Gurkha Museum, Winchester: Builders Clean Delivered in Phases Around a Live Heritage Redevelopment

The Challenge

The Gurkha Museum at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester has been undergoing a full redevelopment of its ground and first floor public galleries since September 2025. The project, known as Project Kaida and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, involves a complete reimagining of the public galleries: thirty-year-old display cases stripped out, the collection removed to secure storage by conservation experts, structural works carried out for a new central installation, and a new platform lift installed to improve accessibility between floors.

When SSH Cleaning was brought in by main contractor Beard Construction, the site was mid-programme. Conservation work was continuing in some areas. Finishing works were underway. The galleries had accumulated the dust and residue that construction leaves behind, but different areas were at different stages of completion, so a single-pass clean was never going to work.

The public galleries were scheduled to reopen in October 2026, with pre-booked visits confirmed from 26 October. The clean had to fit around the construction programme, with each stage timed to prepare completed areas without getting ahead of work still in progress. The finish standard required was gallery-ready, not just handover-ready.

The Solution

SSH Cleaning delivered a four-stage programme across July, scheduled in coordination with Beard Construction.

• Builders clean, 7 July (1 day): clearance of construction debris, dust, and material residue across the gallery spaces, preparing areas for the next phase of finishing works.
• Sparkle clean, 15 to 16 July (2 days): full clean of completed surfaces, fixtures, fittings, glass, and floor surfaces across the ground and first floor galleries, once the major structural works are done.
• Tidy up, 17 July (1 day): targeted follow-up on any areas affected by snagging or final construction activity in the days immediately after the sparkle clean.
• Final sparkle clean, 29 July: second full sparkle clean across all surfaces, bringing the galleries to the standard required for handover ahead of the October reopening.

Working in a Grade-listed building with a significant collection in storage nearby required consistent care around dust management throughout. The phased approach meant construction could carry on in sections still being finished while completed areas were cleaned and held ready.

The Outcome

All four stages were completed across July, on programme. The galleries were handed over to Beard Construction clean and ready ahead of the October reopening.

The Gurkha Museum’s redeveloped public galleries open to pre-booked visitors from 26 October 2026, completing Project Kaida and opening a fully reimagined museum experience to the public for the first time.

The phased cleaning approach gave Beard Construction clean, finished sections at each stage of the programme rather than a single end-of-build clean. It is the kind of sequenced delivery that construction programmes with fixed public opening dates require.

Working on a programme with a fixed handover or opening date? SSH Cleaning handles builders cleans and sparkle cleans for construction contractors across heritage, commercial, and public sector projects. See more of our work or get in touch to discuss your programme.