebuilt in 1875 and run as a museum and gallery, it closed in 2018 for a £30m refurbishment. Expect intriguing displays on everything from Robin Hood to the city’s lace trade, as well as redeveloped gallery spaces and an adventure playground.
Lenton Road, Nottingham, NG1 6EL (0115 876 1450; nottinghamcastle.org.uk)