Minutes of The s16

Minutes of the Museums in Somerset Winter Group Meeting held on Monday, 28th February 2011 at Somerset Heritage Centre

Present: David Hill, Chairman and 43 members (See attached list.)

On behalf of the Somerset Heritage and Libraries Service, Helen Mansfield welcomed members to the Heritage Centre.

Apologies for absence were received from 13 members. (See attached list.)

Chairman’s report At the recent MiS Standing Committee meeting, when discussing the threatened redundancy of the MDO post in Somerset, the committee had considered Natalie’s achievements in the role. These include raising almost £100,000 for Somerset museums. The post is now secure for another year, and the Chairman thanked the Museums & Libraries Association, South Somerset District Council and Somerset County Council for their roles. The closure of the Museum of South Somerset has been announced, as has the intended closure of North Somerset Museum. The Chairman has written letters stressing the need for partnership funding, and acknowledges that financial cuts will have an impact on more museums. On a positive note, however, the meeting was being held in the new Somerset Heritage Centre, and he looks forward to news on the Museum of Somerset.

Secretary’s report Richard de Peyer is living in the area again and wishes to be involved with the group. Felicity Baber at the Bishop’s Palace has put out a call for exhibits for the Church Treasures exhibition ( - see her report).

Treasurer’s report The committee thought we should use our bank account, so the Group now has £33.59 in cash and £20 in the bank. This money can be used to hire a venue for a meeting. If anyone would like to act as host, please speak to a member of the committee

The Minutes of the Autumn Group Meeting (11th October) had been circulated. The ‘mechanically-mined volunteer’ sought by Watchet Boat Museum was corrected to ‘mechanically-minded volunteer’ before the minutes were agreed and signed. There were no matters arising.

The 2011 AGM and Spring Meeting will be on Monday, 16th May 2011, at Barrington Court, near Ilminster. N.B. Elections will be held for the post of chairman and committee members. Updates from regional representatives 1. Trevor Gough, MLA South-West Regional Manager By 31st March 2012 the MLA will cease to exist. Museum and Library functions will reside with the Arts Council England, though the future of the Archive function has not yet been announced. National level proposals for staffing structures are due soon and personnel will not transfer. All staff are currently at risk of redundancy. Funding from 1st April will be programmed. It does seem that the Arts Council is fully committed to the MLA functions. Asked about local input, Trevor explained that news will come out as it becomes available, via the South West Federation, MDOs and groups such as Museums in Somerset. Trevor thinks that consultation is unlikely, as the Arts Council does not engage with local government. Asked about the Arts Council’s large regional offices and the likely impact of its own cuts, Trevor admitted that by 2013-14 it will be reducing its own overheads and that the Museum and Library functions could be affected.

Renaissance is reducing. Its budget has been reduced by 15.4%, with cuts to be absorbed in overheads, programmed funding and the hub museums. Business planning is almost complete. 2011-12 will be a transition year. The hub museums will have a 15% cut, giving a need for down-sizing, altering staff structure and fund-raising. In 2013, New Renaissance takes over at a national level, with money going to national museums and a strong pressure for the nationals to work regionally. Core museums will take the place of hub museums, though they will be far fewer. Their number and the criteria for becoming a core museum are not yet known. MDO funding will continue in New Renaissance for 2012-13. MDOs are recognised as doing great work, though each region operates differently. The idea of national coordination of MDOs has now been put on hold for 12 months. New Renaissance will have a national Challenge Fund, to which a museum or a group of museums could bid for development or training. This will be revenue funding, not capital. For 2011-12, this is £42 million (down from £46 million). Business plans for the hub museums are being signed off, though the regional plan is lagging behind. The focus will be on: creative communities; developing new talent (staff training); a sustainable south-west and culture on tour. The Renaissance hub office is being reduced in scale. It will reside with Bristol City Council. Raj Pal would be finishing at the beginning of March, and Stella Yates is due to finish in June.

