Gainsborough’s House is one of the few birthplace museums to feature the work of a single artist, and shows more of the artist’s work than any other gallery in the world. This ambitious project will enable Gainsborough’s House to engage and inspire a larger and more diverse range of visitors, secure the future of this nationally significant heritage and spearhead the regeneration of a market town.

Drawing on Gainsborough's history

The project will safeguard Gainsborough’s Grade I childhood home and garden, interpret and improve access to the most comprehensive collection of his art, display more works in a new showcase gallery and explore his life in the special atmosphere of his home.

Drawing on the history of Gainsborough’s weaving family, it will tell for the first time the story of wool and silk weaving in Sudbury. By creating significant exhibition spaces and increasing the heritage offer, the project will attract more visitors, create financial resilience and promote the exploration of the surrounding landscape so inspirational to Gainsborough and Constable, whose family collection will go on display.

“The project will create a major national cultural destination and it's great to see the links with the wonderful surrounding landscape that inspired Gainsborough.”

Robyn Llewellyn, Head of HLF East of England

Loyd Grossman CBE, FSA, American British TV presenter, entrepreneur, writer and broadcaster, said: “I believe that Gainsborough’s House has great potential as a centre for the study of 18th-century art, as an educational resource for children, as a resource for local artists – especially printmakers – and as a contributor to the tourist economy of Sudbury and Suffolk.”

Robyn Llewellyn, Head of HLF East of England, said: “This project is a wonderful opportunity to share Gainsborough’s internationally significant art and history, alongside more local stories of his family and town industry of silk making, with so many more people.  

"The project will create a major national cultural destination and it's great to see the links with the wonderful surrounding landscape that inspired Gainsborough, as well as Constable. The way young people, volunteers and the local community are involved is particularly exciting.”

The revitalised Gainsborough’s House is expected to open to the public by late 2020/early 2021.