Wymondham’s historic centre will be given a major boost by restoration of medieval Becket’s Chapel.

This month Becket’s Chapel will begin its journey of transformation into a major community hub and visitor centre in the heart of historic Wymondham, following a successful fundraising campaign by the Norfolk Historic Buildings Trust (NHBT).

NHBT’s proposal to restore Becket’s Chapel began in 2014 when Judith Harwood, long time Wymondham resident and now Chair of NHBT, saw the need to restore the Grade I listed chapel as an important opportunity for revitalising the town centre. Working with the present owners of the Chapel, the Wymondham Old Grammar School Trust, and the long-term tenants, the Wymondham Arts Forum, she and her NHBT colleagues set about investigating the history and fabric of the Chapel and seeking funding. NHBT has a successful history of restoring some of Norfolk’s most important historic buildings and was able to bring a wealth of specialist knowledge and expertise to the project. Early support from the nationally based Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) enabled the viability case to be made for the conservation and sustainable re-use of the Chapel.

Their support has continued with AHF and Historic England providing development funding, and more recently major grants: £400k from Historic England and £100k from AHF to enable the £625k first phase of the restoration project to commence this autumn. Other trusts including Norwich Freemen’s Charity, the Pilgrim Trust, the Headley Trust and the Geoffrey Watling Charity have also made generous contributions to the project funding.

Wymondham Town Council has also lent its support for what will be a net zero approach to conservation, a first for a medieval building of this quality. It is anticipated that the Visitor Information Point will be relocated to the restored Chapel making it the focal point for visiting the historic town centre.

The first phase of the project will restore the chapel’s fabric and should see it removed from the Heritage at Risk Register. The second, for which fundraising will commence this autumn, will provide the necessary resources to enable it to act as the hub of visitor activity with the Visitor Information Point, full disabled access and retail and catering facilities with the help of a modern extension. Energy saving initiatives will be introduced throughout the project including insulation and underfloor heating and, we hope in the second phase, a ground source heat pump and solar panels incorporated into the design of the extension.

More information about NHBT and this project can be found on their website, www.nhbt.org.uk