Swindon & Wiltshire News
Wiltshire Museum raises first £1 million to bring Devizes Assize Court back to life
Plans to bring the long-abandoned Devizes Assize Court back to life as a new home for Wiltshire Museum have hit a fundraising milestone.
The Museum announced today (Thursday) that it had received two pledges from major foundations in late 2024.
The Rothschild Foundation and The Julia Rausing Trust have both awarded £500,000 towards the restoration of the Assize Court building as the new, sustainable, home for the Museum.
Peter Troughton, chair of the Devizes Assize Court Trust, said These are exceptional pledges which will help towards our ambitious fundraising target, needed to support the next phase of our ambitious project.
An application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund will be submitted in summer 2025 for the major funding which will be needed to make the project a reality.
Over the next six months, Wiltshire Museum will be preparing applications to more Trusts and Foundations, as well as seeking support from philanthropists and benefactors, to provide the additional match-funding needed.
If successful, work will start on the Assize Court building in 2026, with a target opening date of 2030.
A major public fundraising appeal will be launched once the major commitment from The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been secured.
In the meantime, members of the public can support the project by joining the Wiltshire Museum, and becoming a member of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society – the charity that runs the Museum.
Members are already supporting this phase of the project, investing over £30,000 each year.
The Devizes Assize Court was built in 1835 and has been derelict since the 1980s. It has been on Historic England’s ‘Heritage At Risk register’ since the scheme’s inception in 1988.
With stunning treasures from the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site, Wiltshire Museum in Devizes is home to the best Bronze Age archaeology collection in Britain.
