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The History of Arundel Museum Society and the
Museum
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Foundation in The Undercroft
Arundel Museum Society (AMS) was founded in 1963 by a group of
local people. At this time heritage was under threat from new development and
was generally undervalued. The Museum Society set out to rescue and conserve
as much as possible of Arundel's past, and aimed to create a town museum with
the advice of Sussex historian Roy Armstrong and archaeologist Con Ainsworth.
In March 1964, the first museum was established in the old prison
cells in the undercroft of the Town Hall. In this evocative but somewhat
cramped and damp environment the Museum Society built up displays of the history
of Arundel and the surrounding villages. From the beginning, the museum relied
totally on volunteer management and stewards. It was a successful small-scale
attraction, and one of the first independent local museums in the area, but it
had limitations.
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The High Street Years
The Museum's first big opportunity came in 1975 when the former
Borough Council Offices at 61 High Street became redundant following the major local
government re-organisation. Arun District Council offered the Museum Society
the opportunity to take a lease on this Grade 2* listed Georgian building. With
huge determination, the Society created a new museum which was opened in 1977.
At this time AMS became a Charity (No 273790).
During the 1980s and 1990s, AMS faced new challenges. Standards
of curatorial care became more demanding. Techniques of conservation were more
complex and scientific. With a new national structure for the management of
museums and galleries came the requirement for museums to be registered to show
that they conformed to minimum standards of good curatorial practice. Arundel
Museum was the first in the area to achieve MLA Registration, a considerable
achievement.
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The Museum expanded into eight galleries. In 2000, the oral
history archive gathered by volunteers was published as a book entitled
Arundel Voices. A grant was obtained for a new display on the Port of
Arundel, and this was accompanied by a new Town Trail way-marked by ceramic
plaques by local potter Josse Davies. In 2004, an art gallery was established
to stage exhibitions. A regular programme of town walks, lectures and short
courses was offered, and school visits were hosted. In 2005, a new formal
MLA requirement, Accreditation, was introduced with more demanding benchmarks
and the need for extensive documentation and policies to meet specified formats.
Arundel Museum was again one of the first in the area to achieve Accreditation,
which it did at the first attempt.
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An Uncertain Future
From 2000 onwards the Museum had operated under the shadow of an
uncertain future. Arun District Council had expressed an intention to sell
61 High Street, and the lease would not be renewed. AMS tried hard to find
alternative premises so that a planned move from one building to another might
be achieved. Unfortunately this proved impossible. Whilst efforts to
develop a new museum carried on in the background, AMS was obliged to leave their
premises in the autumn of 2007. Museum Society volunteers, supervised by a
consultant curator, undertook the enormous task of packing every item in the
collection and transferring these into stores.
For the 2008 and subsequent seasons, Arundel Museum was able to
keep a presence in the town by opening in temporary portacabin accommodation,
sponsored by Geoffrey Osborne Ltd and Speedy Space Limited, next to the Car Park
in Mill Road. In October 2011, it moved again, and again to temporary
accommodation, this time in Crown Yard Mews. That is where we are now.
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Rescue
Returning to 2008, the Angmering Park Estate Trust and the
Norfolk Estate came to the rescue and provided us with a vision for the future.
They agreed to jointly offer an ideal, prime site for a new building in the centre
of the main tourist area. This is the site currently occupied by St Nicholas
Hall, opposite the Lower Castle Gate.
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So AMS became involved in a two-pronged attack to achieve its aims.
- Firstly, AMS needed plans for the new
building. Graham Whitehouse, our architect, created plans for the building
and steered us through the planning process, giving his time at no charge.
Jonothan Potter of Potter Associates, worked closely with us to use cutting edge
design and modern technology to develop an innovative design concept for the
internal displays.
- Secondly, AMS needed to embark on a major
fundraising drive to raise a total of £1.6 million to build and fit out its new
permanent home in the heart of Arundel. The first step was to apply for
funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
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Planning consent was obtained in March 2009. Early
in 2010, we received the news that the first round bid that the Society had
made to the HLF had been successful. This meant that the HLF awarded
the Society a grant of £102,800 to develop and submit more detailed
development plans and apply for up to a further £888,000. The second
round bid was submitted to the HLF in November.
At the end of March 2011, the Society heard that the second round
application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £888,000 had been granted, subject to
contract, towards the project totalling £1,414,500. This grant, together with
a £385,500 from Arun District Council, £50,000 that was raised locally last year,
and funding from other sources, has provided sufficient funding for the building
to go ahead. We plan to move on site at the beginning of November 2011, and
the first evidence of our presence will be the demolition of St Nicholas Hall and an
archaeological investigation. Building will start soon after the investigation
is complete and its results known.
However, fundraising continues because we still have to raise more
money to complete the fitting out of the interior of the building, including the
planned new displays for all our artefacts that are currently in store.
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