Leicester City Council
Jewry Wall Museum
The challenge
A renewed past, a secure future
The Jewry Wall Museum, housed within the Grade II-listed Vaughan College, is a showcase for Leicestershire’s rich archaeological past. It sits adjacent to a site of national cultural significance – the Jewry Wall, Britain’s tallest surviving section of Roman masonry.
Pulse led the regeneration of the 1960s museum building – designed originally by Trevor Dannatt OBE – breathing new life into one of Midlands’ most admired cultural treasures.
The renewal turned a building whose fabric had been deteriorating into an accessible public asset, filled with state-of-art immersive exhibitions. While overcoming the insolvencies of two major contractors, Pulse Consult guided the Museum to a triumphant reopening in June 2025.
Credit: Martine Hamilton-Knight
The stats
3
key phases of transformation
2000
year old site renewed
100
Roman Artefacts housed
Credit: Martine Hamilton-Knight
The role we played
The mission of the project was to preserve and revitalise one of Leicester's most significant historical and cultural assets: to transform the Jewry Wall Museum into a modern, inclusive space for the community.
New glazed walls would connect the exhibition space to the Jewry Wall and a Roman bathhouse which has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. For the first time in the building’s history, a new pedestrian bridge would create fully-accessible entry for the public.
Following the insolvencies of two principal contractors, Pulse led the crisis response – implementing careful financial management and value engineering to swiftly develop a new supply chain. We restructured timelines and secured offsite materials, taking care to uphold all planning, listed building, and SAM consents.
Our expertise in public procurement, conservation compliance and agile leadership was essential to ensure that the project stayed viable and reputable – creating a bright future for a piece of treasured history.
Credit: Martine Hamilton-Knight
Construction consultancy services provided on this project:
- Lead Cost Consultant
- Project strategy
- Procurement
- Programme recovery
- Budget control
- Stakeholder coordination
The results
The Jewry Wall Museum reopened to the public in June 2025. Visitors can now experience 2000 years of history through 1000 Roman artefacts and exhibits featuring cutting-edge AV technology.
Pulse’s close work with Leicester City Council, and the use of our industry capability to navigate challenging circumstances, was recognised at the 2025 ProCon awards. The Jewry Wall regeneration was the winner of the Large Non-Residential Scheme of the Year award, and a finalist for the Regeneration Project of the Year award. It was also a finalist in the Constructing Excellence Regeneration & Conservation category in 2025.
Stepping in during a period of uncertainty, our team guided the restoration of this important cultural asset, creating a sensitively-restored inclusive space which brings ancient history to life with a modern flourish.
“Pulse Consult provided exceptional leadership in delivering the regeneration of Jewry Wall Museum. Their expert management of a complex heritage regeneration project, combined with a highly collaborative approach, helped us overcome a series of significant unforeseen construction challenges, ensuring the successful completion of a landmark cultural project for Leicester. We couldn’t have done it without them and the redeveloped museum creates a fabulous addition to the city’s visitor economy, generating tens of thousands of additional visitors since reopening, an outstanding new cultural attraction next to one of the UK’s most important civic Roman sites, that will benefit residents and visitors for many more generations to come.”
Peter Chandler
|Director of Tourism, Culture & Inward Investment
|Leicester City Council
Services provided for this project:
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