2011 News

Farewell History Store

Martyn Must    

Having served to keep us in the public eye since its opening for the 2008 season, the portacabin closed its doors to the public at the end of September 2011.  It is planned for the portacabin to have a new incarnation as a museum workshop. Meanwhile, the Museum is on the move again, and will open in October in its new guise as Arundel Museum & Information Centre, and will be located in Crown Yard Mews.  The official opening is planned for 17 October. More details soon.

Your Paintings on the Web

Martyn Must    

Your Paintings is a website which aims to show the entire UK national collection of oil paintings, the stories behind the paintings, and where to see them for real.  It is a joint initiative between the BBC, the Public Catalogue Foundation (a registered charity) and participating collections and museums from across the UK.  It includes paintings from thousands of museums and other public institutions around the country. Please click here to have a look at the Museum's paintings on the Your Paintings website.

Robin Farrington's Research into the History of Trinity Chapel

Martyn Must    

Robin Farrington, one of our members, is currently spending part of his time researching the history of Trinity Chapel in Tarrant Street. Trinity Chapel was erected in 1837 by the Congregational Dissenters of Arundel, and was opened for public worship in 1838.  Previously they had worshiped in a chapel two doors down; this is now Larkins grocery store. Worship continued in Trinity Chapel until 1981, but today the building is known as Nineveh House and is used as an antiques and crafts store. Please click here to visit Robin's website to learn more about his research, and to listen to audio guides (in English and German).

Meeting for Volunteers

Diane Pyant    

With things beginning to move, a meeting for all volunteers and potential volunteers was held at Arundel Town Hall on Wednesday 10 August to update those present on the progress of our exciting project.

Pétanque 2011

Martyn Must    

The three pétanque evenings in June, July and August were not a great success.  There were only a total of 12 players over the three evenings.  But those who did turn up enjoyed a few games on Arundel Pétanque Club's excellent terrain. The final Competition and Supper were replaced by less formal arrangements, but we did get to watch half a half of football while having a drink sitting outside the bar afterwards.  And then we went off to enjoy a (not fish and chips) meal at La Campania in the High Street. Net profit to the Museum's funds - a rather meagre £27.02.

The End of an Era

Pauline Carder    

On Tuesday 26 July, Marian and Alan Webb hosted a buffet lunch to mark the End of an Era.  You will remember that under the old Society's system we had a President and Vice-Presidents, who had all made an outstanding contribution to the Society.  Under the new system we cannot have these, so the Trustees have created the position of Fellows instead.

The End of an Era lunch was held so that all those who had made an outstanding contribution to the old Society could be given Fellowship awards.  These included the four Vice-Presidents: Ray Fox; Val Lishman; Andrew Osborne; and Tony Pudwell.  The new Fellows: Alan Chapman; Roger Halls; Eric Nash; Brian Parkinson; Gordon Sawyer; and Sue Sawyer.

Thanks to catering by Marian and Liz Dams we had an excellent lunch.

July Barbeque at the St Marys Gate Inn

Pauline Carder    

Despite the very inclement weather, the July barbeque at the St Marys Gate Inn was a great success and was enjoyed by the forty five people who came. The evening was enlivened with a Sussex Quiz prepared by Ann Burrough and a raffle. In a spirit of community co-operation we joined with the Arundel Surgery, which needs to replace a vital piece of equipment this year. Unfortunately the two further barbeques planned for 17 August and 14 September had to be cancelled due to lack of support.

The Port of Arundel Exhibition at The History Store

Assembled in May 2011, the new Port of Arundel exhibition in the History Store focuses on the trade in goods along the river.  It includes models of the docks and warehouses as well as ships and barges.  The amazingly detailed panorama of the river, and the ship models have been individually designed and made by Tony Pudwell.

