THE LORD Leycester Hospital has won a prestigious award following a multi-million restoration.
The collection of grade I and II listed buildings which are unique in England, has been named best heritage project in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors West Midlands regional awards.
The 700 year-old High Street building, home for service veterans known as the brethren, reopened to the public last August following a major 18-month restoration project costing some £4.5million – £2million of which came from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The project included a revamped visitor experience telling the story of the site, and also of the residents past and present, who have lived there.
Visitors can now see parts of the buildings previously off-limit, and there is also new-look cafe-shop,
Dr Heidi Meyer, who is the Lord Leycester’s first female master, said: “It has been a long road to get to this point but we could not have done it without local community support and our major funders – we are deeply grateful to them.”
Down the centuries, the Lord Leycester buildings have served the people of Warwick in many ways – as the centre of the town’s medieval guilds and civic governance, a place of education and, from 1571 when Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth I’s closest adviser founded a home for military veterans, the master and brethren.
The Lord Leycester, which has had a continuous community since the 13th century, is acknowledged as one of the finest authentic examples of a medieval timber-framed building in the British Isles and also one of the most important medieval sites in the world.
During its history, it has attracted royalty, international tourists and local people while also maintaining a philanthropic tradition.
The regional winners have now been shortlisted for the RICS Awards Final in October.
