Buxton Museums's £240k funding boost

The museum and art gallery on Terrace Road is currently undergoing a £1.5 million revamp, updating exhibitions and making it more digital focused.

It is to receive £150,000 from the Wolfson Foundation, a charity which awards grants to support and promote excellence in the fields of science, health, the arts and humanities and education. It has also been awarded £94,500 from Arts Council England’s Museum Resilience Fund.

Cabinet member for health and communities Councillor Dave Allen said: “This is an exciting time for the Buxton Museum and Art Gallery and we are very grateful for the generous support shown by the organisations which have awarded funds to the redevelopment.

“We believe this support is a reflection of the importance with which our museum and its collections are held and we are confident the redevelopment will provide a new museum experience for Buxton residents and visitors to the town.

“While the museum will have to close for some months for the work to be carried out, we are confident the finished results will be well worth the wait and that by doing this we will ensure the long-term future of the museum.”

In 2015 the museum was awarded £869,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to redevelop its main archaeology and geology galleries, called ‘The Wonders of the Peak’, and build digital access to its collections for people to use at home, in libraries and in the countryside on phones, tablets and other devices.

The redevelopment work also includes improving access to the museum, which we’re funding with £330,000. This work includes installing a lift between the ground and first floor galleries.

The museum, which welcomed 37,000 visitors last year, will close its doors to the public at the end of the day on Sunday 4 September 2016 for the redevelopment work to begin, and over the winter the galleries will be transformed, with the aim of re-opening in spring 2017.