Museum collection goes into storage as the Town Hall building closes
As we prepare for building work to start in April, work is underway to clear the Town Hall building – including the vital job of decanting the Isles of Scilly Museum collection into storage, ensuring careful preservation of these precious artefacts.
The Museum collection is being moved into six bespoke air-conditioned and insulated storage units, being kept on St Mary’s. It will be stored in these containers until the new facility or off-island spaces are ready to receive them back.
Marthe Broadhurst, chair of the Board of Trustees at the Isles of Scilly Museum Association, said: “This has been a huge undertaking for the museum team, and it’s taken a massive team effort to arrange the safe storage and preservation of our collection of artefacts as we prepare for work to begin.
She added: “We have been working closely with the Council of the Isles of Scilly and other project partners, and this feels like an exciting moment for the Cultural Centre and Museum project as we ready the Town Hall building for work to begin in the spring. It’s a real turning point in the project, and we’re looking forward to seeing the artefacts in their new home in due course.”
Dr Rachael Utting, from the Isles of Scilly Museum Association, is heading up the decant process. Rachael has been working closely with a team of museum volunteers, who are helping with the intricate packing and documentation process. The Men’s Shed team have played an essential role building robust boxes for some of the Museum’s more delicate artefacts.
Museum staff are now using office and archive space at Porthmellon Enterprise Centre. It is still possible to arrange a visit to the Museum archives, and the Museum team can be contacted directly to make an appointment.
The former pop-up museum at the Town Hall has been completely dismantled and all paintings, textiles and archaeology which were previously on display at the pop-up museum have been returned to the Porthmellon Enterprise Centre for storage.
The renovation of the former Town Hall will see us create a warm and welcoming venue in the heart of St Mary’s, a place for local people and holidaymakers alike to come together.
The space will:
become a new home for our museum, celebrating the culture and stories of Scilly and shining a light on our rich heritage.
provide a performance and exhibition space for local artists and performers, as well as touring companies – creating a much-needed indoor venue for cinema, theatre and live music performances.
act as an Island Hall for our local community, providing a space for people to gather – whether for a craft fair or community group, a dance or a family celebration.
We want to provide a first-class museum to showcase our permanent collections, library and archive - with the potential for exciting visiting exhibitions and loans.
The museum will tell the stories of the island, and the main themes we’ve proposed for the galleries are based around maritime heritage, island spirit, island life and island nature.
The building will be a celebration of the beautiful natural landscape and distinctive architecture of the Isles of Scilly and will meet the highest standards of environmental sustainability.
Find out more about our plans for the new museum galleries here:
