Event - Charity status for museum group (Newark)

A group that plans to raise up to £100,000 for Newark’s new Civil War museum has been awarded charity status.


The Friends of Newark and Sherwood Museum Service is working with the district council to create a museum at the Old Magnus Buildings, Appletongate.

The group’s fundraising officer, Anne Coyne, said the charity status was key to the plans to raise between £50,000 and £100,000.

She said it allowed them to apply to grant-making bodies that accepted applications only from registered charities.

An online fundraising website has been created on Localgiving.com

The website has matched funding days, when any donations made online are matched by Localgiving.com Ltd. The next matched funding day is on Monday.

Members of the group will tackle the Trent Vale Challenge next month, a 54-mile walk over four days from East Bridgford to Gainsborough.

The walk, from June 18 to 21, will raise money for the museum service and promote the heritage of the Trent Valley through a series of outreach events and short talks.

Lowe’s Wong Infants’ School, Southwell, and John Blow Primary School, Collingham, will be involved in events run by the museum’s education team.

There will be evening pub quizzes at the Royal Oak, East Bridgford, on June 17, at the Saracen’s Head, Southwell, on June 18, and at The Prince Rupert, Newark, on June 19.

The walk is supported by Trent Vale Landscape Partnership and RWE nPower at Staythorpe Power Station.

The group is also organising a vintage tea party on Saturday, May 26, at Millgate Museum and a tour of the ground floor of the Old Magnus Buildings.

Call Millgate Museum for details on 01636 655730.

Donations for the group can be made online at https://local giving.com/charity/friend sofnewarkandsherwoodmuse umservice

To join the walk or for event details email Anne Coyne on vcoyne@btinternet.com or call 01636 611640.

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Charity-status-for-museum-group

News - Clean Sweep for museum (Newark)

Schools, churches and parish councils could be offered some of the historical items owned by Newark and Sherwood District Council’s museum service.

 

Mr Roger Jackson told the council’s cabinet the museum service owned about 70,000 items, of which 17,000 were on display at Millgate Museum.

He said they needed to look at their collections before renewing their museum accreditation next February. Members agreed that a review of its collections, policies and plans should be carried out.

Mr Jackson said: “We should be looking at quality not quantity and it might be that some items are more appropriate for other areas.”

He said the aim was to go through the collections, come up with a disposal policy and look at what they wanted to keep.

He said some of the items could be returned to their original donors or given to Newark Town Council for its museum. He suggested that items could be given to Ollerton, Southwell and other parts of the county.

Mr Roger Blaney asked if schools could be given appropriate items too so they could start their own local history museum.

He said: “We have an outreach project where the items are taken to schools so could we take them and leave them?”

Mrs Nora Armstrong said churches and parish councils might like to be offered items.

Mr Jackson said they were waiting to hear if their bid for Lottery money to turn the former Magnus buildings on Appletongate, Newark, into a National Civil War Centre had been successful.

He said it was planned to charge for entry into some of the exhibitions and they hoped to borrow relevant artefacts from other museums.

 

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Clean-sweep-for-museum

News - War museum passes first planning step (Newark)

District planners have given the green light to plans to create a national Civil War museum in Newark.

The application — put forward by Newark and Sherwood District Council — features a glass extension between the Palace Theatre and the Georgian Old Magnus Buildings, as well as internal and external alterations.

Its planning committee expressed reservations about how a modern glass extension would look, but approved the proposal.

However, because the council cannot determine its own applications, it will go to the Government for a final decision.

The committee was told the buildings had been empty since 2005 and, including the Tudor Hall that dates from 1532, were grade two listed for protection, putting them in the top 6% of heritage assets in the country.

A bid seeking £3.5m has been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund to pay for the project.

The committee was told the Civil War museum would have national and international significance and could attract 60,000 visitors a year.

It would also feature exhibitions relating to other parts of Newark’s history and the history of the wider area, as well as offering educational and meeting space, a café and a shop.

The vice-chairman, Mr Ben Wells, was the only committee member to vote against the proposal.

He described the glass block as a “carbuncle, a monstrosity to be placed in the centre of Newark” as well as dull, boring and uninspiring.

Mrs Sue Saddington felt the design was too clinical and could be home to flats, a hospital or similar instead of a building of culture.

Mr Dennis Jones suggested the glass frontage be etched with images of Roundheads and Cavaliers.

