Image: Football Galleries at The Museum of Two Halves, design courtesy of Haley Sharpe
Museums secure capital from National Lottery Heritage Fund to preserve and showcase their collections, including Welsh football memorabilia.
£7.6m in new National Lottery funding has been announced today to support the country’s rare museums collections.
Among the largest recipients are Wrexham’s ‘The Museum of Two Halves’, which has been awarded £2.7m. The dual-themed project combines the local Wrexham Museum with a Football Museum for Wales, and will use the capital to become a “nationally styled museum and use football’s popularity to engage new audiences in heritage and learning”.
The museum will house a permanent display of the Welsh Football Collection, 90% of which is of national and international significance, with one quarter of the items being considered particularly rare or unique in nature, including John Charles’ debut shirt for Wales v Ireland from March 1950, and a cap awarded to Billy Meredith, a pioneer of Welsh football, having played for both Manchester City and Manchester United alongside Wales, and retired aged 50.
Wrexham County Borough Council Lead Member for Partnerships and Community Safety, Cllr Paul Roberts said: “This is huge news for Wrexham. The new museum is set to become a major new national attraction for the city, drawing new visitors from all over Wales and beyond, and playing a key role at the heart of Wrexham’s burgeoning tourism and cultural offer.
Also awarded funding is The Leach Pottery in St. Ives, Cornwall. It will use £3.4m for its project Leach Pottery the Next Hundred Years, aimed at preserving Leach Pottery studios and museum.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund capital will conserve and interpret the historic pottery buildings and climbing kiln, enable the introduction of a new learning centre and improve the welcome at the museum.
Over £800k has also been awarded to The Diving Museum in Gosport, Hampshire which is located inside a Grade II* listed Victorian gun battery on the seafront. The museum showcases the UK’s deep-sea diving history with a collection of over 7,000 items from the ancient to the modern era, including the world’s first ever-diving helmet. The funding will go toward essential building repairs and allow for improvement in access and sustainability.
Also awarded funding is The Museum of Aberdeenshire, granted £309,000 to transform Arbuthnot House in Peterhead into a new county museum.The Egypt Exploration Society in Camden, London, has been awarded £61,000 to renovate its home and increase accessibility for academic research.The Lancashire Cricket Heritage Experience at Emirates Old Trafford has received £176,000 to develop an interactive heritage hub.
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “These projects will inspire visitors of all ages, with many of these collections being revealed for the first time, and all will connect people with the individual stories of sport, diving, pottery, archaeology and much more, adding up to a national story covering all the many and varied heritage we have to offer.
“Our investment in the cultural heritage fabric of these museums will inspire people, connect communities, and drive growth, allowing everyone to discover the amazing local heritage in towns across the UK and support our vision for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.”
