Northampton's Delapre Abbey restoration work wins award

Northampton Borough Council and builders Robert Woodhead Ltd have been named winners at this year’s Constructing Excellence in the East Midlands Awards for their work on the restoration of Delapre Abbey.

The £6.1m restoration of the Grade II* listed 12th Century building - supported by £3.6m from the Heritage Lottery Fund - was delivered by the Robert Woodhead’s conservation specialist company, Woodhead Heritage and was handed the Preservation and Rejuvenation Award.

Cllr Tim Hadland, Northampton Borough Council cabinet member for regeneration, enterprise and planning, said: “Delapre Abbey is very unusual as it is an urban country house, set in beautiful gardens and parkland only five minutes from the centre of the county town.

“The stunning restoration brings to life nine centuries of history, and visitors will be free to explore everything that it has to offer.”

The project has engaged hundreds of people in the repair and conservation process.

Working with the Delapre Abbey Preservation Trust, the Woodhead Heritage team also worked to engage the public with a programme of events.

This included supporting a documentary film of the project produced by local schoolchildren, 26 talks on the project delivered to local groups, four public heritage skills open days and over 600 people taken on hard-hat tours.

Craig Pygall, Construction Director for Robert Woodhead Ltd, said: “We’re delighted to be able to share this award with Northampton Borough Council.

“Every project we work on is very much treated as a partnership, we all have shared goals and aim to deliver these to a high standard - congratulations to everyone involved.”