News

The Interactive Science Salon which is being held at Grantham Museum as part of the Gravity Fields Festival has received a National Lottery grant of £29,500 made possible by money raised by National Lottery players.

An electronic globe takes centre stage of a packed programme at the Science Salon in Grantham Museum. The globe features the voyages of Lincolnshire-born botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who, 250 years ago, travelled with Captain Cook on HMS Endeavour to Australia.

Volunteers in Grantham have been working at the Museum to research the Banks voyages to Newfoundland, Australia and Iceland to create the interactive globe with Edinburgh based specialist designers Pufferfish.

Grantham Museum is also hosting a display of drawings by Lincolnshire philosopher William Stukeley, who lived in Grantham for 4 years from 1726 to 1730.

There is also an exhibition of antiquarian books by Grantham-based specialists Type and Forme, and a flower show organised by Sue Hodgson of Flowers by Holland with members of the Grantham Flower Club – all inspired by the countries visited by HMS Endeavour.

Talks and discussions include the opportunity to meet TV, radio and theatre scriptwriter Louise Page who will be hosting a Tea Talk each day at Grantham Museum from Wednesday 26-Saturday 29 September and sharing history and science daily from 2.30pm to 3.30pm.

The project is managed by heritage and arts production company Fete Day led by the Gravity Fields Festival Curator Rosemary Richards.

She has focused on the legacy of Sir Joseph Banks, who grew up at Revesby Abbey.  Research on the project involved visits to Revesby, the Joseph Banks Centre and Society in Horncastle and Spalding Gentlemen’s Society, where Banks and Sir Isaac Newton were members.

In 1768, when HMS Endeavour set sail, Banks already had the experience of an earlier voyage to explore Newfoundland. He later funded his own voyage to Iceland.

David Burling, Director of Grantham Museum, said: “We are very proud to be hosting these events for the Gravity Fields festival and look forward to welcoming everyone to the Interactive Science Salon.”

Jonathan Platt who is Head of HLF East Midlands adds ‘it is great that were have been able to support this exciting and innovative project with funding from National Lottery players’

www.gravityfields.co.uk

We have registered as a good cause with LotterySK which launches today. By selecting to support our charity you will be helping us keep the heritage of Grantham alive.

How did the former Grantham King’s School pupil become the first celebrity flying ace of World War One?

Killed in 1917 aged just 20 and awarded a posthumous VC, his courage, determination and daring boosted British morale at a time when Allied fortunes were at their lowest ebb.

Come and find out with a brand new exhibition opening on 16th August 2018 at Grantham Museum.

Grantham Museum is delighted to announce a Charity Cricket Match is to be held at Belvoir Cricket Club on August 17th from 6pm.

Amanda Schonhut, Fundraising Director said “We are very pleased and proud to announce a great evening of family fun and entertainment, working with the fabulous support of Belvoir Cricket Club, to help raise vital funds for our Museum.

The Club Chairman Mr Andrew Dann, the club and team have been fantastic in helping put together what I am sure will be a great evening for all to enjoy. Without the support of local community groups and the people of Grantham our Museum would cease to continue. Our own Grantham Museum Team are bracing ourselves for the challenge of a great game of Cricket, with much more to enjoy on this evening of fun packed family entertainment”.

Mr Dann added “Belvoir CC are proud to announce to a mixed BCC side will play a “Grantham Museum all-star team” in a 20 over match to raise much needed funds for the Grantham Museum. Keeping the doors open at the museum is something I am personally very keen to assist with, and when I was asked to help, albeit in a small way, I thought a cricket match was an obvious choice. If the doors close on the museum it will be gone for ever, future generations will not have the opportunity to see what our local town has to offer. So please come to the BCG on the 17 August for a 6/6,30 start. The bar will be open, BBQ on, a raffle and lots of opportunity to show your support of one of our local landmarks”.

Entrance is free and donations for Grantham Museum are welcome.