Museum Development. The funding formula for 2011-12 has changed, and funding has gone up to £480,000 for the Museums Development Fund and Museums Development Officer work. Although this is a transition year, the MDO work is so important that it must carry on. Parts of the south-west have no MDO, and it is hoped to fill the gaps. As host institutions are also suffering funding cuts, the hosting costs are increasing. Funding will continue for the training programme delivered by the SWFed. There will be courses specifically on the New Accreditation scheme. There will be training on sustainability and how to advocate with partner funding organisations. Asked about Conservation Development, Trevor confirmed that there will be funding for a Conservation Development Officer based in Exeter.

2. Kathryn Sherrington, Somerset representative for South West Federation of Museums and Art Galleries

The South West Fed.is obtaining quotes from web design companies. The new-look website will be funded by Renaissance. Any suggestions should be fed in through Kathryn or Natalie Watson. The SWFed is now on Facebook and Twitter. The funding for training is coming from a smaller pot, and the SWFed is considering asking people to pay for lunch at courses. The next newsletter will feature developments and successful project which museums have done with MDOs. The SWFed AGM will be at Bristol in June, with Liz Forgan, head of the Arts Council as guest speaker – they hope. Kathryn urged people to join the SWFed, which gives free entry to many museums across the south-west. Corporate membership has just been introduced, following an approach by a design company.

Contact Kathryn anytime at [email protected]

3. Helen Mansfield, Somerset Heritage & Library Service The Somerset Heritage Centre opened in September. It cost £9,250,000 and is a positive development for the service, bringing all aspects of heritage together, including the registration service, which has now moved to the centre. The archive has been assessed and now meets The National Archive’s standard.

The Museum of Somerset’s site has now been taken on by the SH&L Service, which is now putting objects in. The Visitor Services team is working with Natalie to recruit volunteers.

Rural Life Project (Estelle Gilbert) Architects were appointed in August 2010. The Rural Life Museum is bidding for HLF funding and putting grant applications in. The intention is to upgrade & update the museum, and to improve its fund-raising capability.

4. Natalie Watson, Museum Development Officer Natalie thanked MLA, SSDC & SCC for funding for another year.

Her projects for 2010 -11 were Sustainable Somerset Museums, for which she employed consultants, and the Take One project. All museums in the county were surveyed for Sustainable Somerset Museums, and a number of accredited museums were chosen. The Take One project (cross-curricular work with schools) was funded by MLA, and that funding will cease. Natalie hopes to find alternative funding, and would wish to continue regardless.

Somerset Routes has been reprinted and 10,000 booklets are ready. These will be delivered to coincide with the beginning of the season. Forty new sites have been included. The VisitSomerset website has been updated, and a Bristol company is keen to develop an App. Asked about the VisitSomerset website, Natalie confirmed that free attractions can go on the website at no charge, but charging attractions within Somerset Routes must pay £10 for inclusion. The website may cease to operate from June/July because of funding cuts. However, the Somerset Heritage & Libraries website will include Museums in Somerset and Somerset Routes. The Somerset Routes display boards are available and should be at the AGM. (The Chairman noted that a website discussion should be programmed for the AGM.) 5. Laura Burnett, Finds Liaison Officer Laura explained that the Portable Antiquities Scheme had been part of MLA, but is now funded by the British Museum. Anything dug-up and brought in to a museum should be referred to Laura. She offered to run a ‘Finds’ day at local museums. ** Include Laura’s contact details - supplied by Tom, but at home, not here - will substitute ??? [email protected] – may need another initial

New Accreditation – Vicky Dawson, Accreditation Support Adviser, South-West Accreditation was introduced in 1988 and since then has been the basic standards scheme for museums. There are 18,000 accredited museums in the UK, 240 in the south-west and 18 in Somerset. The scheme has always had a commitment to review & update, having started as Registration and been reviewed in the 1990s and again in 2000. The 2008 survey & review has been affected by the abolition of MLA and changes to Renaissance, with the October launch on hold. Accreditation is a function transferring to the Arts Council, and its framework has been decided: eligibility; organisational health; collections.

 For eligibility a museum must conform to the Museums Association definition of a museum. It must have an acceptable constitution and be able to show two years relevant accounts.  For organisational health, accredited museums are responsible, responsive & resilient. This must be shown by their governance, management arrangements, secure occupation of premises, financial position, forward planning & an organisational approach to forward planning.  For collections care, accredited museums effectively manage and make available collections for everyone. Acquisition & disposal are likely to be tweaked with an emphasis on rationalisation & core collecting. Documentation, conservation & security also form part of collections care.  Users & their experiences – include access, publicity, visitor services, visitor care, interpretation & learning.