Tony made his first ship model at the age of fourteen.  Each model is individually designed and built.  Having researched the ship, he produces a scale plan, then constructs the model using scrap wood and other materials.  His largest model took over a year to complete in his spare time. Tony has been a volunteer at Arundel Museum for over forty years.  His model making skills and special interest in local archaeology have been invaluable in bringing the past to life.  His most challenging project for us was a scale model of the whole of Arundel, showing the town as it was in 1975, shortly after it had been designated a Conservation Area.  Unfortunately, this model is now in store due to our lack of display space. Thanks are due to Littlehampton Museum for the loan of items from their recent Perils of the Sea exhibition about the wrecks of more than 30 ships sunk mere miles away from Littlehampton's beaches.

Photo:

This exhibition will continue to be displayed until the closure of the History Store.

Governance of Arundel Museum Society

The previous Management Committee handed over responsibility for running the Society to a new Charitable Company on 1 April.  This Company was incorporated on 11 January, and registration with the Charity Commission was successfully completed on 3 February.  The new Company will still be known as Arundel Museum Society.  The directors of the Company are Christopher Boyce, Pauline Carder, Al Dunn, Rosemary Hagedorn, Michael Heathcote, Gordon Sawyer and Marian Webb.  The previous unincorporated society (registration number 273790) is expected to be dissolved after the final AGM in May.

Everyone who was a member of the Society at the turn of the year should have been invited by the Directors of the Company to become a member of the Company, which will still be known as Arundel Museum Society.  So, if any member has not already done so, please fill out, sign, and return the Application Form that was sent to you in March, otherwise you will cease to be a member.

A top priority of the new Board of Directors is to put in place an organisation fit for the future.  This is nearing completion and will be explained to members at the AGM.

Heritage Lottery Fund Application Successful

In late March, the Arundel Museum Society heard that its application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £888,000 had been granted subject to contract.  This is towards the £1,414,500 total cost of the New Museum Project.  This grant, together with the partnership of £385,500 from Arun District Council and funding from other sources, including £50,000 raised locally last year, gives sufficient funds for the prestigious building opposite the lower gate of the Castle to go ahead.  Congratulations must be given to Rosemary Hagedorn and her team, which has worked so hard over the last twelve months since being awarded a Project Development grant of £102,000 by the Heritage Fund to pay for professional assistance in preparing the round two application.  Support has been given by A Different View in preparing a Feasibility Study, Audience Development and Activity Plans.  Cragg Management have acted as excellent project managers throughout.

However, it is important to emphasise that we still have to raise more funds to complete the wish list for exciting displays in the interior of the building.

The Museum Society would like to thank Arundel Town Council, all the local businesses and a great many members of the community for all the support they have given to forward this huge and exciting project.

What Happens Next?

Everyone wants an answer to this question, and the answer is perhaps disappointing to those of us who want action, because it amounts to wait and see.  However, that is because we have to abide by the very strict HLF regulations which lock us into a defined process.  We have to be given official permission to start, and there are legal contracts to sign.  Until that is done we only have an offer.  Once everything is agreed and all the funding is in place there will be a process of project development, tendering, and other work, all of which is invisible.  Nothing very obvious will happen on site until some time in June at the earliest.  The first stage will be the demolition of St Nicholas Hall and an archaeological investigation.

One thing is certain: there is a huge amount of work to do to develop the new Museum and the activities which will be provided there.  As soon as we can we will issue information about the many exciting new volunteering opportunities, and we hope that Members of the Society who have not previously been actively involved will want to join in.

Heritage Lottery Fund Brings Arundel's New Museum Building One Step Nearer

Good news for 2011 for Arundel Museum Society (AMS).  The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded a confirmed grant of £888,000 for a three-year project towards the cost of a new purpose-built museum for Arundel.

To be housed on a prime site near the Castle entrance and river, the HLF's investment in the museum will see major benefits to visitors and the community, with much-needed spacious gallery spaces and facilities for research, education, and the demands of local schools.

Arundel town is an important local resource for learning about local and national history and AMS will use the new museum to inform people's exploration, enjoyment and understanding of the town.  The collections, dating from pre-historic times to the late 19th-century, relate to the ancient market town and port of Arundel and surrounding area, which includes one of the few surviving castles in England to have been occupied since the Norman period, and several archaeological sites, scheduled monuments and ancient parkland.

Arundel adjoins Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is on the edge of the newly designated National Park.  The area attracts between 700,000 to 800,000 visitors a year.

The new museum building – which will also contain a large foyer and Information point, offices and accessible storage space – is to be designed by Graham Whitehouse of GWP Architects, with interior design by Potter Associates.

Stuart McLeod, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for South East England, said, "The determination and tireless enthusiasm of the volunteers in keeping Arundel Museum going is to be applauded.  Now, the collections can be fully brought to life and the museum can become the hub of the community for people of all ages once more."

Chairman of Arundel Museum, Pauline Carder, explains the story behind the museum, "From its origins in the 1960s in the Undercroft of the Town Hall and the first move in 1977 to new and bigger premises at the old Borough Council offices in the High Street, to sadly closing it doors in 2007 after the lease on that building expired, Arundel Museum has been on a long journey to gaining the lottery money for a permanent new building to house its collections.

"Thanks to the generosity of Osborne and Speedy Space sponsoring a Portakabin, and the Castle Trustees agreeing to it being sited in the main car park, we have managed to keep a presence in the town over the past three years and staged selected displays which are changed two or three times a year.  We have maintained our 'Walks and Talks', outreach, research and family research programmes as well as a range of social and fundraising events.

"Now, thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund, we are absolutely delighted that the new museum, to be built on land to be leased at a peppercorn rent from the Arundel Castle Trustees, will mean that Arundel's history and heritage will be safeguarded and be accessible to residents and visitors for the foreseeable future".

The Jack Edmonds' Memorial Fund and Jack's Jazz Night

Report composed by Martyn Must from original text and photo provided by Jenny Edmonds for publication in The Bell and Sussex Local.      

The Jack Edmonds' Memorial Fund is a new support group for St Wilfred's Hospice in Arundel.  It was launched in the elegant surroundings of the Arundel Town Hall on Thursday 24 February.

Jack died in October 2010, and it was the amazing care given to Jack by the At Home Team from St Wilfrid's Hospice that made it possible for Jack to die with dignity at home amidst the comings and goings of his family and friends, at the centre of which he was always happiest. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that everyone in Arundel knew him as a smiling, gregarious man.  His profile was always high in fundraising for Arundel Museum as well as other local groups.  Most of the 300 letters and cards of condolence received by his wife, Jenny, commented on the lovely smile and charm of this true gentleman. The photograph of Jack was taken by Bill Philip when he and another friend, Walter Haberl, took Jack back to the site of his old RAF station at Carisbrooke on the Isle of Wight.

Jack's Jazz Night was planned for Thursday 10 March in St Mary's Hall in London Road.  It featured George's Regis Jazz Band.  All proceeds went to St Wilfrid's Hospice.  Jack was a great fan of jazz and organised Jazz Nights for various charities, so this was not only a fully booked and fun-packed fundraiser but a tribute to him as well.

Music by Gaslight Report by Gordon Sawyer.  Video clips by Chris Fuller.  Photographs by Richard West, Chichester.       A capacity audience rocked to the sounds of rising star Joni Fuller and Arundel's own Leon J Russell at the Music by Gaslight concert held in aid of Arundel Museum Society last Tuesday evening [22 February].

Nineteen year old Joni first stepped on to the world stage at the age of twelve in the Montreux Jazz Festival.  Also a song writer, singer and multi-instrumentalist, Joni was accompanied by guitarists Harry Brown and Chris Fuller.  Joni was given a standing ovation at the end of her set. Please click below to hear Joni singing at the concert: Fairy Tales Hallelujah Leon's softer style had set the concert rolling.  Leon writes, sings and plays his own compositions, and was joined on the night by fellow locals Jackie Hackett and Simon Bradshaw.

Sue Sawyer, speaking on behalf of the organising group [Sue Sawyer, Scotty Smalley, Jo Philbey (Joni's grandmother) and Marian Webb], said, "We have received a lot of help from a lot of people in making this evening such a great success.  All the artists gave their time free and Arundel Town Council allowed us to use the beautiful Upper Chamber under the atmospheric lighting of its magnificent 150 year old gasolier, the only one of its kind still working in England.  We wanted a quality event to thank the people of Arundel who are supporting the Museum's fundraising efforts towards our new museum project.  I am sure everyone who was there enjoyed the music, the setting, the wines and the canapés and the service.  To cap it all we also raised £1400 for the museum."

