30 October 2024

Historic Norfolk has received Listed Building Consent and Planning Permission for its proposal to create a modern extension to Becket’s Chapel.

The new extension will provide much needed improved facilities, including a kitchen/café, accessible toilet, and a Visitor Information Point, ensuring that the building is equipped to offer enhanced community use and to promote Wymondham as a heritage destination, encouraging more visitors to the town.

The chapel – parts of which date back to the twelfth century – will be available throughout the year for a variety of uses, including art exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events, meetings and fairs.  The work will cost in excess of £1million.

This is a ground-breaking project which for the first time in Norfolk aims to demonstrate how historic buildings can be adapted to meet the challenges of climate change. Working closely with Historic England, we have already taken steps in the first phase of the project to retrofit the chapel, raising the roof to incorporate insulation, removing the concrete flooring and installing underfloor insulation and heating. The new extension will include the addition of air-source heat pumps to replace the old gas boiler and discreet solar panels on the south-facing roof to provide cheap electricity. These measures will ensure that Becket’s Chapel is both environmentally and economically sustainable for future generations of Wymondham residents and visitors alike.

Historic Norfolk is grateful to Historic England for its technical and financial support for the project so far and to the Architectural Heritage Fund for grant funding the development of the proposal for the extension.