What’s new? There will be one standard, with more transparency on scalability & assessment (e.g. opening hours difference for big v small local museum). No application form for existing participants – there will be a pre-completed form, which should not be too onerous. A forward plan is core, and now an eligibility criterion – key to the biennial review. The aim is that accreditation is less of a discrete exercise. There is an emphasis on resilience & sustainability. The consumer view is embraced more fully (but with scalability). Learning is included for the first time. New branding.

When? Being piloted by 10 museums around the country. Launch & roll-out proposed for September 2011, with a big launch at the Museums Association conference. Existing participants will be timetabled in phases dependent on last full assessment. New applicants will be accommodated.

Where will I be able to get help? Clear list of requirements. Accompanying guidance documentation. Published assessment criteria. Case studies. Museum mentors (formerly curatorial advisers). Museums Development Officers. Network. Accreditation Adviser. (Vicky Dawson is on a 6-month contract from MLA.)

Get fit for accreditation………………….. Check policies & plans. Keep full sets of signed minutes and accounts. Address any areas for improvement. Review the training needs of your staff. Undertake a staff development survey. Review your Forward Plan. (There is an AIM Focus paper on accreditation planning – See http:bit.ly/AimFPlan )

Other helpful websites: MLA (can sign up on website for enewsletter) & SWFed.

Vicky can be contacted at [email protected] or telephone 01823 274525.

Reports from museums:

Alfred Gillett Trust Archive (C&J Clark Ltd), Street The Trust appointed a professional archivist, Charlotte Berry, in May 2010. She heads a small team (collections manager and archive assistant) which reports to the Board of Trustees (five members of the Clarks family). Since her arrival, she has been focusing on setting up a public reading room and fostering links with the business and Clarks family and also the Clarks Village. Planning permission has just been approved to convert the Grange building immediately adjacent to the Clarks Village into public and staff areas for the Trust, including reading rooms, seminar room, library and conference room, with accessioning, quarantine and cataloguing areas.

A new passive archive storage building is also being constructed with the help of Feilden Clegg Bradley (the Bath architects responsible for the new Museum for Someret project) and should be completed by the end of the year. This will be situated to the rear of the Grade II listed property, and will contain 4 BS5454-compliant strongrooms which will house the Trust’s business and family archives and shoe collections (ie all shoes not on display in the Shoe Museum), as well as extensive advertising collections and some Quaker costume. The Alfred Gillett collection of fossils from the Street area will go on permanent display for the first time. The Trust will retain off-site storage where the collection of shoe-making machinery and family furniture and artworks will continue to be accommodated.

The Trust has been working closely to support the work of the Shoe Museum, which is owned and administered by C&J Clark Ltd, in the absence of a qualified curator. There are no plans at present to move the Museum onto the new site, although there is space available in the adjacent Barn building if this becomes a viable option in the future. Helena Jaeschke, Natalie Watson and Estelle Gilbert visited the Trust and Museum on 20th January and have been assisting in the relocation plans, as well as advising on how the Museum can be refreshed and promoted in the immediate future. The Trust is currently preparing plans for major digitisation of the shoe catalogues, shoes, point of sale and audio-visual collections. A basic webpage has been created (see link below) which has already generated enquiries from the public.

Bishops Lydeard Mill The Museum is open for four months of the year and aims to raise £12,000 for charity. The tea-room needs staff & bakers. The Backs have acquired a gypsy caravan, which they hope to restore for 2013, and a shepherd’s hut. They have ducklings available if anyone is interested. They are happy to have members of the Museums in Somerset Group visit free of charge, to encourage others. They have just had their brochure updated by Annie Makepeace – she is very good and very reasonable. Contact Yvonne Back – or Neil Wilson (Washford Radio Museum) - for details.

