The Guildford Dragon has reported that the Friends of Guildford Museum have “made a generous gift to it of a computerised system for keeping records of all the around 100,000 objects in the collection.” Collections manager Sarah Fairhurst said they had already started getting the entire collection onto the CMS but “it will take decades…
Category: Heritage Services Future

April 2022 – Guildford Museum needs a plan
Guildford Museum is not exactly a dynamic advert for the town. It has been struggling for years and has hardly changed in decades. Visitor numbers are at an all time low. Councillor’s appear divided. Some see heritage as an asset and some as a burden. However, I think the Council should make more of its…

The Future of Guildford’s Heritage – November 2021 Review
In the current financial climate it seems very likely there will be cuts to the heritage service but Guildford is unlikely to get rid of its service completely. So, how can Guildford get the most from its investment in heritage? The Council needs to accurately assess the costs of the service and understand in detail…

May 2021 – Guildford Museum re-opens after Covid
Guildford Museum has reopened with a new exhibition on John Russell, the 18th century portrait painter to the rich and famous. The museum underwent a redecoration in 2019-20 and is much smarter. In fact the staff has done about as much as could be done without actually re-doing all the displays. During this period Guildford…

July 2020 – Museum re-opens after essential repairs
Museum re-opens July 2020 July 2020 – the Council issued a statement “Guildford Museum is looking forward to welcoming visitors back after being closed for the past twelve months for essential repairs providing another free attraction to visit in our historic town centre. The museum opens with a temporary exhibition ‘Commemoration and Celebration’ to commemorate…

May 2020 – Covid 19 halts Lottery Bid
By Gavin Morgan – 22nd May 2020 Plans to support the High Street with an £18 million revamped museum extension, cafe and entrance from the Castle Grounds have been halted. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has frozen lottery applications for the foreseeable future to free up resources to help existing projects through Covid-19. In these difficult…

2015-2020 Guildford Museum Lottery Project
2015 – Museum Review Following the failure of a second lottery bid, announced in March 2015, the future of Guildford Museum seemed in doubt. (see History of Guildford Museum) A review was set up to decide the future of the museum, whether keep it and if so whether to move it elsewhere. A report by Stuart…

Guildford Museum – history
For a detailed history read Notes on the History of Guildford Museum. Further information is available in the Friends of Guildford Museum Newlestters. For links to local heritage groups included the Guildford Guides and Friends visit the GHF Members page. For information on the collection read the collections management policy Guildford Museum opened in 1898….