Power Hall is one of the most beloved industrial heritage galleries in the country. It houses one of the UK's largest collections of working steam engines, the majority of which were built right here in Greater Manchester.
Since 2019, the globally important, Grade II listed building has been temporarily closed to allow for crucial restoration works. As well as urgent roof and timber repairs, installing new windows and doors, and carrying out wider building conservation, we've also been undertaking a sector-leading decarbonisation project to drastically reduce the building's carbon emissions.
We're not just conserving and future-proofing the building itself, we're also reimagining its internal gallery. Visitors will be able to explore engineering innovations through working machines and the stories of the people who developed and worked with them.
Our vision is to create a lively, working gallery that will continue to inspire visitors for years to come.
Power Hall is due to reopen in Summer 2025.
The work to Power Hall is part of a multi-million-pound regeneration project currently taking place across the Science and Industry Museum to conserve its historic buildings and reveal new spaces and perspectives for all visitors to enjoy, play and learn in.
What's been happening on Power Hall?
Conservation works
As a globally important, Grade II listed building, it’s essential that our work to restore Power Hall protects and respects its history. We are working in a way that preserves the heritage of the building while extending its life by at least a century.
More information
Decarbonisation
As a science museum, we want to harness the latest sustainable technologies to heat and light our historic buildings, as well as power our historical collection in a greener way.
We are delivering a sector-leading programme of decarbonisation across the site that places zero carbon technologies at the heart of the visitor experience and creates a sustainable museum for the future. Power Hall sits at the heart of this vision.
Decarbonisation - more information
Gantry
The gantry crane connected to Power Hall was built during the 1880s and is a testament to the engineering prowess of its time where a travelling crane is supported by a steel structure to help move goods efficiently. It was designed as an integral piece of machinery to handle the substantial loads coming on and off the railway.
At 72 metres long and nearly 8 metres high it's a monumental structure, showcasing the ingenuity and innovation that characterized the industrial era. It was constructed after passenger services had stopped and marks the development of the site as a hub of goods handling and processing as the expansion of trade and industry in Manchester boomed.
More information
Gantry
What's still to come?
Reimagining the internal gallery
Power Hall will be a lively, working gallery, full of engines that changed the world and continue to inspire future innovations. Visitors will be inspired by our world-class collection of engines made in Greater Manchester.
Power Hall will bring to life the people behind the power. We will tell the stories of the engineers, makers and technicians who use their skills and senses to create and care for engines, both today and in the past.
The gallery will offer visitors the unique opportunity to explore these machines as well as the museum's journey towards becoming carbon-neutral, seeing the 21st-century green technology used to power the historic engines and heat the gallery space.
Still to come - more information
Our funders
This project has been made possible with the support of our funders, including £6million from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and additional funding from the Science Museum Group.
Our title funder is The Law Family Charitable Foundation, whose £3million donation is the museum's largest philanthropic gift to date. Other funders include the Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust, Atmos International, Zochonis Charitable Trust and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
Our decarbonisation of the Power Hall has been made possible by funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategies as part of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, delivered by Salix Finance.
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