In brief

Redundancies at the Royal Armouries in Leeds led to a 38% drop in visitor numbers during the first three months of 2011. The museum attributed the fall to the fact that it did not promote events during its restructure, along with the loss of its education team and jousting events. However, a spokeswoman said visitor numbers were starting to pick up.


The management of the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle has transferred from Carlisle City Council to a new charitable trust. Under a 30-year partnership agreement, the buildings and collection will remain with the council, while a shadow trust board has overseen the lease of the buildings, collections management and the transfer of staff.


A £600,000 grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation will enable National Museum Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru) to digitise a selection of works from its collection of 500,000 historic photographs. The initiative, entitled Natural Images, launches this autumn. The collection includes Remember, Remember, the 5th of November by John Dillwyn Llewelyn (above) and works by William Henry Fox Talbot.


The River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames has launched an education programme, Knowing Rowing, in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Museum-based workshops and talks, along with rowing-club activity sessions, explore the history of rowing and the science of boat-building.