Marlowe Theatre secures £4.4 million for Poor Priests’ Hospital
Wed 20 May 2026The ambitious £8.5 million capital project will create a permanent home for the Marlowe’s work with young people, with a dedicated studio and breakout spaces designed to support creativity, participation and wellbeing.
Alongside The Hive, the uniquely important medieval elements of the building – from the Great Hall to the 13th-century St Mary’s Chapel – will be carefully restored and re-presented, with commissioned artworks and sensitively crafted interpretation telling the stories of the building and the people who inhabited it.
The Poor Priests’ Hospital will be open to the public and free to enter, with an inviting riverside café designed as a place to linger, spaces available for community groups and public hire, and a programme of special performance events and immersive experiences. These will include History Lates, heritage projects with schools and a monthly performance poetry slam in the Great Hall. The Solar Room will also become the new home of the Marlowe’s Writers’ Room.
The medieval building, which dates back more than 800 years and has been used by the Marlowe Theatre for their work with young people, has long been closed to the public. Once restored, it will become a vibrant space for young people, communities and visitors across Kent, revitalising a neglected part of the city.
The award is part of more than £25 million in new National Lottery Heritage Fund investment announced today across seven projects in England, each placing young people at the heart of heritage.
The Hive – a name developed with young people involved in the Marlowe’s youth company activity – reflects themes of wellbeing, togetherness, inspiration, energy and community, inspired by the building’s long history as a place of healing and sanctuary.
Speaking about the project, Deborah Shaw, Chief Executive of the Marlowe Theatre, said:
“The Poor Priests’ Hospital project has been nearly a decade in the making and we’re thrilled that this National Lottery Heritage Fund award means we can now bring it fully to life. This is an extraordinary medieval building with remarkable stories embedded in its walls, and we’re looking forward to restoring and re-presenting those spaces with commissioned artworks and interpretation that help people connect with the building’s past in imaginative ways.
As you’d expect from a theatre, we also want the building to feel alive with creativity – from immersive heritage experiences and performances in the Great Hall to projects with schools, community activity and the Writers’ Room in the Solar Room.”
Roxan Kamali, Director of Learning & Participation, added:
“Young people helped shape every aspect of The Hive, from its name to the kind of spaces and opportunities it will provide. The Hive will give more young people across Kent access to creativity, connection and experiences they might not otherwise have, creating a permanent home for self-expression, collaboration and belonging. We want it to be a welcoming space where young people feel ownership, inspiration and sanctuary.”
Stuart McLeod, Director, London & South, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“The National Lottery Heritage Fund has a strong track record of supporting projects that put young people at their heart – not just taking part but helping to shape and lead what happens. The restoration of The Poor Priests’ Hospital will create a dynamic hub for arts, culture and community engagement, providing a much-needed space for young people across Kent to gather and learn creatively as well as opening up this beautiful medieval building for the benefit of all. Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re supporting ambitious projects that care and value heritage to create lasting impact for communities across the UK.”
Photo by Richard Lakos
A game-changer for Kent’s young people
The Hive will allow the Marlowe Theatre to significantly expand the scale and range of its work with young people across Kent.
Currently, the Marlowe works with more than 60 schools across the county each year, but demand for its Youth Company, bursary places and creative programmes already exceeds the capacity of its existing spaces. The current Poor Priests’ Hospital building cannot accommodate a full school class of 30 students, limiting the theatre’s ability to grow its work.
The Hive will enable the Marlowe to:
- Increase participation from around 4,000 young people annually to over 20,000.
- Welcome more than 60,000 visitors annually to the Poor Priests’ Hospital site.
- Have greater flexibility in working creatively with schools.
- Expand its oversubscribed Youth Company and increase bursary support for young people who would otherwise be unable to participate.
- Provide dedicated studio space for Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Cygnet School reinforcing the Marlowe’s role as the national home of the Cygnets and strengthening its longstanding partnership with one of the UK’s leading dance companies.
- Grow the Marlowe Academy of Performing Arts (MAPA) and develop further vocational training opportunities in partnership with East Kent Colleges Group and Canterbury Christ Church University.
- Base the Marlowe’s Writers’ Room at the site, expanding creative writing opportunities in schools and giving young people the chance to write and perform their own work.
The Marlowe Theatre currently invests more than £600,000 each year in work with young people, and this investment will continue to grow once The Hive opens. The site will become the permanent home of the theatre’s work with young people, with heritage woven throughout the experience – from storytelling in the café and performances in the Great Hall to immersive projects created with Kent schools and community groups.
The designs have been developed with top heritage architect Richard Griffiths, and Sarah Wigglesworth who specialises in sustainable design and developing projects for young people. The building will close in late 2026 to allow for sensitive restoration and environmental upgrades, before reopening to the public in 2029.
Alongside The National Lottery Heritage Fund award, the theatre has already secured significant support from trusts, foundations, and private donors, but fundraising is continuing to secure the remaining £2.2m investment needed to fully realise the project.
Find out more about how you can support the Poor Priests’ Hospital.
