St Mary’s Guildhall

What?

• The St Mary’s Guildhall is a Grade 1 listed building in the historic quayside area of Boston around the South Square. It reopened to the public in March 2008 after a conservation programme
• Constructed in the1390s, the Guildhall was originally the home of the St Mary’s Guild, the richest of Boston’s 13 medieval guilds. It has functioned as a courtroom, gaol, warehouse, museum, and even as a “British Restaurant” – serving cheap, nutritious food during WWII. It has been suggested that it was the site of the trial and imprisonment in 1607 of a group of religious separatists who became revered as the “Pilgrim Fathers”
• The Guildhall is the centrepiece of Boston's new Cultural Quarter. The building work has conserved the building, which is now fitted out with new visitor displays and interactive presentations that encourage people to discover the secrets of the building for themselves. The building has many stories to tell through interactive, audio and virtual reality exhibitions
• The re-opening of the Guildhall completes Boston Borough Council’s twin project to create contemporary exhibition galleries and museum collection storage at The Haven Gallery, opened in 2005, and to conserve and revive the 14th century Guildhall as a modern visitor attraction

When?

• Work began on site in February 2006 and took a year to complete
• The building was then left to dry out and stabilise before new visitor displays could be installed and the building re-opened to the public on 21 March 2008

How?

• Structural problems throughout the 1990s saw the Guildhall close in 2001. Recognising its cultural importance, Boston Borough Council set up the conservation project in order to develop the Guildhall into a modern visitor attraction based on the many stories it has to tell about the history of Boston
• Following an appraisal in 1997 a project team was assembled and funding sought towards the repair of the building
• The £1.2million renovation was funded by a variety of sources including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), Lincolnshire County Council, Lincolnshire Enterprise, and Boston Borough Council
• The Guildhall has also benefited from the support of the “Museumaker” project. Thanks to Museumaker, the Guildhall features a contemporary Virgin Mary sculpture designed by figurative ceramist Claire Curneen
• Consultation with local residents began from the outset of the project Meetings were held to discuss the detailed planning of the conservation and re-interpretation. Focus groups helped to refine the design proposals. This included asking people with disabilities for input to ensure access for all
• The Guildhall is fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), and a disabled lift was installed with the support of English Heritage. This is a considerable achievement in a Grade 1 listed 600 year old building

Summary

• The renovation of the Guildhall has created a vibrant visitor destination, which provides a focus to the new ‘Cultural Quarter’ in Boston. This includes a number of important cultural buildings and businesses including the remains of a Dominican Friary and the Sam Newsom Music Centre
• The project has created four full time jobs so far, and indirectly secured a further 12
• The repair and refurbishment of the Guildhall delivers one of the Council’s key corporate objectives, developing Boston and the surrounding area as a major shopping and visitor destination. The Guildhall, as part of the Cultural Quarter, is set to boost tourism in the area and help to stimulate the regeneration of the local economy. It meets social, cultural and community needs and enhances the quality of life for those who live in or visit Boston
• In May 2008 the Guildhall won two prestigious prizes at the gala ceremony of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Awards Regional Finals East Midlands. It was voted ‘Project of the Year in the East Midlands’ and won the ‘Building Conservation Award’
• The Guildhall has now been put forward for the RICS National Awards to take place in October 2008