Former workhouse to get lotto cash in £2.5m grant

The Ripon Workhouse Museum will benefit from the funding with restoration work to the structure of the building

A leaky roof in a former Victorian workhouse will be fixed after a multimillion-pound grant was awarded to the charity behind its operation as a museum.

Ripon Museums Trust, which runs the Workhouse site plus two others in the North Yorkshire city, said it would use the £2.5m National Lottery grant to carry out essential repairs.

The trust said the money would also allow them to join up activity across all three museums.

Director Alexa Vernon said: "It's not every day you get £2.5m, so we're really, really pleased."

Children and volunteers dressed in Victorian costume explore life as a workhouse inmate at the site

Ms Vernon, who is also in charge of the city's Prison and Police plus Courthouse museums said the grant was "great news for Ripon and a real vote of confidence for the city".

"We've been working on this project for years. The Workhouse Museum roof is leaking, it is really in a state of disrepair.

"So there's a lot of capital works to safeguard that heritage and a big chunk of the money is going to do that.

"There is no way we could raise enough funds to fix the buildings without a grant like this."

The workhouse building needs urgent conservation work

Ms Vernon said they would be also be employing two members of staff to work with more diverse audiences.

"This will mean we'd do more activities and get people engaged more with the museums."

The £2.5m grant is part of a £30m handout to 15 projects across the UK by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

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