£1.5m Lottery boost for Thackray Medical Museum revamp

Artist's impression of a new Victorian operating theatre installation at the Thackray Medical Museum Credit: Thackray Medical Museum

A museum in Leeds has been awarded a £1.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help pay for a major refurbishment project.

The Thackray Medical Museum – attached to St James's Hospital – has also been awarded £1m from Wellcome, the charitable health foundation.

The money will go towards a £3.7m improvement programme of new exhibitions and updated visitor facilities, including a mock operating theatre, as well as essential repairs to the Grade II listed building.

Chief executive Joanne Bartholomew said: “Thackray Medical Museum is a major asset to Leeds and the Yorkshire region and with this money, raised by National Lottery players, we will be able to continue providing an inspirational and fascinating experience for thousands of visitors from all walks of life.”

Built in a former Victorian workhouse the Thackray Medical Museum opened in March 1997, has had over a million visitors and is home to more than 70,000 medical objects and books.