A bronze statue of the country’s first female Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven LG, could be erected in Grantham if agreement can be reached between a number of organisations, it has been announced.

Grantham Community Heritage Association (GCHA), which runs the Grantham Museum, and South Kesteven District Council are currently in discussion with The Public Memorials Appeal, which commissioned the 10.5ft high bronze statue of the late Prime Minister.

The organisations say that the statue would not only be a fitting tribute to a unique political figure, but that it could provide a welcome boost to the town’s economy from visitors on both sides of the debate who come to find out more about her legacy.

Margaret Thatcher (nee Roberts) was born and raised in Grantham and attended a local grammar, Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, before gaining a scholarship to study at Oxford University. Her father Alfred, a grocer, was Mayor from 1945 to 1946. She entered the House of Lords in 1992.

The Grantham Community Heritage Association, a volunteer-run Educational Charity, launched a project to raise funds for a statue in 2012, with a proportion of each donation going towards funding the educational work of the Grantham Museum. It is hoped that this and future fundraising will help secure the future of the Grantham Museum, which houses a permanent Margaret Thatcher exhibition.

Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. Five years on from her death in April 2013, Lady Thatcher’s social and economic legacy continues to divide opinion, with strong feelings on both sides of the political divide.

The three organisations are currently drafting outline terms of an agreement. Formal proposals are expected to be submitted to the South Kesteven District Council Development Management Committee, where councillors will consider the application, before the end of the year.

Commenting on the proposal, David Burling, Project Director at Grantham Museum, said: “The debate about Margaret Thatcher’s legacy looks set to continue for generations to come. We want Grantham to be where that debate happens and where visitors can come to find all the facts about the UK’s first female Prime Minister.”

A spokesperson for The Public Memorials Appeal said: “We are delighted to offer the statue to Grantham on behalf of the people that have donated towards its creation, both here in Grantham and via The Public Memorials Appeal. It is a stunning statue and I think it would be absolutely fitting for it to come to Grantham. I very much hope we can make it happen.”

The Leader of South Kesteven District Council, Councillor Matthew Lee, said: “Margaret Thatcher was undoubtedly an enormous political figure both nationally and internationally and deserves to be recognised. I respect both sides of the argument, but whichever side you are on, I hope we can all agree that this could be very good news for Grantham’s local economy.”

For media enquiries, email the SKDC communications team at pr@southkesteven.gov.uk or call 01476 406440.

We will be taking our pop up museum to Dysart Park, Grantham on Sunday, displaying what we are doing and we some great activities.

The weather looks great for the day so we are looking forward to seeing you there.

Grantham Museum is very proud to announce that Hodgson Wealth Management has agreed to become a corporate sponsor.

(Pictured Andrew Hodgson Managing Director & Wealth Management Consultant at Hodgson Wealth Management)

David Burling, Director, says “It is fantastic news that Hodgson Wealth Management has agreed to sponsor the Museum. The funds that we receive from our corporate sponsors goes directly into making sure that the Museum continues to educate, inform and inspire all generations about the history of Grantham”.

David adds “With the help of Hodgson Wealth Management and our other sponsors we are able to invest in the future and deliver more compelling insight in to Grantham’s past”.

To find out more about sponsoring Grantham Museum, please visit https://gramuseum.wordpress.com/sponsorship/

Today (31st May) is the birthday of actress and playwright Judy Campbell, born in Grantham. Judy Campbell made her stage debut in 1935 as a “Guest” in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney at the Theatre Royal, Grantham, and entered films in 1940 in the London-based thriller Saloon Bar. In 2002 she lent her patrician presence to a television remake of The Forsythe Saga.

Our popular Mind, Body, Spirit evening is fast approaching. We have plenty of practitioners for you to see with stalls ranging from mediums to reiki through to essential oils and massage.

Admission is £2.50 between 6:30pm and 9:30pm.