Bury Transport Museum - The History of the museum

The History of the museum

There has been great progress with the Transport Museum project. East Lancs. Railway was successful in its bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund and received a grant of £1.6 million of a total project cost of £2.9 million. Additional funding has come from the North West Development Agency, Bury Council, PEC Biffaward, The East Lancashire Railway and the East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society.

Here's a quick summary of what's been going on at Castlecroft.

Stabilising the building - November 2008 to December 2009

The building restoration began in November 2008 and has been undertaken by a building restoration company called Irwins.

The roof is now structurally safe after replacing and repairing the rotten joists caused by standing rain water over the years. The new roof is re-using the slates from the old roof where possible and is now water tight.
On the stone work inside and outside, the old lime mortar has been raked out and re-pointed with new. The stone work has then been whitewashed on the inside to resemble how the building would have looked originally, when it was built in 1848.
The 12 sliding doors have been repaired or replaced. As the building is listed with grade II status, English Heritage insisted that the restored doors should be able to open and function as they would have done in 1848.
On the floor the cobbles have been cleaned out, and where necessary re-laid to make the floor as level as possible to comply with DDA guidelines.
During the building works the east wall (where the front entrance of the museum is) was found to be leaning inwards by 370mm! This has been made safe by securing the wall to the new self supporting structure, which comprises the reception area and second floor education room suite.
Practical completion of the building was signed off on the 7th December.

Museum Fitout - January 2010 to March 2010

Headland, the interpretation and design company, have an eight week schedule to install the interpretation, interactive and information panels. During this time we will also be returning the collection of vehicles and related items back to the Castlecroft site. Currently these objects are in storage in Bolton.
The new museum will look very different from the one that closed in 2003. It will have hands-on interactives explaining the development of transport in the North West region, how the goods shed was used and the types of materials that would have passed through. The museum is geared towards a family audience and there will be a varied events programme through the year to cater for them.
The museum will be opening at the end of March 2010.

Facilities

We have a purpose built education room with modern facilities for use with school groups visiting the museum. The room will also be available for hire to local groups.
The museum is fully accessible for visitors in wheelchairs with lifts to the platform levels and second floor education room. There will be blue badge parking alongside the museum building for easy access to the entrance.

Outside exhibition and events yard

The outside area in front of the museum will be landscaped and used as an exhibition area for vehicles from our collection during events. Visitors will be able to get close to working exhibits and see them in action.
It will also give us the opportunity to work in partnership with other local attractions, such as the Fusilier's Museum and Bury Art Gallery and Museum, using the yard as a community exhibition space.
There will be a picnic area for school groups and visitors to used in the warmer months.

CASTLECROFT GOODS WAREHOUSE, CASTLECROFT ROAD, BURY, BL9 0LN
Home page History of the museum About the museum How to find us & Contacts Education programmes Events Opening times & prices Become a volunteer Employment at the museum Bus 188 Appeal Locate a Slate Latest news	The History of the museum There has been great progress with the Transport Museum project. East Lancs. Railway was successful in its bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund and received a grant of £1.6 million of a total project cost of £2.9 million. Additional funding has come from the North West Development Agency, Bury Council, PEC Biffaward, The East Lancashire Railway and the East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society. Here's a quick summary of what's been going on at Castlecroft. Stabilising the building - November 2008 to December 2009 The building restoration began in November 2008 and has been undertaken by a building restoration company called Irwins. The roof is now structurally safe after replacing and repairing the rotten joists caused by standing rain water over the years. The new roof is re-using the slates from the old roof where possible and is now water tight. On the stone work inside and outside, the old lime mortar has been raked out and re-pointed with new. The stone work has then been whitewashed on the inside to resemble how the building would have looked originally, when it was built in 1848. The 12 sliding doors have been repaired or replaced. As the building is listed with grade II status, English Heritage insisted that the restored doors should be able to open and function as they would have done in 1848. On the floor the cobbles have been cleaned out, and where necessary re-laid to make the floor as level as possible to comply with DDA guidelines. During the building works the east wall (where the front entrance of the museum is) was found to be leaning inwards by 370mm! This has been made safe by securing the wall to the new self supporting structure, which comprises the reception area and second floor education room suite. Practical completion of the building was signed off on the 7th December. Museum Fitout - January 2010 to March 2010 Headland, the interpretation and design company, have an eight week schedule to install the interpretation, interactive and information panels. During this time we will also be returning the collection of vehicles and related items back to the Castlecroft site. Currently these objects are in storage in Bolton. The new museum will look very different from the one that closed in 2003. It will have hands-on interactives explaining the development of transport in the North West region, how the goods shed was used and the types of materials that would have passed through. The museum is geared towards a family audience and there will be a varied events programme through the year to cater for them. The museum will be opening at the end of March 2010. Facilities We have a purpose built education room with modern facilities for use with school groups visiting the museum. The room will also be available for hire to local groups. The museum is fully accessible for visitors in wheelchairs with lifts to the platform levels and second floor education room. There will be blue badge parking alongside the museum building for easy access to the entrance. Outside exhibition and events yard The outside area in front of the museum will be landscaped and used as an exhibition area for vehicles from our collection during events. Visitors will be able to get close to working exhibits and see them in action. It will also give us the opportunity to work in partnership with other local attractions, such as the Fusilier's Museum and Bury Art Gallery and Museum, using the yard as a community exhibition space. There will be a picnic area for school groups and visitors to used in the warmer months.
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