Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Heritage museum defeat ‘tragic loss’
A last-ditch bid by city historians to save the Canterbury Heritage Museum from closure has failed.
Campaigners had hoped to stave off city council plans to transform the 12th century building into a new home for the Marlowe Youth Theatre.
But, following a unanimous vote last Wednesday, the Stour Street venue will now be run as a cultural and performing arts centre.
Canterbury Archaeological Trust director Paul Bennett has described the decision as a “tragic loss” and one of the saddest days in his 40 years working in the city.
With the support of the Canterbury Society, he had led a bid for the building – formerly the Poor Priests’ Hospital – to be further developed as a museum of the city’s history.
A petition to save it from closure attracted 2,000 signatures, but his pleas for the council to liaise further with local historians before signing off the move fell on deaf ears at a meeting of its community committee.
The council’s head of commissioning, Janice Mcguinness, says there is wide public support for transferring most exhibits from the heritage museum to The Beaney, where they will be more widely seen.
She insists the history of the city will not be lost but enhanced through performances, and that the grand entrance hall will still contain exhibits and be open free every day.
“We are not handing over a heritage asset to the youth theatre, as has been suggested,” she said. ‘WIDE SUPPORT’: Janice Mcguinness
“Our proposals will open up the building to more people, more often, and this will ensure it is kept open in the future and has the potential to develop.
“The heritage collections would be used to develop exhibitions which relate to the city’s story and its important literary heritage and used to inspire a range of professional and community writers, creatives and performers working in the building.”
The co-director of the Centre for Kent History, Prof Jackie Eales, says there are gaps in the council’s plans.
She claims that, with the main focus of the new proposals on Canterbury’s literary past and culture, the city’s history and archaeology are largely being ignored.
“I don’t believe the heritage potential of the building can be fully realised without those elements,” she said.
Last month the city council was awarded a £345,000 grant to help develop its plans with the new Marlowe Theatre Trust.
Cllr Ashley Clark (Con) welcomes the changes, which will save the council £73,000 a year.
“Forty years ago this building was a baby clinic,” he said. “History is all about change.
“This is all about preserving the best and improving the rest. It’s about history for all, not just the academics. As councillors, we have a duty to ensure we get the maximum for our money.”
The museum will be open for a short time this summer before the changes are implemented.