Oldest UK museum to shut its doors

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The Ashmolean Museum will be shut to the public from 23 December to November 2009 for a £61m revamp. Once refurbished, the museum will have 39 new galleries, a new education centre and Oxford’s first rooftop cafe.

Construction work began in 2006 and is funded with support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Linbury Trust. It has had a minimal impact on visitor access to the collections on display, but in 2009, builders will need to undertake the major work of constructing a new front entrance. Only the shop will remain open for business.

The new building was designed by award-winning architect Rick Mather.

The Ashmolean was founded by Oxford University in 1683. The museum features collections covering a wide range of cultures from early Egyptian to Italian Renaissance and 20th Century European art.

BBC News

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Tags: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Exhibitions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.