Museum to step up hunt for new home

THE man behind the urgent hunt to find a new home for a Yorkshire museum has vowed to step up his search for another venue.

David Lloyd-Williams, the chairman of the trustees of Malton Museum, claimed he is undaunted at the prospect despite various setbacks including a funding rebuff from the Heritage Lottery Fund when it was hoped the museum would move to the site of a former Roman fort in Orchard Fields.

The museum faces a painful exit from the Old Town Hall in the Market Place next year after Rydedale District Council decided not to renew the lease.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And Fitzwilliam (Malton) Estate wants to create a restaurant in the building which the museum has occupied for a peppercorn rent for the past 30 years.

As well as the battle of finding an appropriate site, Mr Lloyd-Williams has to come up with a suitable storage area for the museum’s collections.

But he stressed the need to stay positive, and added: “We will survive. There’s a very positive approach from members of the Museum Foundation which gives one confidence that we will find the appropriate building eventually and then reopen with confidence.

“The museum has been described as a ‘national museum of historic importance’ and the main problem we face is how we pack it up in the limited time we have and make sure we have properly secured, professional storage.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He is also hopeful that opening the museum to the public for free from today until its hopefully temporary closure in April next year will help enhance its profile.

A family visitor pack, complete with Roman games, quizzes at the museum, recipes and information is also available for free.

Margaret Shaw, chairman of the museum’s Vision Board, said: “It was a big decision to allow visitors to come for free because, obviously, we need all the financial help we can get.

“But it’s such a great museum we wanted the public to come and see it before it closes and we will do all we can to do that. All we say is ‘come, have fun and enjoy’.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Malton Museum focuses on some of the outstanding Roman finds in the area including the famous Four Seasons Mosaic.

There is also a famous display, with models recreating life in the area in medieval times.

Children are able to use interactive displays which to make their own mosaic and grind flour the Roman way.

Mr Lloyd-Williams added: “It’s important to stay positive about the future. We are going to run something called 50 Favourite Finds from the end of October to mid-March – it might sound a bit gimmicky –but the idea is to keep interest in the museum up.

“We want people to think it is au revoir and not goodbye. The museum was set up in the 1930s and despite everything we are not going to give up just yet.”

Related topics: