Worksop: Harley Gallery’s exciting £5m revamp begins to take shape

It is hoped that the new Gallery will be open to the public in 2016.

The new building will consist of a glazed entrance pavilion and two gallery spaces, with a fresh new look for the courtyard itself.

The main gallery spaces will be housed in a new structure, nestled between the Victorian walls. A top lit, barrel vaulted roof will filter light into the long gallery. A broad variety of pieces from the beautiful Portland Collection will be on show in a large gallery space.

The budget for the project is £5 million.

Lisa Gee, gallery director, said: “The building works now are at an exciting stage and we can start to see the shape of the new gallery.”

“ It’s got asoaring roof structure and skylights which should provide some really dramatic “lighting for the paintings and decorative arts we’ll be showing.”

“We hope that many people from the area will want to visit and enjoy these works of art, which have been collected by the owners of Welbeck over the last 400 years.”

The new Gallery will be situated next to the existing Harley Gallery, within the walls of the Victorian Tan Gallop. Recently, this area has been used for storage. It was originally built as a covered area where the Welbeck Estate’s race horses could be trained in winter or poor weather.

The Portland Collection, which will be shown in the new building, is the historic fine and decorative arts collections of the Cavendish-Bentinck family.

The Portland Collection includes examples from some of the most highly regarded artists of each era.

The new gallery, like the Harley Gallery, will offer free admission when it opens.