Published: Thursday, 7th August 2025
The borough council has secured a grant of £721,330 from Historic England towards its internationally-significant cultural heritage project to breathe new life into St George’s Guildhall.
St George’s, in King’s Lynn, is set to be sensitively preserved and enhanced as a local, regional and international centre for arts, creativity and theatre for everyone to enjoy, as the flagship scheme of the King’s Lynn Town Deal regeneration programme.
The transformational Guildhall and Creative Hub project will see the medieval venue, empty buildings and courtyards revived as inspiring, welcoming spaces, creating a heritage destination, new food and drink offer, home for creative industries and year-round programme of performances, events and education programmes.
This funding announcement comes after Full Council voted last month to give the final approval to proceed with the scheme. After months of detailed project development work, the main works are due to start this autumn, with the site reopening in 2028.
The grant will enable critical roof repairs and infrastructure upgrades, addressing severe damp issues. The grant will also ensure that newly rediscovered roof timbers, removed in the 1960s, will be renovated and replaced. These timbers include a sculpted crown post truss from 1401.
The restoration is the first phase of a programme to ensure long-term sustainability for this medieval theatre space. Combined with a £350,000 Towns Fund investment, this project forms the centrepiece of the Town Deal regeneration programme.
Councillor Simon Ring, Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Business, said: “This grant is most welcome and a major boost to our internationally-significant conservation project to breathe new life into St George’s Guildhall, the UK’s oldest working theatre and the only theatre left that can credibly claim to have hosted William Shakespeare himself.
“We are moving ahead with our exciting Town Deal vision to sensitively preserve and enhance this theatre and surrounding site as a year-round local, regional and international centre for heritage, the arts, creativity and theatre, which will bring so much for our residents, young people, visitors, economy and creative scene.
“The Heritage at Risk grant is to fund the majority of the Guildhall Roof Restoration project which is part of our wider programme of work. It will ensure that the roof is repaired and restored and missing beams are reinserted after being sensitively conserved.
“The roof restoration is critical to the revival of the wider site and the truly unique, inspiring and profound opportunities it will unlock, ensuring St George’s Guildhall is environmentally sound and keeping the much-loved venue safe for future generations. We’d like to thank Historic England for their amazing support and look forward to further positive funding announcements for St George’s.”
The Guildhall is one of just 37 sites in England and six historic places in the East of England to be awarded grants from the £15m Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, led by Historic England and funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The one-year fund prioritises heritage sites serving disadvantaged communities and which demonstrate strong local benefits, from job creation to cultural events. The fund operates alongside Historic England’s existing Heritage at Risk programme, targeting sites requiring immediate action to prevent further deterioration.