Venue
Renovation of a former Antiques business to a Museum The Ashmolean has carried out in close partnership with Worcestershire County Council, Keil family as well as various regional organisations to convert this historical building in the Cotswold village of Broadway, Worcestershire, into an innovative independent museum: The Ashmolean Museum Broadway. Contractors from Highgate Construction Ltd were approached to conduct the work on the project and on initial inspection noted that the building required fire protection to bring it up to regulation standards of 60 minute fire integrity to BS 479 part 21: 1987 to protect the building in the case of fire. On contact with our key distributor Specialist Fire Solutions who advised and carried out the application of EP/CP intumescent coating system to upgrade the 285 sq metres of lath & plaster which will bring the building up to the above standards. Launched in September 2013, the new Museum is located in ‘Tudor House’ on the main High Street in Broadway. It is truly one of the most cherished and most desired villages in the Cotswolds and Tudor House is among its most significant buildings. Originally constructed in the seventeenth century as a coaching inn, it has been extended as well as modified over the centuries and functioned in a number of periods as part of a school, a farm, in addition to a private residential home for various owners, which includes Benjamin Chandler who renovated the property with the Arts and Crafts architect, CE Mallows, in 1908. For almost 80 years, it had been the headquarters for H.W. Keil Ltd, considered one of the prominent dealers in antique furniture in the world.
Hotelier & Hotel Design
The items on display are on loan from the Ashmolean Museum. They incorporate paintings and furniture from the founding collections of the Ashmolean, provided by Elias Ashmole to the University of Oxford in 1683.
54
The exhibits of fine art from the 17th to the 21st centuries span over three floors, and the collection includes local objects such as Sheldon tapestries, Worcester porcelain, Armorial Ceramics of Broadway families, William Morris tiles and Winchcombe Pottery. One can find paintings by Gainsborough, Reynolds, Millais and Landseer. The top floor comprises of a dedicated gallery for temporary exhibitions, offering local artists as well as community groups with the opportunity to host exhibits, education and outreach programmes.