The Ashmolean Museum Broadway
Refurbishment of a 17th Century property into a Museum – Completed 2013
Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum is the first public museum to open in Britain, respected for its focus on quality research and development and part of the University of Oxford. In 2010 the Ashmolean took the opportunity to work with Worcestershire County Council and other local stakeholders to transform the 17th century former coaching inn in the Cotswold village of Broadway, known as ‘Tudor House’, into a new Museum – The Ashmolean Museum Broadway.
The building itself underwent a major physical refurbishment to ensure every aspect met the highest museum standards. The work took several months and involved skilled contractors to install the new electrical and security systems, which had to meet national museum standards. Just like the Arts and Crafts Architect, C.E.Mallows, who carried out the last major refurbishment in 1908, we carefully maintained all of the building’s beautiful, fascinating listed features.
The historic house itself has its own history and stories, so the objects for display were chosen from the Ashmolean collections, expanding on the themes of the property itself and keeping a local Cotswolds relevance. The museum opened to the public in autumn 2013 and achieved the accolade of being the most significant cultural contribution to Worcestershire in a generation. You can see more here, on the museum’s website (link to www.ashmoleanbroadway.org )
Praise for Monard’s work
“With such a sensitive and important project, the Ashmolean knew it had to use a well trusted and experienced contractor to oversee the extensive refurbishment works. The building needed rewiring and a substantial security system upgrade in order to meet the National Indemnity Standards for museums. Monard can also claim to be the first company to install a fire alarm system into this property, which has an age of over almost 400 years!”
Victoria McGuinness, Ashmolean Museum Project Manager (2007-2014)
Check the project out in the press: