Category: museums

Museum of Carpet, Kidderminster, Latest Industrial Site to Close in 2025

Museum of Carpet, Kidderminster, Latest Industrial Site to Close in 2025

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The Museum of Carpet in Kidderminster has announced that it will close on the 20th December 2025. The announcement earlier this month by the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Carpet Museum Trust, adds another industrial heritage site in England to the closure list for 2025. For the Museum of Carpet, this was the culmination of a several years of rising energy prices, maintenance costs, loss of tenants, and reduced footfall.

The Kidderminster carpet museum is the latest industrial site to announce its closure in 2025. Other museums and heritage sites to close this year, or announce imminent closure, include Alford Windmill, Cannock Chase Mining Museum, Castleton Museum, Otterburne Textile Mill, and the Walsall Leather Museum.

The full closure statement from the Museum of Carpet is below:

“It is with deep regret that the Carpet Museum Trust announces the closure of the Museum of Carpet, Stour Vale Mill, Kidderminster, on the 20th December 2025. After 13 years serving the public as a centre of learning, culture and heritage the museum has, like many similar institutions, faced significant financial challenges in recent years.

Despite the dedication of staff, volunteers, Friends, Trustees, Corporate Partners and supporters the combination of rising energy prices, maintenance costs, loss of tenants and reduced footfall have made it unsustainable to continue operations at its present site. Efforts to secure additional long term funding have been explored extensively with the help of Museums Development Midlands and the Arts Council. Unfortunately, no sustainable solutions have been found to overcome these financial challenges.

The Carpet Museum Trust, will continue to be responsible for the management of its archives, displays and collections. Arrangements are being made to preserve and relocate the Museum’s collection for future generations as necessary and they will be made public once details are finalized .In the meantime access to these collections and archive will remain a priority for the Trust – please make enquiries via email to collections@museumofcarpet.org.uk

If you feel you are able to help or assist in any way please get in touch with me as below. In the meantime up to December 20th we hope that the people of Kidderminster and Wyre Forest will take the opportunity to show their support and appreciation of what we have accomplished by visiting us along with their families.

Geoffrey Gilbert.

Chair of the Board of Trustees, Carpet Museum Trust

Email. gilberga51@gmail.com”

Kidderminster Museum of Carpet staff, volunteers, and weaving machine. Image coursey of Museum of Carpet.

Petition Opened to Stop the Closure of the Walsall Leather Museum

Petition Opened to Stop the Closure of the Walsall Leather Museum

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A campaign has been set up to persuade Walsall Council not to close the Walsall Leather Museum. In September Walsall Council announced that Walsall Leather Museum will close next year (2026), despite a stay of execution earlier this year. They have approved plans for finding and purchasing a new town centre building for the museum and to sell off the existing museum building, itself a former leather works in Littleton Street West, to the nearby Walsall College.

The petition, which was launched at the beginning of November, accuses the council of “silently stripping away a cherished historical community asset that belongs to all of us”, and adds that “this decision is being made behind closed doors, with no meaningful public consultation and no transparency about how or when these choices were or are made. They have no formal plans to provide an alternative building or protect the museum’s historic collections.”

You can view the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-closure-of-walsall-leather-museum?fbclid=IwY2xjawOAFPFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeL5Bk-Bk9UQ43lgNee6A3W3BBJV7NMeeGP2WAhyHwfvmwBIOd5gplTNj7lzA_aem_0shgQFPzBOMV9TAKuQvQ2w

Science Museum, London, Receives £10m+ Donation

Science Museum, London, Receives £10m+ Donation

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The Science Museum, London, has announced the receipt of an eight-figure donation from the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The Serum Institute of India, led by its CEO Adar Poonawalla, has donated at least £10m to the museum.  The Serum Institute of India, founded in 1966, operates in more than 170 countries, and has delivered over 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses. The donation is the largest international donation in the museum’s history.

The museum said the capital will support the transformation of its twenty year old ‘Making the Modern World’ gallery into the ‘Ages of Invention: The Serum Institute Gallery’, set to re-open in 2028. The new gallery will “reflect current global concerns and scientific thinking”, and will be designed by Lawson Ward Studio, the architecture and design studio led by Hannah Lawson and Georgina Ward who were recently appointed as the gallery’s architect.  

Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, said that “‘Through our ambitious new Ages of Invention: The Serum Institute Gallery we will create the most significant display of objects from the history of science anywhere in the world. Visitors will be able to journey through 250 years of innovation and explore the scientific ideas shaping our lives today.”

Mr. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, said: “With this contribution, which will help in bringing in a transformation to this iconic space, we strive to inspire the future generations and celebrate the incredible journey of science that shapes our world.’’ 

Due to open in 2028, Ages of Invention: The Serum Institute Gallery will feature the most significant display of objects from the history of science, technology, and engineering anywhere in the world. From the rise of the industrialised world to the emergence of new scientific fields, this dramatic and engaging gallery will invite visitors to explore 250 years of innovation to discover the extraordinary objects, stories and people behind the scientific ideas that changed our lives. Significant objects set to feature in Ages of Invention: The Serum Institute Gallery include the telescope used by astronomer Caroline Herschel (1795); the world’s oldest surviving steam locomotive, Puffing Billy (1813–1814); J.J. Thomson’s cathode ray tube used in the discovery of the electron (1897); Tucker Sno-cat used in the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctica Expedition (1955), and Tracy, one of the first transgenic sheep (1990–97).

For more details follow this link: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about-us/press-office/science-museum-receives-largest-international-donation-date-enabling

A view of the Making the Modern World gallery. Image copyright Science Museum Group.

Industrial Museums Amongst Museum Renewal Fund Recipients

Industrial Museums Amongst Museum Renewal Fund Recipients

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Seventy-five civic museums across England will share £20m through the UK Government’s Museum Renewal Fund. The monies will be distributed Arts Council England. The funding forms part of the £270 million ‘Arts Everywhere Fund’ launched in February 2025. The funding will be used by museums to support work towards stabilising their financial situation and building towards sustainable and thriving futures. It must be spent by the end of January 2026.

Local authority and other civic musuems services with industrial sites receiving more than £5 million in funding include:

  • Barnsley Museums (£266,273)
  • Birmingham Museums Trust (£994,742)
  • Bradford Museums and Galleries (£125,000)
  • Bridport Museum Trust (£29,218)
  • Bristol Museums (£495,320)
  • Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust (£533,084)
  • Dean Heritage Centre (Forest of Dean) (£58,285)
  • Derby Museums (£799,700)
  • Leeds Museums and Galleries (£952,000)
  • Museum of Royal Worcester CIO (£228,343)
  • Norfolk Museums Service (£360,000)
  • People’s History Museum (Manchester) (£652,157)
  • The Food Museum (£351,112)
  • The World of Glass (St Helens) (£286,000)

The full list of museums supported, and further details, can be found here: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/creative-matters/news/museum-renewal-fund-stabilising-now-building-future

Dean Heritage Centre, Forest of Dean. Image courset of Dean Heritage Centre.

Walsall’s Leather Museum Will Close, Afterall

Walsall’s Leather Museum Will Close, Afterall

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Walsall Council has announced that Walsall Leather Museum will close next year (2026), despite a stay of execution earlier this year. The Council met on Wednesday, September 24, to approve plans for purchasing a new town centre building for the museum and to sell off the existing museum building, it self a former leather works in Littleton Street West, to the nearby Walsall College.

In February a petition against any sale, closure, or relocation of the Museum attracted 6,491 signatures and hundreds of people attended a demonstration and march at the time to oppose the closure. The Council cabinet announced on February 12 that Walsall Leather Museum would remain open in its current location to allow them to meet with stakeholders, deferring any decision until 2026. However, this new decision means that the museum will close without any new premsies being identified and without a long term plan for the contents of the museum.

Further details here: ttps://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/attractions/2025/09/25/youre-destroying-the-cultural-heritage-of-walsall-by-moving-the-leather-museum-says-mp/

Walsdall Leather Museum. Image courtesy of Walsall Letaher Museum.
World of Glass Museum Saved from Closure Through Supporters’ Fundraising

World of Glass Museum Saved from Closure Through Supporters’ Fundraising

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The World of Glass Museum in St Helens has been saved from closure, ahead of its 25th anniversary year in 2026. The museum was facing a combination of increasing competition for funding across the charity sector, and a steep rise in annual running costs which threatened its immediate future (see blog 2nd July). In response the museum launched an emergency funding appeal.

