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£30m plan for theatre that hosted Shakespeare

Clare Worden
BBC News, King's Lynn
BBC Susan and Roger Brown are standing in a doorway of the medieval Guildhall doorway. She is wearing a teal raincoat and black trousers and has grey bobbed hair. He is wearing a crimson raincoat and blue jeans. Both wear glasses. BBC
Susan and Roger Brown visiting King's Lynn from Huddersfield said they had no idea of the building's historical significance

Plans to turn Britain's oldest working theatre into an international visitor attraction are being considered by local councillors.

The stage at St George's Guildhall in King's Lynn is thought to have once hosted Shakespeare himself.

The project would preserve the venue and develop the surrounding medieval buildings and courtyards.

It is expected to cost £30.5m with some of the funding yet to be secured.

St George's is the country's largest surviving medieval guildhall.

The plans include renovating the whole complex containing the theatre, two barns and internal courtyards backing onto the quayside.

External view of St George's Guildhall in King's Lynn. The roof is a triangle shape and it is made of bricks of a wide range of shades of red, brown and black. It has two vaulted doorways and signage at the front explaining what is happening at the building.
The Guildhall building is owned by the National Trust and is leased to West Norfolk Council
PA Media Broken wooden floorboards across a theatre spacePA Media
Work on the theatre floor at St George's revealed the old wooden boards once graced by the Bard himself

Visitors to King's Lynn had mixed views about whether the renovation should take place.

Laurence and Elizabeth Donovan were visiting the town from their home near Stratford, the renowned birthplace of the Bard.

Mr Donovan said: "King's Lynn is loaded with historical buildings.

"Shakespeare will never go out of fashion so I think this investment is a good idea."

Mrs Donovan said: "In Stratford people come from all over the world because of Shakespeare."

Susan and Roger Brown visited King's Lynn from Huddersfield.

Mrs Brown said: "It's a lot of money. I think it could be better spent elsewhere."

Mr Brown added: "It's alright spending £30m but you have to think about the catchment. Will you get thousands of visitors as a result?"

Project papers suggest 77,000 extra visitors could come to the town to visit the Guildhall once the work is completed and the site reopens in 2028.

Laurence and Elizabeth Donovan stand across the road from St Georges Guildhall. He is wearing a blue t-shirt and sweater. She is wearing a navy fleece and a turquoise top under. They both have grey hair.
Laurence and Elizabeth Donovan said it was important to preserve the town's history

The project - expected to cost £30.5m - is led by the King's Lynn Town Board, which is funded from central government, supported by West Norfolk Council.

More than £8m has been agreed via the Town Deal scheme, with the council seeking a further £2m from them.

Full details of where the rest of the money will come from has not been released as it is deemed commercially sensitive.

A meeting of the council's regeneration and development panel on 1 July heard that the council could borrow in the region of £16m towards the project.

St George's Guildhall is owned by The National Trust and leased by West Norfolk Council until 2050.

The trust is not contributing to the cost of the project but is supporting them with "advice and expertise".

In a statement to the BBC they said: "We want to see the future of this historic building secured.

"However, we have been clear from the start that the National Trust is a charity with limited resources, and the council would need to seek external funding to support their plans for this ambitious multi-million-pound project.

"This is the same approach we take for our own large-scale restoration projects."

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