One of Britain’s oldest purpose-made museums has announced it will start charging an admission fee for the first time in 100 years as it struggles with rising costs.
The Wisbech and Fenland museum in Wisbech, north Cambridgeshire, moved into its current building in 1847, and underwent an extensive refurbishment last year with funding mostly from Historic England.
But the museum is lacking the money to cover its daily running costs, such as energy bills and staff wages, so from 1 May will charge a £5 entry fee for adults, the first admission charge at the museum in a century.
“It was a decision taken with huge reluctance. We really didn’t want it to come to this,” said the museum’s chair, Steve McGregor. “But we have to do something to make up the shortfall in our funding.
“We’re facing a problem museums have up and down the country. We can obtain grants for capital projects, but there is nothing available for day-to-day running costs.”
The museum lost its annual grant from Fenland district council five years ago, and has been relying on funding from Wisbech town council and donations from supporters.
But the museum could not survive in its present form beyond this financial year, said McGregor.
As well as the entry fee, the museum is calling on local businesses to sign up to its new patrons’ scheme, pledging £1,200 or £600 a year to the museum, and asking individuals to donate a monthly sum.
“We’re desperate to keep the doors open up as much as we can. But we really do need help from our local community and, in particular, our local authorities,” said McGregor. “Wisbech is a deprived area, so we’ve kept the admission fee at a modest level and it gives people entry for a full year.”
Admission will remain free for under-16s and those in full-time education, with the museum regularly used by local schools.
A recent Charles Dickens exhibition, featuring his original Great Expectations manuscript, drew a large number of visitors.
“People have come from some distance to see it and it stimulated lots of interest,” said McGregor. “Some people think, for a town museum like Wisbech, how on earth has it got all these treasures? We’ve got Louis XIV’s chess set, for instance, and a breakfast service seized from Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo.
“It’s very important to us that people can see these wonderful things locally. We want people to come in and have a look, and we have a full-time curator who is very knowledgable. But it all takes money.”