The Museum reported that a crowdfunding appeal had raised £27,000, and in addition they had received generous support from local firms, grant funders, and community fundraisers. This has brought the total of funds raised to £87,000. Sarah Taylor, World of Glass chief executive, said: “This support has been so inspiring….We’re breathing a huge sigh of relief. Thanks to this funding, we can plan for the future with confidence. We are proud to be a free museum, committed to sharing art, history, and culture with everyone — regardless of background or income.”

For further details follow this link: https://www.worldofglass.com/

Museum of Glass, St Helens, showing The Hotties furnace. Image courtesy of Museum of Glass.

North West Industrial Heritage Network Meeting, 17 October

North West Industrial Heritage Network Meeting, 17 October

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The next in-person North West Industrial Heritage Network meeting will be held at the Lancashire Mining Museum, Astley, Wigan, on the 17th October, from 11am to 1pm. This will be followed, after lunch (please bring your own), by a tour of the site (2pm to 3pm). The themes for the 2025-26 IHN meetings are conservation and maintenance.

All IHN members are very welcome to attend. To book a place follow this link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-west-industrial-heritage-network-tickets-1716173072859?aff=oddtdtcreator

The Lancashire Mining Musuem, which is entirely voluntary run, has origins going back to the 1970s, and first opened to the public in 1982, re-using buildings from the former Astley Pit, which closed in 1970. The museum has the last surviving headgear and winding house in the whole Lancashire coalfield. Apart from the steam winding engine and headgear, the museum also houses many exhibits, not least of which is the collection of 28 colliery locomotives, the largest collection of its type in the United Kingdom.

More details about the museum here: https://lancashireminingmuseum.org/

New IHSO Podcast: Preserving Cheddleton Flint Mill

New IHSO Podcast: Preserving Cheddleton Flint Mill

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The lastest industrial heritage podcast from the IHSO project is now available to listen and download. This episode is an interview with Nick Smith, one of a small group of volunteers at Cheddleton Flint Mill in Staffordshire and a trustee of the trust that looks after the site.

The aim of this podcast was to hear from Nick about the mill’s history, to discuss how the site was saved, and how it has been conserved for future generations. You can learn more about the mill and current events on site here: https://cheddletonflintmill.com/

This podcast is part of the wider Archaeotea podcast series recorded by the IHSO, Dr Michael Nevell. You can follow this link to listen to the new episode.

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/archaeotea-podcast/episodes/Preserving-Cheddleton-Flint-Mill-e378aga/a-ac4aeos

The two waterwheels at Cheddleton Flint Mill, Staffordshire. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell.

CBA Launches New Volunteer Opportunities Page

CBA Launches New Volunteer Opportunities Page

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The Council for Britsh Archaeology (CBA) has launched a new volunteering page, listing opportunities across the UK. You can search by your region to find volunteering callouts near you. However, the page doesn’t just listed opportunities for volunteers, but also has a section where groups, sites, and museums can list their own volunteering opportunities in archaeology and heritage.

Current industrial archaeology and heritage volunteer openings include opportunities to help Kingswood Heritage Museum (a brassworks) in South Glouscestershire, digitising opportunities with the Food Museum, and helping out with the North Tynside Steam Railway.

To learn more about new volunteer opportunities sign up for the CBA volunteering newesletter by following this link:

https://www.archaeologyuk.org/get-involved/volunteering.html

Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants

Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants

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Arst Council England (ACE) is encouraging museums, especially museums within Priority Places, (where there are many industrial heritage sites) to apply for their National Lottery Project Grants (Project Grants) scheme. This is an open access programme for arts, libraries, and museums project funding. Grants range from £1,000 to over £100,000; they are divided into applications for under £30,000, applications for £30,001 to £100,000 and applications for £100,001 and over.

  • Unlocking Collections: This is a time limited priority, the deadline for applications has been extended until November 2025, ACE is prioritising and encouraging museums to apply for activity to develop their collections-based work and increase public engagement with, and use of, their collections. Funding could support: reinterpretation of collections; collections review; digital skills development
  • Place Partnership Fund: ACE’s Place Partnership Fund is to support partnerships that aim to make a step change in the cultural and creative opportunities in the applicants area. It’s open to everyone but may be of particular interest to organisations in ACE’s Priority Places or DCMS’s Levelling Up for Culture Places.

Further details here:

https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/ProjectGrants