THE JUDGES Lodgings in Presteigne are celebrating and making plans after being awarded funding in the region of £50,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The grant from the HLF will go towards the new Presteigne Community Collections Project. The Lodgings hold a local history collection of over 2,000 objects, from photos and paperwork of Presteigne people and businesses, to clothes, shop items, toys, tools and war memorabilia.
Thanks to the support of HLF and the Welsh Assembly Government, the Lodgings will now begin work on two brand new rooms - one permanent display room on Presteigne, with a ‘chill-out’ space, toys and books, interactive computers and a great selection of hot drinks.
The other room will become a new temporary exhibition gallery, which will house a changing programme of displays and events working with you, the people of our community and our supporters.
More than 150 people turned up at the Museum this week to view the room already set aside for Presteigne artefacts, and staff at the Lodging’s are hoping that people will get more involved.
Curator at the Museum, Gaby Rivers said: “We are looking for local people to join us in this exciting new work. There are all sorts of things you can do to be a part of your museum - help us look after the objects themselves, research, work on events, put exhibitions together, even gardening, if that is your thing.
“There will be training and workshops on looking after museum objects, working with images, family history, oral history and more over the next year. You don't need to commit yourself to anything right now, just let us know if you may be interested and we will be in touch really soon.”
The Lodgings are currently putting together a community panel who will meet four times over the next year to look at subject matter for the new displays and the sorts of exhibitions you would like to see happen in the new space.
Gaby was extremely grateful for the money which she says will benefit the community. She added: “I'm very delighted that we have received this money form the HLF.”
If you would be interested in joining this, please let Gaby know as soon as possible, you can either drop in to the Lodgings, call on 01544 260650, or email info@judgeslodging.org.uk