The Bishops Palace February 2011 The Church Treasures exhibition project has made excellent progress in the past six months, due to the commitment, knowledge and hard work of the volunteer team. We have been working closely with NADFAS church recorders, benefitting from their extensive knowledge of the Bath and Wells diocese, to increase our list of potential objects which we might be able to loan for our exhibition (called 'Treasure' opening in the spring of 2012). Our team of research volunteers have also been visiting the Record Office in Taunton, and we have now reached the stage where we have a long list of potential objects for our exhibition. However, we are still interested in any suggestions of items from museums or local history societies. If you have an object which tells a remarkable story, perhaps about an individual, or an event, which has clear links with the Bath and Wells diocese, we would love to hear from you (please contact [email protected]). Your item might be a particularly beautiful or interesting piece of stone carving from a church in Somerset, or a replica model of a Somerset church, please do get in touch!

Two dedicated volunteers have also been cataloguing and photographing the entire contents of the Bishops Palace (furniture, paintings etc) over the winter, in preparation for working towards Museums Accreditation. We have also purchased pest and environmental monitoring equipment for our exhibition space. We are planning to purchase new show cases in the autumn, and would be keen to hear from any other museums who have recently bought new cases, and who can recommend particular suppliers.

Brick & Tile Museum There has been no progress on the leaking roof. It has been suggested that a lazar map of the kiln lining should be made. It is hoped that work will start before the AGM. Family activities (Roman lamps) were run at half-term. There have been plenty of school interest & school visits. Visitor numbers are okay.

Chard Museum Chard Museum has received donations from local organisations, and the seasonal draw brought in £1000. Numatic donated a HARRY vacuum cleaner as a prize. Chard will be doing something for Night at the Museum, but don’t yet know what. There are two new displays, one with the theme of Carnival. The day before the meeting, Chard Brass played at a successful musical event. The year ended in profit, with 2,400 visitors. The website has had 3134 hits.

Crewkerne Museum The Museum has generally had a good year, with visitor numbers up by some 15% on the previous year. Three exhibitions, including the visiting ‘Treasures of the Earth’, were well received, with the one about the sesquicentennial of the railway outstandingly popular. A new initiative was an art exhibition/sale in November, which effectively prolonged the opening season. This will probably be repeated in 2011. The major preoccupation is devising ways of financing the Museum in the future, as the District Council grants are progressively withdrawn. So far, with the help of the Friends organisation, the team can see how to cover half of this potential deficit, and are working on – and seeking ideas on! – the rest.

Dawes Twineworks, West Coker They had a good year, with £120,000 in grants, and thanks to help from the Carpenters’ Fellowship, the building is now straight and stable. They are applying to HLF for work on equipment. The Twineworks is taking part in the Take One project. Fleet Air Arm Museum Visitor numbers for last year were 115,000, and 1700 came on Model Day on 19th February. The Pirates activities for half-term brought in plenty of visitors. So far, numbers are on target. May will see a low-key exhibition to celebrate 100 years of naval fixed-wing flying. The big curtain round the aircraft carrier deck (cyclorama) will be replaced. The Museum is about to become a charitable company with the National Museum of the Royal Navy as a corporate member.

Frome Museum We reopen on 15 March. We discussed opening longer hours but decided to stick with core times of Tue to Sat 1000-1400 plus about six Sundays to coincide with Town Walks. We have made a cautious start to a five year modernisation programme in terms of display cabinets, carpets, desks, chairs and filing cabinets. One of our temporary exhibitions will be the 2nd Boer War and our volunteers are researching more than 150 men from the town and surrounding areas who served in South Africa. We incurred a net loss in 2010 of about £2,500 due to expenditure of £10,000 on exterior painting of windows and rewiring. Fingers crossed we will not have to repeat either exercise for at least five years. Maintenance of the building, which we own, is giving more headaches with stonework breaking away, damp on one of the library walls and a blocked drain at rear of Museum. Providing we can claim on the insurance we can mitigate costs to large extent and we are keeping our insurers busy at the moment.

Helicopter Museum Unfortunately the big freeze in December resulted in burst pipes over Christmas and subsequently a floor needed replacing. November and December visitor number were affected by the cold weather and the snow. In January, the Museum offered a discounted ticket. There is now a Museum Blog. Kathryn is transferring catalogue data from Modes MS Excel to Modes for Windows. For July, a Sci-fi movie themed event is planned.

