A £4.5m lottery grant has been awarded to refurbish Glasgow's Kelvin Hall.

The historic building will be transformed into a major museum facility.

Once completed, the building will provide public access to around 1.5 million objects from Glasgow's civic collection and Glasgow University's Hunterian Museum.

It will also be home to the National Library of Scotland's Scottish Screen Archive and have a new role as a cultural, research and training centre.

The project is a joint endeavour between Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life, Glasgow University and the National Library of Scotland.

One of its aims will be to create safe, secure and publicly accessible museum storage for the internationally-important Hunterian and Glasgow museum's collections. As many as 1.5 million objects, which are currently stored in different locations around the city, will be relocated to the new Kelvin Hall.


Among the exhibits, is the only surviving complete suite of interiors by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for Mrs Cranston's Ingram Street tearooms.

In addition, the National Library of Scotland's Scottish Screen Archive - with more than 100 years of Scottish history on film and video - will also be at home in the refurbished venue. There are plans also being developed for a new digital portal so that all three partners will be able to bring their collections together online.

The Kelvin Hall will also continue to house sports facilities, with plans for a state-of-the-art Glasgow Club included as part of the redevelopment.

Colin McLean, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland, said: "The Kelvin Hall is a hugely popular building, much loved by the people of Glasgow and beyond so it is fitting that the lottery playing public have had a hand in securing its future.

"This is a groundbreaking project which brings together civic, university and national heritage collections for the first time in the UK. The Heritage Lottery Fund is delighted to be part of such an inspired partnership."

Councillor Archie Graham, the Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow Life, added: "The Kelvin Hall is a historic Glasgow institution which has been home to world-class sporting events and housed our outstanding transport collection.

"This ambitious project will breathe new life into what is already a vibrant museums quarter with Kelvingrove, the Hunterian and Riverside museums nearby.

"I'm delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has recognised the strength of our partnership with the University of Glasgow and National Library of Scotland and we continue to move towards our shared ambition of creating a world-class cultural and sports destination at the Kelvin Hall."

(JP/IT)