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Wisbech Museum handed £616k grant for 'urgent' Grade II* repairs

Historic England WisbechHistoric England
The Grade II*-listed building is in urgent need of repairs and is on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register

One of the first purpose-built museums in England is to get "urgently needed" long-term repairs costing £684,000 to fix its leaking roof.

The Wisbech and Fenland Museum houses anti-slavery campaigner Thomas Clarkson's "campaign chest" and an original Charles Dickens manuscript.

Work on the Grade II*-listed building in Cambridgeshire is being funded by a £616,000 Historic England grant.

Museum company trustee David Ball said it was "a dream come true".

Getty Images Benjamin ZephaniahGetty Images
The museum is poet Benjamin Zephaniah's favourite thanks to the Thomas Clarkson connection, he told BBC's Inside Culture Show in 2020
Wisbech & Fenland Museum/S Cousins Thomas Clarkson's chestWisbech & Fenland Museum/S Cousins
Wisbech-born Thomas Clarkson toured the UK with this box of African-created artefacts, as well as torture instruments used on slaves, in a bid to win the public's support for the abolition of slavery

The classical Greek-style museum in Wisbech was designed by architect George Buckler and built between 1847 and 1848.

It retains period details including cornices, doors and fireplaces, as well as original bookcases and display cases.

Collections include public records, photographs, a 12,000-volume library and an original manuscript of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations.

Wisbech & Fenland Museum Great Expectations manuscriptWisbech & Fenland Museum
The museum was bequeathed the original manuscript of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations in 1868
Historic England/Patricia Payne Wisbech MuseumHistoric England/Patricia Payne
It retains its original fixtures, but the building is in poor repair and leaks are causing damage

Years of funding struggles resulted in a "poor and declining condition" and it was included on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register in 2018.

Mr Ball, who is vice-chairman of the Wisbech and Fenland Trustee Company Ltd, said: "As recently as 2013, Fenland District Council was paying £50,000 a year towards our annual costs of about £110,000, but in 2015 announced this would be reduced to nil by 2017."

The curator lost her job and there was talk of closing it for good by Christmas 2016.

He said: "But in 2017, we set up our Re-founders scheme and asked local people to contribute £1,000 a year for five years - and raised £37,000 that year."

Historic England/Patricial Payne Wisbech Museum interiorHistoric England/Patricial Payne
Mr Ball said the building's condition has "been a concern for previous trustees for generations"

Wisbech Town Council also increased its annual contribution from £5,000 to £20,000.

The museum can now contribute enough money to top up the Historic England grant to reach the repair costs of £684,316, and has found contractors for the work.

Tony Calladine, East of England regional director for Historic England, said the museum was of "national significance", adding: "We're delighted to support the urgently needed repairs."

Patricia Payne/Historic England Wisbech MuseumPatricia Payne/Historic England
Local museums could only survive if they are sure of the support of local people, said trustee Mr Ball
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