Shaftesbury's Heritage

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Gold Hill Museum Renovation and Development Project

The Gold Hill Museum has been saved. The Museum’s much-needed and long-fought for refurbishment plans have finally come to fruition with the announcement of a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid. A grant of £400,000 has been awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which when coupled with the Museum’s own input will enable a total of £640,000 for the improvements and the refurbishment required and planned. The museum is managed and run by volunteers.

Project News

Volunteers help pack ready to move are collection of objects and artifacts to temporary Storage. Local company, Johnson's Removals, are sponsoring the move and storage.

Project Details

This project will enable us to turn the Gold Hill Museum in to a history centre. The new exhibition will be in the two Grade II listed buildings one of which used to be a Priest's house. A new two story extension will be built for the local history library and a dedicated room for educational visits, lectures and workshops.

This project will:

Create a learning space and function room with a kitchenette for school visits, group visits, workshops, demonstrations, lectures and events
Improve library facilities and create work/study space for people to study their local history
Vastly improve the exhibition which will tell the story of the history of Shaftesbury and the area
Create dedicated space for temporary exhibitions
Increase the storage space for objects and artifact by 20%

Proposed Project Time Schedule (Subject to change)
February – may 2010	Objects packed and placed in storage. The Library moved to temporary accommodation. Finally, an archaeological excavation will be carried out in the museum Courtyard.
May 2010 - january 2011	Building work. Sun & Moon Cottage and the museum will be renovated and the new extension built.
January 2011 - March 2011	The objects and the library will move back from temporary storage to the museum. The new exhibition will be mounted.
April 2011	Gold Hill Museum re-opens

For further details about this project please email
Anna McDowell or write to the address below.
If you wish to make a contribution, please send your cheque payable to the Shaftesbury & District Historical Society to:

Gold Hill Museum Project
Gold Hill Museum & Garden
Gold Hill
Shaftesbury
Dorset
SP7 8JW

To pay by Gift Aid please download this form. We thank you in anticipation for your support.

AC Archaeologists will undertake further archaeological investigation. AC Archaeology undertook an archaeological evaluation of the site in 2008. They are returning to undertake further investigation into the courtyard area of the site.
See their original report by clicking on the image below (PDF file 743KB)

Phillip Proctor Associates, have been appointed as the Project architects.
See the plans by clicking on the image below (PDF file 790KB)

The museum's permanent exhibition will be improved
See the proposed gallery designs by clicking on the image below (PDF file 754KB)