Chair: Susan Eddisford
Community Museums Officer, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Bradninch Offices, Bradninch Place, Exeter EX4 3LS
T: 01392 665967, E:
Administrator: Abigail Gray
MINUTES
Meeting held 17.07.2012 at Topsham Museum.
Present:
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Anne Balkwill, Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum;
Jennifer Bliss, Topsham Museum;
John Brodribb, South Devon Railway Museum;
John Claxton, Topsham Museum;
Felicity Cole, Newton Abbot Town & GWR Museum;
John Dunsford, Topsham Museum;
Susan Eddisford, DMG Chair & CMO, RAMM;
Peter Fisher, Coldharbour Mill;
Abi Gray, DMG Administrator;
Rosemary Hatch, Topsham Museum;
Jan Horrell, Museum Development Officer, Freelance;
Helena Jaeschke, CDO, South West;
Amelia Marriette, Torre Abbey;
Rachel Nichols, Topsham Museum;
Tony Nicholson, Lynton & Barnstaple Railway;
Sheila Phillips, Pengelly Cave Studies Trust;
Roger Sherriff, Fairlynch Museum;
Liz Stanley, Topsham Museum;
Sheila Stephens, Topsham Museum;
Sonia Stone, DMG Treasurer & Exmouth Museum;
Tess Walker, Newton Abbot Town & GWR Museum.
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Apologies:
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Alison Alexander, Totnes Fashion & Textiles Museum;
Irene Andrews, Devon Record Office;
Philip Armitage, Brixham Heritage Museum;
Alan Arthur, Exmouth Museum;
Laura Barclay, Bovey Tracey Heritage Trust;
Catriona Batty, Topsham Museum;
Jo Cairns, National Trust;
Brian Carpenter, Devon Record Office;
Ed Donohue, Crownhill Fort;
Julia Fox, Totnes Fashion & Textiles Museum;
Jane Harrold, Britannia Museum;
David Lingard, Dartmouth Museum;
Richard Porter, Britannia Museum;
Michael Rhodes, Torre Abbey;
Margaret Rose, Lyme Regis Museum;
Alan Smith, Whimple Heritage Centre;
Andrew Thompson, Museum of Dartmoor Life;
Maurie Webber, Museum of Dartmoor Life;
Barbara Wood, National Trust.
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Minutes of the Last Meeting
The minutes of the last meeting were agreed, proposed by Sonia Stone and seconded by Felicity Cole.
Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
Devon Museums Group Issues
Treasurer’s Report (Report circulated)
- Significantly fewer subscriptions to the Harwell Recovery Scheme were received this year and the shortfall had to be paid directly from DMG funds. Payments for 2012 – 2013 are due now, please pay promptly. The cost for each museum to be covered by the policy is just £15 and only museums that pay will now be included in the policy. A list of subscribers covered by the DMG policy will also be held by Harwell. Jan Horrell will be sending out letters imminently and payments should be received no later than 10th August.
- A number of museums have still not paid for their 2012 brochure entry; payment must be made as soon as possible.
- If you are considering running a Museums at Night event then do talk to Susan about funding as there is still money available and you could receive a small grant of up to £300 for your event.
- The DMG received £1000 from RAMM as part of their major partner museum status to spend in the first quarter of the financial year (before the end of June). The money was used to pay the hosting and technical support costs for devonmuseums.net; the organisation of the forum and general admin charges for the group. There will be another £4445 available for the rest of the year.
- Mary Godwin, Relationship Manager Museums ACE, met with Tim Wormleighton from the DRO and David Whitfield the Arts Officer for DCC to discuss the lack of support for heritage in the county. The initial response was favourable but further communications with Tim Wormleighton have been less encouraging, discussions will continue in the coming months.
Report from the Chair (Report circulated)
Brochure 2013: A decision will need to be made at the AGM in October as to how the 2013 brochure will be funded and ultimately whether it will be possible to go ahead with production. Please send any suggestions of possible sponsors / advertisers to Susan Eddisford before the next meeting; suggestions at the meeting included the Devon Record Office, First Great Western, First Bus and Stage Coach and RAMM designers and builders.
New Member: The group discussed the application for membership received from the Thelma Hubert Gallery in Honiton which is a registered charity but not a museum and therefore not accredited. The consensus was to develop different levels of membership such as associate members who would not have a vote in group business and to amend the constitution accordingly. The proposal was supported unanimously in a vote and the membership application will be put forward at the AGM for approval.
Website advertising: The group voted unanimously in favour of allowing the events of not for profit organisations to be advertised on devonmuseums.net free of charge.
iphone App: Some museums have still not updated their information on the website and are preventing further development of the iphone app. All museums must check their entries as soon as possible or they may face removal from devonmuseums.net. This includes a number of National Trust properties who will be given one more week to make the necessary updates. Susan Eddisford has also identified Buckfast Abbey and Morwellham Quay for removal from the website as it has not been possible to establish any contact with them. The latter is now a private tourist attraction and the only museum in the country that failed to return their accreditation application. Their removal was proposed by Sheila Philips and seconded by John Brodribb before being carried unanimously in the vote.
Donation Boxes
Museums with free admission have been using donations and shop sales to boost their income, a practice which has been very successful in Sidmouth Museum and at Fairlynch Museum also. Museums do need to be proactive in seeking donations however and at Tiverton Museum for example they have installed a Perspex top with an engraved image and LED lighting that changes colour to their donation box to attract extra attention. The supplier Acrylux has offered the DMG a discount on a bulk order so if you are interested in purchasing your own donation box please let Susan Eddisford know as soon as possible.