Ilchester Museum There were more visitors in the 2010 season than in 2009. The Museum will be open two days a week from Easter. Next week (early March) there will be a tea-party for old people to look at photographs. There are now two more publications about Ilchester on sale.

Milverton Village Archive The Archive has been invited to form a permanent display in the village hall, with storage space, at a nominal rent. I have submitted a design for display cabinet, and am awaiting the hall committee’s agreement. As the hall already has several artefacts, and is open six days a week, this could effectively form a small museum. Events awaited with interest!

Montacute TV & Radio Toy Museum The Museum had a busy half-term. David Harper from the Antiques Road Show visited. After the TV show, a gentleman from the Orkney Islands offered twelve 1940s & 1950s televisions. Visitor numbers were very good last summer & Halloween was good. A new carpet from Salford Docks is going down. There are plans for more Daleks and some Cybermen. Two recent acquisitions are two Pelham puppets, Muffin the Mule & Mr Turnip.

Museum of South Somerset/CHAC The travelling exhibition, ‘Treasures of the Earth’ was opend by Mark Horton, who stressed the importance of keeping the museum open. However, the museum building is due to close on 31st March. The collection will be packed away and moved to CHAC. With no exhibition space, the use of volunteers will need to be reviewed. The team has been restructured and is now smaller. Learning & Outreach and the Loans Boxes have been axed. For accreditation, with no building, the museum will need to do outreach. There was a successful Finds Day on 23rd February while the ‘Treasures of the Earth ‘ exhibition was still up, and this included finds fresh from the soil. Tanya Camberwell is still happy to give advice, but will be very busy until the end of May emptying the museum. N.B. YEOVIL STILL HAS A HERITAGE SERVICE!

National Trust Barbara Woods reported that there had been internal changes and some new curatorial appointments. (THIS IS A NON-REPORT. SHOULD I DROP IT?)

North Somerset Museum The museum will be run by Weston Town Council from 1st April 2011. The collections in storage will be transferred to the Somerset Heritage Centre and curatorial services will be provided by Somerset County Council Museum Service on behalf of North Somerset Council from 1st April 2011. The curatorial contact will be Jane Hill. The Museum Manager has received a letter of redundancy from North Somerset Council. Weston Town Council have been advertising for a 'Facilities Manager' to manage the museum building, also the Blakehay theatre, cemetery and children's water park.

Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust The Trust has undertaken major maintenance works over the winter months at its Washford Station Headquarters including refurbishment of the shop and the complete rewiring of the site including the shop, museum and workshops. The shop and museum will re-open in time for the West Somerset Railway's Spring Gala on March 19th and will continue to open during the West Somerset's running season, subject to volunteer availability. The Trust will hold its Annual General Meeting on Saturday April 9th 2011 at Edington Village Hall.

Somerset Cricket Museum The Museum is still enjoying three generous legacies totalling £350,000. The Trustees had a clear idea of what they wanted to do, but English Heritage did not agree. As a result, for this season the Museum will continue as before. Next winter there will be a major refit and the collection will be moved. Some of the legacy money was used to buy Alain Lockyer’s archive of nearly 10,000 colour negatives of Somerset cricket players and events. These are being used to produce a book, which should bring in extra revenue.

Somerset Military Museum There is a new museum and a new chairman. Conservation work has been taking place while the museum was closed. The archives are now at the Somerset Heritage Centre. The reserve collection has now moved from Mount Street to the Heritage Centre. It is hoped that the museum will feature on the Somerset County Council website.

Washford Radio Museum No big changes, and no interference from Tropiquaria. The floor has been painted, which is a big improvement. Neil has taken on a storage area, which costs £136 per month – and vastly exceeds the income from the museum. A BBC twin-turntable desk (c.1935) is due to arrive soon. Unfortunately it has woodworm and needs a lot of work.

