A £5m redevelopment at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum to showcase the museum’s collections from Ancient Egypt has been granted planning permission by Oxford City Council.
Work will begin immediately to transform the Egyptian galleries on the ground floor in the original Ashmolean building in Beaumont Street, designed by Charles Cockerell, dating from 1845.
Under the plan, the four existing Egyptian galleries will be refurbished. A fifth gallery will be created by transforming the Ruskin Gallery, which is used as the Ashmolean shop.
The Egyptian galleries will close on January 1 with new galleries expected to open in 12 months’ time.
Approval for the plan comes exactly a year after the ‘new Ashmolean’ was opened by the Queen following a £61m redevelopment.
The new Egyptian section will be designed by Rick Mather, the architect responsible for the award- winning museum extension.
The director of the Ashmolean, Dr Christopher Brown, said: “This will transform the Egyptian collections, one of the most important and popular parts of the Ashmolean.
“The work will address the problems of the old galleries, which have crowded displays, poor lighting and limited environmental controls.”
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