The V&A Storehouse, the Museum of Shakespeare, Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum’s gantry and Hull maritime city are due to open or reopen closed parts in 2025
A string of exciting new attractions will open in England in 2025.
Next year is looking to be a great one for culture vultures, gallery enthusiasts and those who love to explore their local area. There are a number of high-profile attractions that will be welcoming in the public for the first time next year. Below are ten of the most exciting.
The V&A Storehouse
In the summer of 2025, the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is based in West London, will be joined by a sibling museum in the east of the city. The V&A Storehoiuse is a cavernous warehouse stacked with crates and pallets filled with treasures from across the country and the world.
There are a quarter of a million objects held in the building, most of which have been in storage for decades and never shown in public before. Marble from the 17th century Agra Colonnade, pieces from Robin Hood Gardens and the wooden ceiling from the Torrijos Palace in Spain will all be on display when this innovative new museum opens in May next year.
The Museum of Shakespeare
The Museum of Shakespeare has been completed and is set to open in east London in 2025. It will showcase the archaeological remains of the Curtain Playhouse, the ancient theatre believed to have hosted Shakespeare’s first renditions of Romeo and Juliet and Henry V. Set in 1598 and located three metres underground, the museum will retell Shakespeare’s life through “dynamic experiences, innovative theatrical technology and archaeological discoveries.”
Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum’s gantry
Since 2019 large parts of the museum have been closed while essential work is carried out on the Grade II listed Power Hall building. The restoration of the gantry is part of the museum’s t £14.2m repairs project, which includes work on the New Warehouse’s 150-year-old roof, the 1830 Viaduct and Station and Power Hall. Expected to reopen next summer as Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery, it will allow visitors to see one of the UK’s largest collections of working steam engines.
Hull Maritime City
The Yorkshire city’s maritime quarter is undergoing a serious revamp at the moment, with different parts of it opening at different points across 2025.
The Spurn Lightship—which guided ships safely through the treacherous River Humber for almost 50 years—the Artic Corsair trawler, which has been described as ‘Hull’s Cutty Sark’, and Queens Garden, a greenspace enjoying a serious facelift, are due to open once more.
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
A former waterworks in Clerkenwell, North London will house a learning centre, galleries and gardens geared towards illustration and named in honour of one of the country’s most beloved and expert exponents of the craft, Quentin Blake. The Islington site will house four galleries and the famed illustrator’s archive of over 40,000 works. .It will also secure a permanent home for Blake’s archive of more han 40,000 works, created over seven decades. Many of these were made for Roald Dahl books.
Norwich Castle’s Keep
After several delays, the multi-million pound revamp of a 900-year-old castle has entered its final stages and looks on track to welcome back visitors in spring 2025. The project—called Royal Palace Reborn—started in summer 2020. When it is done, the public will be able to walk into the castle’s keep for the first time in history.
Sculpture trails
There are a number of new and exciting sculpture trails due to open to the public next year, including in Hull, Bristol and Gloucestershire.
Sherwood Observatory’s new planetarium
The wonders of the universe are being brought to life in a new £6.8 million planetarium in Sutton-on-Ashfield. The centre has transformed a disused underground Victorian reservoir into a 59-seater planetarium, showcasing journeys through space with immersive shows. The original features of the reservoir, such as the intricate brick arches, have been preserved.
The Shwarzman Centre
Oxford University is getting a new centre due to open in the autumn. The centre will serve as a hub for its humanities programs, providing academic, exhibition, and performance spaces. The building, made possible by gifts totalling £185 million from philanthropist and businessman Stephen A. Schwarzman, includes a new humanities library.
UK Pride 2025
While not exactly a specific attraction, Portsmouth will be host city for UK Pride 2025, which takes place in June and will see the city adorned with rainbows and host a number of events in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.
Peppa Pig World
Paultons Park, best known for Peppa Pig World, is due to launch a new attraction in the spring of 2025. Ghostly Manor will replace the park’s old 4D cinema and will have visitors help renowned ghost hunter Dr Kinley recapture escaped ghosts.
