Several museums services have suffered closures and cuts as councils set budgets for the next financial year.
Wandsworth Museum in London closed to the public on 1 January, resulting in the redeployment of 15 staff. Valerie Bott, a museum consultant who helped to set up the museum and was its development officer from 1986 to 1988, said: "It was a desperately sad occasion, when real tears were shed. Most local authorities would have given a lot to have a museum of this quality so well embedded into its community."
But the museum has been given the kiss of life by the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation, which is funding an independent trust to run the museum in new premises.
The collections have already been transferred, and an advert went out last month for a director. The applications are being reviewed, but no date has been set for the reopening.
Meanwhile, the Babylon Gallery in Ely, part of Arts Development in East Cambridgeshire (AdeC), is closing at the end of June after East Cambridgeshire district council cut its budget by £70,000. The closure will result in the redundancies of one full-time gallery coordinator and three part-time staff.
Jane Wilson, AdeC director, said: "It was an incredibly difficult decision to take, but as a publicly funded gallery without local authority support, it was not feasible to continue."
In Aberdeen, the city council has voted against proposals to close the Tolbooth Museum in Stonehaven. But the Aberdeen Art Gallery will close at 4pm instead of 5pm in winter, which will save the council £7,000 a year.
As Museums Journal went to press, several councils were considering cuts, but were yet to vote on the proposals. Thanet district council is proposing to relocate Ramsgate Maritime Museum and end grant aid of £100,000 a year to the East Kent Maritime Trust, which employs five full-time members of staff, as well as running Margate Museum and the maritime museum.
Michael Hunt, the curator at Ramsgate, said: "The loss of the grant would, in itself, be sufficient to put the future of the museum in jeopardy. The loss of the building would make it impossible to continue with the project as it now is."
Hastings borough council is considering proposals to close its Old Town Hall Museum on weekdays during the winter, although under the plans, groups would still be able to pre-book visits.
Wandsworth Museum in London closed to the public on 1 January, resulting in the redeployment of 15 staff. Valerie Bott, a museum consultant who helped to set up the museum and was its development officer from 1986 to 1988, said: "It was a desperately sad occasion, when real tears were shed. Most local authorities would have given a lot to have a museum of this quality so well embedded into its community."
But the museum has been given the kiss of life by the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation, which is funding an independent trust to run the museum in new premises.
The collections have already been transferred, and an advert went out last month for a director. The applications are being reviewed, but no date has been set for the reopening.
Meanwhile, the Babylon Gallery in Ely, part of Arts Development in East Cambridgeshire (AdeC), is closing at the end of June after East Cambridgeshire district council cut its budget by £70,000. The closure will result in the redundancies of one full-time gallery coordinator and three part-time staff.
Jane Wilson, AdeC director, said: "It was an incredibly difficult decision to take, but as a publicly funded gallery without local authority support, it was not feasible to continue."
In Aberdeen, the city council has voted against proposals to close the Tolbooth Museum in Stonehaven. But the Aberdeen Art Gallery will close at 4pm instead of 5pm in winter, which will save the council £7,000 a year.
As Museums Journal went to press, several councils were considering cuts, but were yet to vote on the proposals. Thanet district council is proposing to relocate Ramsgate Maritime Museum and end grant aid of £100,000 a year to the East Kent Maritime Trust, which employs five full-time members of staff, as well as running Margate Museum and the maritime museum.
Michael Hunt, the curator at Ramsgate, said: "The loss of the grant would, in itself, be sufficient to put the future of the museum in jeopardy. The loss of the building would make it impossible to continue with the project as it now is."
Hastings borough council is considering proposals to close its Old Town Hall Museum on weekdays during the winter, although under the plans, groups would still be able to pre-book visits.
It's not all doom and gloom
Defying threats to close it, the Blake Museum in Bridgwater, Somerset, has been granted £40,000 by Bridgwater town council and nearly £25,000 from Sedgemoor district council to keep it open while it looks at alternative funding streams.
The Dean Heritage Centre in Gloucestershire has been granted £48,000 by the Forest of Dean district council, with further funding promised should it increase visitor figures.
Defying threats to close it, the Blake Museum in Bridgwater, Somerset, has been granted £40,000 by Bridgwater town council and nearly £25,000 from Sedgemoor district council to keep it open while it looks at alternative funding streams.
The Dean Heritage Centre in Gloucestershire has been granted £48,000 by the Forest of Dean district council, with further funding promised should it increase visitor figures.
