Heritage Design for Enhanced Visitor Experience

Respecting the past and serving the needs of today

Temple Newsam, a Tudor-Jacobean estate in Leeds and home to one of the UK’s most important collections of fine and decorative arts, approached us with a twofold brief.

They needed a suite of 35 interpretation stands to display information about their artefacts, and a bespoke welcome hub to hold visitor guides and materials at the entrance. Both needed to be functional, accessible, and in keeping with the historic aesthetic of the house.

The Brief

To design practical, beautifully made pieces that would seamlessly support the visitor journey and withstand the test of time in a busy heritage setting.

Our Approach

We began with in-depth discussions and a collaborative design process, submitting a range of concepts tailored to the needs of the Temple Newsam team and the unique challenges of the space. We approached the brief from multiple angles, ensuring every idea combined function, form and manufacturability.

One of our designers, Ethan, drew inspiration from his own visits to Temple Newsam to create a winning design for the interpretation stands. With his design engineering background, he developed a tiered, user-friendly structure that complemented the historic interiors while ensuring the placards were easy to browse and interact with for visitors of all ages.

The welcome hub followed the same principles to achieve practicality, elegance and durability. Crafted from solid oak and veneered birch ply, it features 360° accessibility and discrete mobility, thanks to a set of hidden castors. Curved doors with strengthened hinges completed the clean, refined design.

Both projects made full use of our in-house CAD/CAM expertise and Bacci 5-axis CNC technology, allowing us to manufacture efficiently and consistently, even at scale.

Materials & Features

• • Solid oak and oak veneered birch ply for durability, beauty and longevity
  • Tiered stand design for intuitive placard display
  • Streamlined welcome hub with 360° access and castors for flexibility
  • Precision-engineered components using CAD/CAM tools for speed and accuracy
  • Manufactured locally in our Leeds workshop using 5-axis CNC for efficiency

Our Impact

By combining heritage sensitivity with contemporary design and production methods, we delivered handcrafted, robust solutions that now play an integral part in how Temple Newsam welcomes and engages its visitors.

In Their Words

Ethan, Designer

“It’s great to see something we’ve worked on end up somewhere as prestigious as Temple Newsam. We pride ourselves on building things that last — this project is the perfect example of how our creativity and technical capability come together to create something truly unique.”

Temple Newsam Representative

“I couldn’t be happier. A really satisfying project to work together on! It has been great working with you guys from start to finish. I’m super happy with the finished result, which looks and feels really classy. Visitors really seem to be responding well.”