The St’ George’s Guildhall Charity will be the beneficiary of €1 million or just over £800,000 to support the restoration of the historic building.
The donation was made by Hermann Reemtsma Stitfung, a charitable foundation from Hamburg. Their managing director Dr Sebastian Giesen visited the Guildhall with James and Baroness Natialie Evens of Bowes Park alongside Councillor Simon Ring and the Creative Director of the Guildhall Tim Fitzhigham.
The restoration project will revive the medieval venue returning empty buildings and courtyards into an inspiring and welcoming heritage attraction. The Guildhall will re-open as functioning theatre as it was in medieval times and will continue to stage dramas as it has done through the centuries.
The full funding request for the project was approved in July 2025 and in the first 6 months has attracted £1.5m in funding. Historic England generously supported the projected with £700,000 and the additional funding from Hermann Reemtsma Stitfung is a huge benefit to the ongoing works.
James commented on the donation as the Guildhall is a flagship project of the King’s Lynn Town Deal Programme and Pride in Place Programme priority.
“The St. George’s Guildhall Town Deal project and Shakespeare links will be a major boost to jobs, visitors, investors, Lynn and West Norfolk.
The international donation is a big vote of confidence in the project and I’m confident more donors will step up. The space and scale of the opportunity is inspiring and the cultural, educational, economic, and wider benefits will be great.”
On top of the £1.5m raised, external funding was previously secured from the Norfolk and Norwich Festival and the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. With the donation from the Hamburg based charity supporting the project Lynn can be optimistic about the scheduled 2028 reopening
Baroness Natalie Evans of Bowes Park, Chair of the Guildhall Charity, commented on the international support for the project.
“This is the first major donation to the St George’s Guildhall and Creative Hub CIO. We are extremely grateful to the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung for their generous support of this important project. It will ensure the restoration of England’s oldest working theatre and create a vibrant cultural hub for West Norfolk and beyond.”