Watchet Boat Museum A letter to the local paper resulted in gaining a new steward, bringing the total to ten. The Museum has also been fortunate in recruiting an experienced engineer who is keen to repair and run the 1900 rope-making machine. Other good news is the gain of grant funding from Watchet Town Council and ArtLife toward the cost of the July weekend Extravaganza. One of the volunteers attended the excellent day’s training for the Take One project. The work on repairing the Weston-super-Mare flatner Ann continues slowly. During the winter closed time, there have been two visits each of 30 pupils to use the displays as inspiration in writing short stories and poems.

Watchet Market House Museum The team has been heartened by the Take One Object project, and the response from the Knights Templar School in particular has been tremendous. Winter has been a busy time, and included refurbishing the RNLI and Coastguard display case. A local resident has now donated items previously on loan, including a naval bicorn hat and its metal box, which had belonged to Lt RGH Blomfield RN who later served with HM Coastguard. Both items were in need of repair and restoration and the museum is indebted to the Daphne Bullard Trust for the grant aid which made this possible. The conservation work was carried out by Richard Jaeschke. Another exciting feature at the museum for the coming season will be a ‘Watchet Chronology’ with a timeline up to the present day enhanced with pictures by two local artists. This, along with pictures and photographs that have not been seen for many years, should attract more visitors and make for another successful season flowing last year’s record numbers of over 42,000.

The team have also been busy putting collections data onto a Modes Compact system. Planning Solutions have been giving help with sustainability issues – for which the museum is very grateful. It reopens on 2nd April, and is also opening on the last two weekends in March to coincide with the West Somerset Railway Steam Gala.

Wellington Museum Displays have been refreshed over the winter. There are now six volunteer stewards, but there is a need to find officers to take over other jobs. Positives: ‘5 objects by 5 voices’ – which turned into ‘6 objects by 6 voices’, and included an Edwardian multi-function child’s high-chair and a locally-made lavatory cistern; a candid discussion between the Youth Centre and the Museum about growing up in Wellington, then & now; two photographers from London who came to photograph the Armada Chest for HSBC and paid £200 – having picked up information about the chest from the website; and visitor numbers for 2010 were 2,400 – slightly up on 2009. The Town Council have not raised the rent, so the net cost is still £250.

Wells & Mendip Museum & Somerset Wildlife Trust Both organisations are working in partnership with Mendip Hills AONB Sustainable Development Funding. Jane Hill has been appointed as a Freelance Project Officer until 31st March 2011 to coordinate Podcasting training (attended by 10 people who successfully produced podcasts), the Mendip Hills AONB Heritage Day (sold out - 100 places), the Mendip Hills Festival of Archaeology 2011 and Mendip Rocks! a series of geological events August-October 2011. Please contact [email protected] if your organisation would like to take part in the latter two events.

Westonzoyland Pumping Station The station is open on Sundays throughout the year. It was last in steam on New Year’s Day when local councillors visited. A new website was launched just before Christmas, and there is an email list for spreading news. An online shop has also been launched, and the first customer is in Australia. For 2011, 4th -5th June will be ‘Steam on the Levels’. There is a new pump room, with 5-7 working pumps. Health & safety issues have led to new railings around the engines. The woodpile has been moved away from the building & the railway extended to it. Planning permission has been granted for the new toilets – now funding is needed. So far this year, visitor numbers are up.

Sustainable Somerset Museums – Planning Solutions Consulting (Kevin Brown & Richard Limington) The consultants have worked with eight Somerset museums: Axbridge, Blake, CHAC, Helicopter Museum, Somerset Museum of Rural Life, Somerset Military Museum, Westonzoyland Pumping Station AND????????????? SWOT analyses lead to action plans. Museum members at the meeting were asked to list the challenges facing their own institutions, before the consultants ran through the results from the eight participants: Product: Strong range of distinct and divers collections Limited display space Limited capital reserves Donation boxes – use & position – presentation of the core message & suggested amount, type (physical appearance – where possible introducing an interactive element User-friendly interpretation, including at entry point Clear signposts for visitor flows - ‘highlights’, must see Enhance online presence & available digital resources – information online should be common to what visitor receives on site – does the visit begin online? Operations (1) Important role of volunteers (vulnerable) A number of volunteers have very specialist skills (vulnerable) Limited resources – financial & staff/volunteer team Limited throughput – impacts on the ability to generate secondary revenue from retail & catering Certain high operational costs (including insurance – any possibility of partnerships to reduce operating costs?) Operations (2) Other income generation Admission/car parking charging Encouraging higher level of donations Increasing average spend in retail areas Hire of rooms for corporate functions

