National Maritime Museum reintroduces charging - Museums Association

Conference 2024: The Joy of Museums booking open now – Book before 31 March 2024 for a 10% discount

Conference 2024: The Joy of Museums booking open now – Book before 31 March 2024 for a 10% discount

National Maritime Museum reintroduces charging

£10 tickets for admission to Meridian buildings and Flamsteed House
Patrick Steel
Share
The National Maritime Museum has announced that it will charge for access to part of its site and collections from this month.

The museum expects to generate between £2.5m and £3m a year from sales of tickets for the Meridian Courtyard, Flamsteed House and the Meridian buildings. Tickets will cost £10 and will be valid for a year.

Chris Styles, director of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said: “In common with many heritage sites, both in London and across the UK, we have ecided to make the standard admission ticket for Flamsteed House and the Meridian Courtyard an annual pass.

“We want our visitors to be able to make the most of our historic site, to explore our galleries further and revisit their favourite exhibits, and to return with family and friends. The annual pass is a simple and effective means of supporting these aims.”

Entrance to the Meridian Courtyard, the Time Galleries and the Astronomer Royal’s Apartments, which are housed in Flamsteed House, has been free since 2001.

A statement from the museum said that the decision to introduce charges, was made by the NMM’s Trustees with approval from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and reflected the need to maintain the site, which had experienced “wear and tear” as a result of higher visitor numbers.

Last year, the Museum in Docklands scrapped its annual pass scheme in favour of free admission. A spokeswoman for the museum said that charging was never off the agenda for any museum, but that it would remain free as long as it had the funds to support it.



Leave a comment

You must be to post a comment.

Discover

Advertisement