Anelay revives Sculpture Park Chapel

Building restoration specialists William Anelay Ltd has just completed two key phases of restoration work at Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s Grade II* listed St Bartholomew’s Chapel in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The initial phase of the project began in August 2013 and ran over a six-month period encompassing masonry, re-roofing, external decorations and groundworks to make the chapel watertight. A second phase was initiated later in the year to provide improvements to lighting, heating and ventilation.

The Chapel, built by Sir William Wentworth in 1744, has now been transformed into a versatile gallery and arts space and will play host to a diverse programme of events and exhibitions. Funding for the project has come from English Heritage, Country Houses Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation, The Headley Trust, The Pilgrim Trust, the Holbeck Charitable Trust, The Leche Trust, The John S Cohen Foundation, Sir George Martin Trust, Kenneth Hargreaves Charitable Trust, Linden Charitable Trust, Jill Franklin Trust, and generous visitor donations..

The first exhibition in the chapel and courtyard, an installation by leading contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, opens on Saturday 24 May 2014.

William Anelay’s Contracts Manager Nigel Kynaston commented “This is a wonderful and much loved chapel within the grounds of Yorkshire Sculpture Park that required some urgent refurbishment.”

“The most recent phase has involved a lot of structural repairs, the installation of underfloor heating, repaving and the incorporation of an environmentally friendly air source heat pump.”

“We’re delighted to have played our part in preserving such an important building which will be enjoyed by thousands of visitors in the years to come” added Nigel.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is the leading international centre for modern and contemporary sculpture. It is an independent charitable trust and registered museum (number 1067908) situated in the 500-acre, 18th-century Bretton Hall estate in West Yorkshire.

Founded in 1977 by Executive Director Peter Murray, YSP was the first sculpture park in the UK, and is the largest of its kind in Europe, providing the only place in the world to see Barbara Hepworth’s The Family of Man in its entirety alongside a significant collection of sculpture, including bronzes by Henry Moore, and site-specific works by Andy Goldsworthy, David Nash and James Turrell. YSP’s core work is made possible by investment from Arts Council England, Wakefield Council and Sakurako and William Fisher.

One of the UK’s few dedicated building restoration contractors William Anelay Ltd has helped to preserve many of the Nations most treasured architectural landmarks as well as undertaking prestigious commercial and residential projects across the British Isles and Europe.

William Anelay Ltd was established in 1747 and is one of the oldest construction companies in the world. Based in York and Manchester, the company employs over 100 staff.

For more details visit www.williamanelay.co.uk and www.ysp.co.uk