Abbey set for 'once-in-a-generation' restoration

A trust has been awarded a £4m grant to carry out a "once-in-a-generation" restoration of 12th Century abbey buildings.

The Abingdon Abbey Buildings in Oxfordshire are each Grade I listed and comprise the Unicorn Theatre, Checker, Undercroft and Long Gallery.

The owner, Friends of Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust, said the three-year project was needed to make sure everyone could access the site all year round.

In addition to the grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the trust needs to raise £1.2m in match funding to start planning the works, which it hopes to do by the summer.

The trust said that the Abingdon Abbey Buildings were all that remained following the dissolution of the "once great Abingdon Abbey by Henry VIII in 1538".

They had been used for a variety of purposes since the dissolution, principally as a brewery and a grain store.

"The last big renovation happened between 1944, when the buildings were rescued from demolition, and 1954, when they were opened to the public," said Gregory Bensberg MBE, chair of the trust.

"Since then, we've done a number of upgrades in the 70s and 80s to bring it back up to speed, but nothing really for the last 20-30 years, so this is a big thing."

He said that putting wheelchair lifts and accessible stairs "just wasn't affordable" in the past and there had been less demand "whereas nowadays it's essential".

Planned enhancements include installing windows to fully weatherproof the Long Gallery for year-round use and a new glass-fronted lobby in The Unicorn Theatre with retractable seating and disabled toilets.

Its application for a National Lottery funded upgrade project was approved in March, which Mr Bensberg said the trust was "absolutely delighted" about.

He said they had raised £700,000 of the needed £1.2m match funding so far and would be launching a public campaign to help with the rest.

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