Ipswich Museum: Yoxman sculptor backs petition to stop changes

Ipswich Museum opened in 1881 on High Street

A sculptor has backed calls for changes to a Grade II* listed museum building to be stopped.

A proposed £8.7m project to revamp the Ipswich Museum in Suffolk is due to start in the autumn.

Sculptor Laurence Edwards said images of the proposed changes "scared the life out of me".

Ipswich Borough Council said some of the images may have been "misleading" and original features would be kept.

Critics of the redevelopment feared the proposals would be "unsympathetic" to the architecture and exhibits of the Victorian museum, which was built in 1881.

The council said the planned changes include a coffee shop, better facilities, improved accessibility and better educational spaces.

Laurence Edwards, pictured with Yoxman, says the natural history gallery is a "jewel in the crown of the country" for that type of exhibit

Mr Edwards, known for sculptures including the Yoxman Statue at Yoxford on the A12, said a key feature of the museum was how it had been largely unchanged in the past 140 years.

"To see the plans that were put forward, trying to change what was called a fusty old room, which to me is almost like a Fabergé egg in its rarity, was really terrifying," he said.

"I saw re-rendering and re-imagining of the whole space. For me, the main gallery at the natural history section of the museum is an absolute jewel in the crown in the country."

Among items of concern were the natural history gallery's original wooden cabinets which house most of the exhibits.

Critics of the redevelopment were worried features like the original wooden cabinets might be lost

Mr Edwards said: "The cabinets have been there for 140 years with creatures and stuffed animals - I mean effectively this is a museum of a museum."

He urged the council to "tread carefully" and said the natural history gallery in particular was a "rare room now" as museums have been modernised and changed over the years.

Carole Jones, portfolio holder for museums at the authority, denied that parts of the redevelopment would remove original features from the building.

Ms Jones said: "This is a Grade II listed building - it's purpose built, it's very precious to Ipswich."

Ipswich Borough Council said the building's original features and exhibits would be protected

She said the redevelopment would open up spaces, make it lighter and allow for more exhibits, currently in storage, to go on display.

"The Victorian architecture absolutely remains, the natural history gallery remains," said Ms Jones.

"The cabinets that are original to the building are precious and important and part of the listing, so they will remain and even if we could, we would not dream of removing them."

She apologised if drawings on the website were "misleading" but said they were "not representative" of what was happening in the space, as consultations would continue during the redevelopment process.