Please refer any queries or comments about the report to Susan Eddisford, Community Museums Officer or 01392 665967. Alternatively contact Jan Horrell or 07825978820 during working hours.
Regional Reports
Devon County Council News
No News.
SWFed News
SWFed's 2012 Conference and AGM took place on Monday 18th June at the Museum of Somerset, Taunton. The theme for the day was 'Are Museums an Art Form' and they had some excellent speakers including Phil Gibby, Director of Arts Council England (ACE) in the South West who gave the keynote address.Helena Jaeschke was elected to serve as the new membership secretary and Susan Eddisford will be taking over as county rep to report on activities in Devon museums and feeding back information from SWFed. If you have any particular training needs that you would like to be offered in your area please let Susan know; suggestions put forward at the meeting included:
- In house cleaning / conservation of artefacts as funds are limited
- Catalist training
- Cataloguing and documentation training for new volunteers.
For all the latest news from SWFed do check the website www.swfed.org.
Insurance
Susan has been investigating the possibility of acquiring group insurance with different brokers and getting quotes for different levels of cover but has not been able to get enough participation from museums to take it forward. Instead a list of good insurers / brokers will be uploaded to the members’ area of the website and if there are any you would like to include please let Susan know.
Safeguarding Update
A roadshow was organised by the Home Office to answer people’s questions about the vetting and barring system and the CRB checking process which has been in limbo since the current government came to power. It is now being redefined using the Freedom of Information Act to set the framework for the process. A pre-information pack has been uploaded to the members’ area and contains some quite considerable changes with a greater emphasis on protecting individual freedoms. Movement away from the notion that everyone needs to be CRB checked has begun and the process has been scaled down. There are now very few instances in which museums will need to have volunteers or staff CRB checked and trustees will not have to be checked at all. The information is not very clear on those having regular activity with school children as it is usually different children each visit. CRB checks will now be portable if the person requests this and pays an extra fee the documents will be issued to the individual and not the employer.
Museum Updates
Britannia Museum
- There has been little progress in the refurbishment of the Museum room recently as priorities have had to lie elsewhere.
Dartmouth Museum
- The Newcomen celebrations went well and many people are a lot wiser about the origins of the Industrial Revolution than was previously the case following a week of talks and visits to the Engine House, now more accessible. There was even a play put on by the local drama group.
- They will be starting to put pressure on the Town Council following their reshuffle regarding the museums proposals for more space.
- The museum had a day of free entry during the Newcomen week with 249 visitors, which is double the usual 'best day' of summer!Income however was small and mostly confined to shop items with almost no donations.It was one of the worst days of ‘summer’ weather wise.
Fairlynch Museum
- Started free admission this year and introduced a new donation box which has seen a fourfold increase in income.
- ‘Survival!’ the exhibition devoted to the Antarctic explorer Murray Levick, carries on for its second year and there is also a commemorative feature on the writer R.F. Delderfield.
- They will be redesigning the shop this winter to focus on local arts and crafts.
- The museum is now on Twitter and has more than 700 followers.
Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum
- Visitor numbers are up, possibly owing to the weather, with 200+ more adults passing through the door.
- Held a Museums at Night event with a bbq and live music thanks to a grant and they made nearly £1000 for the museum over 4 to 5 hours.
- Hired the 150 seat auditorium at the local Community College for just £50 to show a film by an ex BBC producer about evacuation in the South Hams. The evening made a total of £870 for the museum and the college also made money through selling refreshments. Would definitely consider using the venue again as it ticks all sorts of community boxes and provides free parking for attendees.
- Will have a stall in the country scene tent at the local agricultural show in September.
Newton Abbot Town and GWR Museum
- Nearing the end of the conservation project to restore a renaissance screen. Through the project and its associated workshops more than 1000 people from across the generations have been involved.
- Researcher, Dr Nicholas Ryle, with the help of Newton Abbot volunteers is continuing to work on the interpretation of the screen as they prepare for it to go on display for the first time in 175 years.
- There are a number of degree students volunteering at the museum at present which has been of great benefit.
- Busy working on the 2013 and 2014 exhibitions.
- Linking with the National Trust and the new library in Newton Abbot to produce a joint community project on WW1 which will get local schools involved, perhaps with the help of a theatre company.
Pengelly Cave Studies Trust
- From the 19th September the museum will be ripped out and refurbished as it is in desperate need of an overhaul.
- Held a bat day in May with the Wildlife Trust.
- Thanks to Ashburton Museum who donated a collection of bones including part of an Elephant’s tooth.
Topsham Museum
- Started the season with displays in top condition thanks to a refurbishment.
- Visitor numbers are about the same as last year but the museum is open one extra day each week.
- Café is down a bit and the shop is up, partly owing to the ability to accept card payments.
- The next exhibition will feature Salmon fishing on the Exe which will be put together with help from the current Salmon fishermen.
- For the centenary of Vivien Leigh’s birth they will be joining forces with the Bill Douglas Centre at the University of Exeter along with the English and Drama departments.
- Working with Tucker’s Hall for an exhibition in 2014 on the woollen trade.
Totnes Fashion and Textiles Museum
- This year’s exhibition is Sports and Spectators Then and Now, 1880 2012.
Crediton Area History and Museum Society
- We were sorry to hear of the death of John Jones from Crediton Area History and Museum Society. He was a long standing supporter of Devon Museums Group.
Date and venue of next meeting and AGM
Friday, 19th October 2012 at Killerton House, Broadclyst, Exeter EX5 3LE.
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