The museum project is moving forward rapidly.  When the Newsletter last reported, we still had work to do to remove the floor screed.  This is now done, thanks to a Kango hammer kindly loaned by Grace Hire, with added brawn from Ron Spiers, Roger Hopkins and Philip Cartwright, and sent away in a skip kindly paid for by the family of  the late Benjamin Tomkins (see March newsletter).  We were awaiting builders’ tenders, which came in at the end of March and were assessed by Bob Tucker and Roger Emery.  Although every effort had been made to provide for cost increases when we made our lottery bid, the tenders were all substantially higher than expected, which has caused us to look very carefully at all the available options to keep the cost down.   The Heritage Lottery Fund will not increase its grant, so if things cost more, we have to fund the difference.

The lowest was submitted by NK Builders of Stoke Mandeville, who have been supplied with a Letter of Intent to carry out the work.  Site meetings have taken place and a start date of 23^rd June has been agreed.  With the Town Council’s agreement a compound will be fenced off around the building with the Brook Street gate used as access, so pedestrians will not be able to use the customary route in front of the building while work is in progress.  Avid spectators will then see the tiles lifted and the front projection entirely removed, complete with its horrible brick pillars, before reconstruction can start.  The contract is expected to take thirteen weeks.

The next stage will be to fit out the interior with the necessary shelving and cabinets and to install the lighting, for which a designer has been appointed.  When that is complete, the displays themselves can be brought into the building.  Meanwhile, we are interviewing candidates for the short-term Museum Consultant post – someone with experience to advise on the items to display and the content of graphics and educational packages.  At this stage it is not possible to say when we will open to the public; it clearly won’t be September, as we once optimistically hoped.

Roger Hopkins and I travelled to Cambridge to meet our HLF Case Officer to establish the exact mechanics of using our grant, and were mightily relieved to discover that a hefty sum for contingencies can be used towards the expected shortfall.  The drawback is that if any unexpected costs arise, we will have to cover them ourselves.  This means that we continue to need financial support from any source we can find, which could include your pocket money, paper round, salary, pension or legacy!

Several committee members have recently visited other museums and events, such as the AIM conference at Chatham and the Museums & Galleries Show at Earl’s Court, and returned with enthusiasm for particular items that we might incorporate to good effect.  While we have never meant our project to be the last word in technical sophistication, there are many devices we could fit, such as digital picture frames, that would greatly enhance people’s experience of the place, so please stop to consider how you might be able to help us to make our museum as good as it can be.

You may have noticed the coverage of this year’s Art Fund Prize (formerly Gulbenkian) for museums.  A high proportion of those which make it onto the list are independent museums.  One of those on this year’s “longlist” was the museum at Topsham in Devon which is entirely volunteer-run.  The announcement of their listing produced a four-fold increase in visitor numbers.  This year – a lottery grant.  Next year – who knows?

Tim Amsden

HOME