Community Museum officially opened

The refurbished Beverley Community Museum in the Guildhall has been officially opened by the chairman of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Councillor Pat O’Neil.

The refurbishment was funded by a £20,000 grant from Arts Council England, as part of the Joining up the Humber Museums Project, and the money has allowed the installation of new LED lighting in the museum, along with a much lighter and brighter feel, together with new bespoke furniture and an opportunity to display new exhibitions.

The museum has reopened with a display called ‘Tales of the Town’, which gives Beverley residents a chance to find out much more about the history and development of their town. It includes an exhibition called ‘Keeping the home fires burning’ – how the First World War affected Beverley.

The other newly furnished room in the Community Museum features a new permanent exhibition called ‘Shaping Beverley: how 1300 years of history have shaped the town’. There are plenty of photographs of the town past and present and stories of how the town has changed over the years as its previous industrial heritage gave way to a more residential and tourism-based focus. The exhibition also includes many objects from the Guildhall’s social history collection, and a fascinating chance to overlay maps to see graphically how the town has developed.

Guildhall curator Fiona Jenkinson said: “We want local people to help develop this exhibition by bringing in their own photographs of the town and their own memories to add to the collection. The more we can get, the more and more fascinating this new exhibition will become.”

Councillor Richard Burton, portfolio holder for civic wellbeing and culture at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “I am delighted with this refurbishment of the Community Museum, and the efforts of Fiona and her team to produce a truly fascinating exhibition which adds a great deal to the visitor experience at Beverley Guildhall.”

The Community Museum is part of Beverley Guildhall, and is open – free of charge – on Fridays all year round from 10am–4pm, and on Wednesdays until late October from 10am–4pm. There will be an additional opening on Saturday 16 August from 10am–4pm to give visitors an extra chance to see the new exhibitions. A visit includes the chance to see the museum, the old Court Room (as featured on ‘Death Comes to Pemberley’ on BBC1 last Christmas), and the Georgian period rooms upstairs.