Ros Allwood
Suzie admiring the lovely silver bracelet Cas made for her
Suzie’s lunch at the Pitcher & Piano, Hitchin
Last week we sadly said goodbye to Suzie, who is leaving to have her first baby next month. Suzie has been with us for getting on for six years, coming first on a three-month contract to photograph the Loans Collection at Burymead. Suzie was such a good addition to the team we managed to keep renewing her contract, and before too long she became Assistant Curator at Hitchin. We are all very sorry to see her go, and can’t wait for her to come back to test the Family Friendliness of the new museum.
Last week saw the 40th anniversary of North Herts. District Council. Before they left, our two much-missed interns prepared information for a display about the birth of NHDC, which Sian and I put up in the Council Offices for the anniversary Council meeting on Thursday evening. As well as information about the winding up of the previous councils (Hitchin Urban, Hitchin Rural, Letchworth, Baldock and Royston Urban District Councils) Emily and Vicki had copied old adverts from 1974, when a Council salary started at just over £600pa, and you could buy a nice house for £13,000. The museum has a copy of the menu for the last meal of Hitchin UDC, held at the Angel’s Reply in Hitchin, where the pudding was Pineapple Surprise, followed by Cona coffee. The top photo shows some of the local government material normally held in store, the lower photo shows a small selection of the images we displayed.
Wonderful news – we have heard that the Council has been successful in its Stage 2 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bid towards the new North Herts Museum. We will receive a grant of £914,400 from the HLF, to fund the fit-out of the new museum, ensuring that it tells the story of the District through bright modern displays.
View of the entrance to the new North Herts. Museum
Downstairs there will be an introductory gallery telling the history of the District in a chronological manner, from prehistory to the 21st century. There will also be an air-conditioned temporary exhibition gallery on the ground floor, where we will be able to display high-quality works borrowed from other museums. The galleries upstairs will be themed, looking at how we have lived and worked in North Hertfordshire over the years. Some favourite items from the old museums will be re-displayed, as well as many pieces we have never before been able to display. Thanks to the HLF, the new museum will have state-of-the-art display cases and lighting. Some of the grant will go towards materials to help the cleaning and packing of the hundreds of museum objects that the team – of staff, interns and volunteers – is currently processing, and there is also funding for a part-time Audience Development post for the first year of operation. This is excellent news, and we are extremely grateful to the HLF for all their support.