Visits by Arundel School Choirs from Zimbabwe

Report composed by Martyn Must from sources from Arundel School, Rosemary Hagedorn and Mark Phillips.  Photographs by Martyn Must  Video clips by Mark Philips.      

Arundel School Harare, Zimbabwe is a large girls' school founded in 1955.  On a recent visit to England to sing at concerts, members of the school choirs twice came to Arundel.  Please click here to learn more about Arundel School.

Castle Visit and Town Tour On their first visit on Thursday 3 February, the girls visited the castle, and had a guided tour of the town hosted by the Museum Society.  It was a pleasure to have such lively and interested visitors.  We were delighted to receive a book about their school which will go into the museum library.

Choral Concert at St Nicholas Church

Saturday 12 February was our chance to see and hear these wonderful choirs in action when they sang at St Nicholas Parish Church in Arundel.  They had already performed in Southwark Cathedral, at Claridges in London in front of Prince Charles and Camilla the previous Saturday, and they would be on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday 13 February.  Apparently BBC Radio were also trying to get in contact with the choirs.  So this was a not to be missed opportunity to see these highly praised choirs in action.

The first half of the concert comprised sacred music, and was sung by the Arundel Chapel Choir under its Director Meg MacKenzie. After an interval, Tariro Kamera directed the Arundel Voices of Zimbabwe, and they sang a mixture of sacred and secular traditional African songs, of which Kumbaya may have been familiar to many in the audience.

Please click below to hear Arundel Chapel Choir singing in St Nicholas Church: Gloria Deo Non Nobis Domine The Lord Bless You and Keep You Gloria Alleluia Or you can click here to visit the Arundel Chapel Choir's facebook page. Please click below to hear Arundel Voices of Zimbabwe singing in St Nicholas Church: Introduction & Imma Be Tererai (Listen) Rimwe Zuva (One Day) Tekishuwa (Takesure) Kashiri Kamambo (The Kings Bird) Re A Gae Jerusalem (We are going to Jerusalem) Baba Wetu (The Lords Prayer in Swahili) Myeya Wangu (My Spirit) Kumbaya (Come By Here) Thlonolofatsa (We Have Been Blessed) Ishe Komborera Africa (God Bless Africa)

What is the Origin of the Arundel Connection? The School and the Museum Society are keen to see if they can find the origin of the Arundel connection, but this is proving elusive.  There must surely be one, because, apart from the name of the school which was that of the farm on which it was built, the school is set in wooded surroundings in Mount Pleasant, and bordered on one side by Norfolk Road.  There are nearby streets called Bond Street and The Chase, while one of the visiting girls lives in Arun House.  There is a nearby village called Arundale, and to cap it all, the school crest is topped with the Arundel swallow.  Can anyone throw some light on this puzzle?

An Evening with Simon Brett

Report and Photograph by Martyn Must      

On Friday 28 January, a capacity audience was treated to An Evening with Simon Brett in Arundel's Priory Playhouse.  This intimate, local venue was ideal for the one man show that Simon put on.  During the first half, Simon recounted many entertaining stories of his career as a radio and television playright. The second half was devoted to a performance of his play Lines of Enquiry.  In fact, Simon played all 12 characters including the Chief Constable, numerous detectives, and Marguerite, a lovable madcap that everone calls Mags.  Lines of Enquiry was first performed at the Arundel Festival in 2001, and since then has been seen as far away as New York, Washington and San Diego. Simon is the author of more than 80 books including the Charles Paris and Mrs Pargeter series, and he is the creator of radio and television series including Dear Diary, Foul Play, No Commitments and After Henry.

Simon has lived on the edge of the South Downs near Arundel for the last 30 years, and is very supportive of local theatre.  His latest crime series, the Fethering mysteries, is set squarely in our home county.

The Museum Society is grateful to The Arundel Players who supported the event by allowing the Society the use of the Priory Playhouse for this event.