There are key lessons to learn from the KPMG review into the closure and lease of Burchatts Farm Barn. At the Governance and Audit committee on the 25th Match Councillors from different parties made some important points. Their words should be heeded. Between 2015 and 2019 the Council pursued a vigorous policy of trying to…
Category: Projects
Decolonisation
Decolonisation Decolonisation is one of the biggest issues facing museums. The Museum’s Association has been championing the debate for many years and gave it top billing at the 2019 annual conference. In 2020 following the murder of George Floyd in America, the Black Lives Matter protests gave the issue new impetus. The need to broaden…
New hope for West Lodge
West lodgeLast Wednesday (26th January 2021) the council’s planning committee threw historic West Lodge a lifeline. The local parish council had applied to change the use from residential to community use and can now investigate ways of giving this building a useful and secure future. It was a significant decision because the Council had been…
New ideas for Guildford Museum
The Friends of Guildford Museum recently listed a set of ideas for taking Guildford Museum forward in leaner times. Ambitious plans for a new extension had to be shelved when the National Lottery Heritage Fund put all new applications on hold. In July I reported on some statements from the Council for a “scaled down…
Marlyn’s House, Burpham
Marlyn’s was threatened with demolition via a planning application that was overturned in 2018. The building has now been locally listed. Marlyn’s and Marlyn’s Cottage are both very old buildings. They appeared on the Tithe Maps of 1838 and there are references to property on the site back to the 17th century. At the rear…
Plans to save Pewley Down sign
Local walkers and volunteers, with the support of the Council, are raising money to save a unique information panel on Pewley Down. A Justgiving.com crowdfunding page has been set up for people to donate and it explains, “Weʼre raising £2,630 to renovate an iconic nature tableaux depicting the animals and insects inhabiting the idilic countryside…
Guildford Museum Latest News -July 2020
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…
Thoughts on the future of Guildford Museum
Gavin Morgan June 2020 The Council’s decision to shelve the ambitious museum project is a blow to the High Street which stood to gain a new town centre attraction. We must focus efforts on ensuring that heritage still gives the High Street all the support it can. After all, heritage is one of the town’s…
Can heritage help post Covid-19 Guildford?
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…
Guildford Museum Project – Background
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…