Long-awaited North Wing works begin
Work to restore our Grade I listed North Wing, with its Great Hall and staircase painted by William Hogarth, is underway.
Following a period of detailed planning and preparation, a team of conservation joiners, led by master woodcarver Robert Randall (pictured below), began removing the oak floorboards from the Great Hall, to be lovingly repaired in time for reopening in late 2025.
Later this month, scaffolding will be erected around the building in order to replace the roof and clean the external stonework. 
Specialist paint conservators Stephen Paine and Sophie Stewart, who led the conservation of the Painted Hall in Greenwich, will focus on the famous Hogarth artwork and Great Hall interior, bringing these precious spaces back to life.
The two-year £9.5 million Sharing Historic Barts project is being led by Barts Heritage who have leased the building from Barts Health on a long-term basis.
From this summer, Barts Heritage will run conservation tours, allowing staff members and the public to view the works, and the skilled craftsmen and women, up close.
They will also launch an exciting programme of activities that combine heritage and health.
Barts Heritage chief executive Will Palin said: “It is wonderful to have finally got underway. Huge thanks to all our supporters, led by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and to the superb Barts ‘family’ including our Friends and Patrons Circle.”
More information about the tours, including how to join a tour and volunteer to help run them, will be available in due course.