Mr Julian Hamilton said the buildings’ progression through the ages appeared disjointed.

He said: “It doesn’t look like a museum to me. It doesn’t look appealing. There is a lack of originality.

“However, what is behind the facade will be an iconic museum making Newark a destination rather than a visit.”

The cabinet member for leisure, Mr Roger Jackson, told the committee that the glass and the visible steel girders behind it were necessary to house a complicated lift system opening at different levels and in different directions, a requirement of the Disability Discrimination Act.

The committee felt they would have a chance to tweak the scheme as the process went on.

Committee chairman Mr David Payne said: “It is an important project, an exciting project. It is the council’s own project.”

Describing the glass section of frontage, he said: “It’s novel for Newark but not for the rest of the country.”

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/view.asp?id=9d046d1a-a93c-102f-b2bc-83945e1963a8&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

News - Museum bid progresses (Newark)

The creation of a £5m museum at Newark’s Old Magnus Buildings is progressing after councillors agreed to submit a bid for about £3m to the Heritage Lottery Fund. 

Newark and Sherwood District Council’s cabinet agreed to the latest application, after previously receiving £200,000 from the fund to create a design for the project.

The project would see the Old Magnus Buildings, Appletongate, which include the historic Tudor Hall, transformed into a national Civil War museum.

District councillor Mr Roger Jackson, at a meeting last week, said the project was an exciting prospect.

“Hopefully our application for funding will go through and we will be able to create a better museum service in the district and bring a lot more people to Newark and Sherwood and the surrounding area,” he said.

Mr Tony Roberts said the museum would highlight Newark’s role in the nation’s history.

Mr Roger Blaney thought the project would encourage more tourists.

“It will give tourists the justification to come to Newark not just for the day, but to stay,” he said.

 

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Museum-bid-progresses

News - Civil war centre a step nearer (Newark)

A planning application is set to be submitted for the long-awaited transformation of the Old Magnus Buildings, Newark, into the National Centre for Civil War Learning.

The plans include a modern, glass-fronted structure which would be added to the unoccupied buildings that were home to the original Magnus Grammar School on Appletongate.

The project development manager, Mrs Briony Robins, said the modern structure would add to the architectural heritage of the site, which includes the Tudor Hall, dating from 1529, plus a Georgian townhouse and Victorian schoolroom.

As part of the plans all three of the older buildings would be extensively restored and facilities for permanent and temporary exhibitions incorporated.

The Tudor Hall, which would be restored to its original colour scheme, could be a study area, meeting space and café.

Mrs Robins said the museum could bring an extra 26,000 visitors to Newark and the surrounding area, potentially drawing in up to £1m a year to the local economy.

In July, Newark and Sherwood District Council’s museums service commissioned concept drawings of how the interior could look.

The project is dependent on a successful bid for £2.8m to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The plans will be submitted to the district council’s planning department.

If they are approved the development, which will cost in excess of £4m, could be open by 2014.

The museum would need more than 60 volunteers to help run it.

Mrs Robins said: “This is more than just building a new museum. It is about creating a new community resource for learning.

“This venture will bring lots more visitors to Newark and Sherwood.

“We want to promote the historical significance of Newark because it is very undervalued.”

The Heritage Lottery Fund previously granted development money, which helped to pay for preliminary investigations and remedial works.

 

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Civil-war-centre-a-step-nearer

News - £100,000 for museum (Newark)

A grant of £100,000 is set to be given to a project to convert the Old Magnus Buildings into a Civil War museum.

The grant would come from the remaining money to be allocated from the now defunct group of local authorities and organisations known as the Nottinghamshire Partnership.

There is £375,600 left to spend on community projects in Newark and Sherwood.

The grant to the £4.4m Old Magnus Buildings scheme, of which it is hoped £2.8m will come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, has been suggested by the district council.

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/100000-for-museum

Event - Inaugural museum meeting (Newark)

The inaugural meeting of the Appletongate Museum Friends’ Group takes place tonight at Millgate Museum at 6pm.

It is hoped the group will form a solid and supportive role in the planned creation of a new Civil War museum on Appletongate, as well as Newark and Sherwood District Council’s museum service as a whole.

Anyone interested can book a place at the meeting through museums@nsdc.info or by telephoning 01636 655730.

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Inaugural-museum-meeting