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The Royal Armouries in Leeds is gearing up for its biggest transformation since it opened three decades ago. The national museum is home to the UK’s national collection of arms and armour and has revealed further details of a major redevelopment worth more than £100 million. The upgrade is also timed to mark the museum’s upcoming 30th birthday.
At the centre of the plans is a brand-new 3,500-square-metre exhibition and events hall. The new space is part of a wider scheme that would more than double the museum’s existing conference and events facilities, creating over 8,000 square metres for conferences, exhibitions, hospitality and leisure.
The new development will be built on the site of the current Tiltyard, home to the museum’s outdoor jousting arena – but don’t worry, the jousters aren’t hanging up their lances. The plans include expanded jousting spaces as part of the new complex.
The plans are currently going through the final stages of an appraisal, with a planning application expected to be submitted to Leeds City Council in 2027. The team behind the redevelopment, including architects and the wider design group, is expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks and months.
If you’ve got a visit planned in the meantime, there’s no need to rearrange. The museum says its existing conference and events facilities, along with the museum itself and New Dock Hall, will all remain open throughout construction, still offering free entry across five themed galleries and a daily programme of combat demonstrations and gallery talks.
Nat Edwards, director general of the Royal Armouries, said: ‘We’re proud to be progressing one of the most important regeneration schemes of any city in the North today, and realising the once in a generation opportunities this development will bring, adding huge value to the city and region’.
Fancy a visit before the redevelopment gets underway? Here's Time Out's guide to the Royal Armouries, free to explore and home to some 70,000 artefacts.
Plus: London’s busiest train station has been crowned the UK’s best rail hub for 2026.
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