Bedford Gallery reopens after £2.5m revamp
A Grade II-listed gallery in Bedfordshire, which dates back to 1841 and has been closed to the public since the 1970s, has been reopened following the completion of a £2.5m refurbishment.
The revamp of the Bedford Gallery marks the first phase of a wider £11.3m regeneration scheme designed to unite the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Bedford Museum buildings as part of a new flagship complex for the town. Funding for the Bedford Gallery scheme was provided by the Department of Local Government and Communities together with Bedford Borough Council, which was used to remodel to building in order to provide more than 200sq m (2,152sq ft) of temporary exhibition space.
Work on the facility was carried out by architects Peter Inskip and Peter Jenkins, which has included the installation of a new public staircase to link the upper and lower galleries to Cecil Higgins Art Gallery. The building's roof carpentry and early iron windows have also been restored.