Campaigners pin hopes on reprieve

NEWS that one of the biggest repair jobs to the axe-threatened museum is going ahead has given hope to those trying to save it.

The six-figure repair job comes three years after the museum was earmarked for closure.

Kirklees Council is yet to reveal any detail of its plans to move the Tolson’s collections to Huddersfield town centre.

But, in its latest statement, it confirmed the proposal was still being progressed as part of the Huddersfield Blueprint project.

But chair of the Friends of Tolson Museum, Ann Denham, said she believed the costly repair job gave renewed hope that a Uturn could still be agreed.

And she called on the council to think again about axing the muchloved facility, which was donated to the people of Huddersfield by Legh Tolson as a memorial to his nephews, Robert and Jim, who had been killed in the First World War.

Asked if the six-figure repair job gave any hope that the council was reconsidering the museum’s future, Mrs Denham said: “It does, because there’s been very little money spent on the building for years.

“The roof was in a very poor state and they’ve accepted that they can’t patch it up.

“We think there’s about £3m of repairs to do on the main house, so £300,000 is quite a big chunk.”

Clr Graham Turner said that the big expense could be justified, as they had a duty to maintain “the basic fabric” of the listed building until they developed an alternative venue.

He suggested the historic building could be re-purposed for some other use by the council.

Mrs Denham said she hoped the museum could still be saved: “They know the (Tolson) family are very keen to keep it in Huddersfield.

“The museum is absolutely packed full of stuff, so it would have to be a very big venue if they were to move it to the town centre.

“The fact that they’ve done this is absolutely brilliant. There’s several other things that need repairing, but this was one of the biggest.

“The museum is doing well, visitor numbers are up, so there’s still enormous interest in the museum.

“This year is also 100 years since Legh Tolson handed over the keys, so we’ll be holding a celebration on New Year’s Eve.”

Whiteley Tolson and his sons Gerald, seated on left, Robert, standing at back, and Jim, the little boy, before their lives were ripped apart by war. Jim was also killed on the Western Front

Second Lt Robert Tolson