Market/Marketing Low brand presence/awareness Some of the museums have specialist appeal Limited data is collected by the museum Limited dedicated resources

Common actions: Operations (1) Joint purchasing arrangements - make time to speak to other museums Review operational costs, including insurance Develop volunteer organisation – make sure volunteer team is okay into the future Retail development, including online sales and/or mail order Donations boxes (interactive element) Sponsorship – not necessarily financial, e.g. a local newspaper could support a museum Membership – do not underestimate

Marketing Effective marketing Word of mouth – if developing a schools programme, consult a local teacher Direct emails are cost-effective Newspapers – take an insert in a What’s On special – have an offer with a voucher Data collection – record visitor numbers/visitor information/surveys/web users – to improve market understanding Use of social media Press releases – need to work on relationship with press Marketing plan – review & modify

Other More collaboration between museums in respect of education/learning & activities Introduce & extend the use of Gift Aid – can use this with donations Prepare appropriate succession planning to ensure skills & knowledge are passed between volunteers Develop longer-term management & forward plans Engage professional support for - e.g. – strategic planning, marketing (including digital media), fundraising Joint working & sharing of skills/expertise/knowledge Share knowledge – successes & pitfalls

What help is available? As a result of the project, Planning Solutions Consulting is producing resource sheets for the following: Insurance Design of promotional literature Online presence Sponsorship Social media Customer research Gift Aid

Email – [email protected]

Suggestions from members: An online forum? A website with an open area & a private area? - This could become part of the Somerset County Council website or the SWFed website Friends of Museums – how useful is a Friends Group?

(Natalie Watson hopes to get more funding to continue the project.)

Guided Tour of the Heritage Centre Members were given a presentation about the Heritage Centre and the Museum of Somerset, before dividing into two groups for guided tours.

Members dispersed at 16.15 Museums in Somerset Winter Meeting 2011 Members present: Organisation Names Alfred Gillett Trust Charlotte Berry Bishops Lydeard Mill and RLM Yvonne Back Chard Museum Dee Manley Peter Manley Tony Prior David Ricketts Coker Rope & Sail Trust Ross Aitken Conservation Development Officer (SW) Helena Jaeschke Crewkerne Museum Sylvia Andrew Simon Andrew Fleet Air Arm Museum Barbara Gilbert David Hill Freelance consultants Vicky Dawson Felicity Hebditch Frome Museum Alan Davis Brian Marshall Helicopter Museum Kathryn Sherrington Ilchester Museum Gerry Masters Montacute TV & Radio Toy Museum Alan Hicken Marcia Hicken MLA Trevor Gough Jan Horrell Museum of South Somerset Tanya Camberwell Christine Denley-Lloyd Anita Jewell-Harrison Joseph Lewis National Trust Barbara Wood + 1 North Somerset Museum Jane Hill Planning Solutions Consulting Ltd Kevin Brown Richard Limington Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury Estelle Gilbert Somerset Brick and Tile Museum Paul Wilson Doria Shepherd Somerset County Heritage Service Helen Mansfield Somerset Cricket Museum Sir Peter Wallis Somerset Finds Officer Laura Burnett Somerset Military Museum Mike Motum Somerset Museums Development Officer Natalie Watson Washford Radio Museum Neil Wilson Watchet Boat Museum Bruce Scott Watchet Market House Museum Jim Nicholas Keith Sullivan Wellington Museum Colin Spackman Westonzoyland Pumping Station Alan Davies John Trenchard Apologies were received from: Organisation Name Axbridge - King John’s Hunting Lodge John Page Bishop’s Palace, Wells Felicity Baber English Heritage Hilary Rogers Ilchester Museum Ros Marsh Milverton Village Archive Nigel Wood Montacute House Sonja Power Museum of Somerset Tom Mayberry North Somerset Museum Malcolm Nicholson Renaissance Vic Harding Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust Robin Pearson Louise Perrin Kirstie Turp Richard de Peyer