In 2016 we unveiled a bold yet sympathetic new gallery at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire, creating a fitting home for one of the UK’s finest private collections. The scheme blends existing and new facilities into a welcoming and coherent courtyard hub for visitors to the historic estate.
Blending the best of old and new in materials, light and volumes, The Portland Collection gallery is set within the limestone walls of a magnificent, semi-ruined 19th Century indoor racing course (called the Tan Gallop), with spatial sequences and lighting carefully calibrated to suit the eclectic collection of paintings, tapestries, sculpture and jewellery.
A steel and glass entrance pavilion brings an unashamedly contemporary touch while enriching connections across the site thanks to orientation, materials and glazing.
The original Tan Gallop end wall marks the start of the main, 22m Long Gallery, featuring a dramatic, barrel-vaulted zinc roof. Diffused daylight from a full-length rooflight gently illuminates the oil portraits below.
At the far end, a glittering vitrine filled with gold and silver draws visitors through the oak floored gallery and around, to reveal three smaller, more intimate spaces.
Two of these are lit by north lights while one features low ceilings and controlled lighting perfect for displaying miniatures. With this variety of spaces, we solved display challenges raised by the eclectic 11,000 objects amassed over 400 years by the Cavendish-Bentinck family including paintings by Michelangelo, Van Dyck and Stubbs.
The walls of this steel-framed building are clad in pale, handmade Danish brick selected to harmonise with the weathered limestone. The entrance pavilion includes a disabled toilet and a toplit staircase down to a basement featuring public toilets, staff areas and lockers.
Our original, 2012 competition-winning proposal evolved significantly thanks to close collaboration with the client William Parente.
Process
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Site axonometric view
Gallery plan
Cross section
