News

In May 2019, Grantham Museum has launched a fundraising campaign to create a lasting exhibition to the first female police officer to have arresting powers in the UK.

Edith Smith was a pioneer and went on to have an active role in law enforcement in the Grantham area.

We feel that it is time to create a fitting, permanent exhibition to her with Grantham Museum.

To do this we are opening up the opportunity to the public to donate and “Buy a Brick” for the “cell wall” that will form part of the exhibition. Each brick with have the name of the person who donated along with a message of tribute to Edith.

Launching this campaign is Amanda Schonhut, Fundraising Director.

Amanda says “ People are very interested in Edith’s Story, not just here in Grantham but elsewhere too. She is hugely important to Lincolnshire as a whole but a source of pride for Policing and for Women and our achievements. This is a fantastic opportunity for local people to get involved in telling Edith’s Story and that of Policing here in our Town – in her time. I speak to people every week who are keen to promote Edith’s exemplary service to Policing, as the first woman to be given the power of arrest as a female officer, we at the Museum are proud to promote her work.

For as little as a £1.00 donation you can ‘buy a brick’ to build Edith’s ‘custody cell’, each brick will have the name of the person on and will be proudly displayed as part of our exhibition. We invite anyone, including Schools, Local Community Groups and Associations to get involved – the more bricks we sell – the bigger the story we can tell! “

You can find out more at https://www.granthammuseum.org.uk/edith-smith-buy-a-brick/ where you can donate online or send your donations to the Museum.

In this episode, Betty herself recounts the events surrounding and following the Barkston Rail Crash in January 1936.

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Grantham Branch Manager Thomas Parker presented Director David Burling (pictured) with £1000 as part of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation Grant scheme at Grantham Museum.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Area Manager Jessica Burdett said “We have been looking for local charities to support and wanted to support the great work at Grantham Museum”

David Burling said “It was a delightful surprise to hear about the donation and this £1000 will go a long way to help delivering our vision to educate, inform and inspire all”.

Today is Commonwealth Day and the theme for 2019 is ‘A Connected Commonwealth’, which offers opportunities for the people, governments and institutions of this richly diverse family of nations to connect and work together at many levels through far-reaching and deep-rooted networks of friendship and goodwill.

The Museum would like to take time today to reflect on members of the commonwealth & other countries coming together to fight a common enemy with our interview of Dr Doug Jenkins during our Faces of World War 1 exhibition. #commonwealthday

Find the video below:

The faces of World War 1

Britain’s first female Prime Minister will be honoured in her home town after planning permission was granted to erect a statue of her in Grantham.

A 10.5ft bronze of The Rt Hon Baroness Margaret Thatcher LG will stand on a granite plinth in the heart of the Civic Quarter near two famous sons of the town – Sir Isaac Newton, one of the world’s greatest scientists, and the Hon. Frederick James Tollemache, a nineteenth century politician.

 

David Burling, a Trustee of Grantham Community Heritage Association, which runs the town’s museum and submitted the application, said:  “We are absolutely delighted that our plans to bring a statue of Grantham’s most famous daughter to the town have been given the go-ahead.

 

“The interest and increase in visitors the statue will bring will not only secure the future of the museum for years to come but also allow us to develop and improve our permanent Margaret Thatcher exhibition which is already viewed by thousands of people each year.

“The debate about Margaret Thatcher’s legacy will now continue for generations to come. This is about inspiring, educating and informing people about someone who represents a significant part of the town’s heritage.”

 

The proposals, which were the result of an agreement between GCHA, South Kesteven District Council and Ivan Saxton, chairman of The Public Memorials Appeal, were today (5 February) approved by the council’s Development Management Committee.

 

The organisations say the statue will not only be a fitting tribute to a unique political figure, but  that it will also 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.

 

The statue has been paid for by The Public Memorials Appeal, a charity that aims to commission and erect memorials of historically important people. Money raised by the GCHA Margaret Thatcher Appeal will help deliver the statue. No public funds have been used.

 

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 in her home town.

 

“Whatever your views, the statue will undoubtedly attract more visitors to the town which can only be good news for Grantham’s local economy, with all the benefits and opportunities that creates for residents and local businesses.”

 

Cllr Graham Jeal, the GCHA Trustee who is coordinating the project, said that all parties are working towards unveiling the statue towards the end of the year.

 

“We will be speaking with our professional advisers on the next stage of the project and appointing stonemasons to create the 10.5ft granite plinth which will be sited on St Peter’s Hill,” he said.  “We will continue to raise money for the statue project and every penny donated will tell the story of Margaret Thatcher in the Grantham Museum.”

 

The statue, dressed in the Baronial Gown of Kesteven and wearing the chain of the Order of the Garter, was created by the critically acclaimed sculptor Douglas Jennings, who has developed a reputation for producing public sculpture that captivates with its level of detail and naturalistic style.

 

Margaret Thatcher (nee Roberts) was born and raised in Grantham and attended 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.

 

Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. She was the longest serving Premier of the 20th century. Nearly six years on from her death in April 2013, her social and economic legacy continues to divide opinion, with strong feelings on both sides of the debate.

We are very happy to announce that Grantham Museum is featured in the new Discover South Kesteven website and visitor guide.

Visit the website now and you can download your own copy to find out what wonderful treasures there are in our region.

http://www.discoversouthkesteven.com

This is part of our 2019 strategy of raising awareness of our Museum on a national and international scale to encourage tourism and help develop the visitor economy for Grantham.

Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting developments as we head into the New Year.

We are now working with partners to summarise all our efforts to put together the Interactive Science Salon at Grantham Museum at the time of the Gravity Fields Festival.

Not least we have to write a report for our funders, but also we would like to have your views to enable us to continue to evaluate and improve our heritage and museum based experiences. The questionnaire only takes a few minutes to complete.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6C5N5HP

Margaret Thatcher statue plans to be unveiled

Plans to site a bronze statue of the country’s first female Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven LG, in Grantham were unveiled at a special event at the town’s museum on Wednesday 21 November.

A display outlining details of the proposal by Grantham Community Heritage Association (GCHA), which runs the museum, South Kesteven District Council and The Public Memorials Appeal is on show.

The sculptor, Douglas Jennings, who is critically acclaimed and renowned for producing highly detailed bronzes, portraits and sculptures, was also present to talk about his work.

The organisations say the statue will not only be a fitting tribute to a unique political figure, but that it will also 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.

The proposal is for the 10.5ft statue, standing on a 10.5ft plinth, to be erected on the green space on St Peter’s Hill. The planning application will be considered by SKDC’s Development Management Committee.

The statue has been paid for by The Public Memorials Trust, a charity that aims to commission and erect memorials of historically important people. Money raised by the GCHA Margaret Thatcher Appeal will help deliver the statue. No public funds have been used.

 

Margaret Thatcher (nee Roberts) was born and raised in Grantham and attended 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.

Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. Five-and-a-half years on from her death in April 2013, hersocial and economic legacy continues to divide opinion, with strong feelings on both sides of the debate.

David Burling, GCHA Trustee, said: “The debate about Margaret Thatcher’s legacy looks set to continue for generations to come. We want the Grantham Museum to be where that debate happens.

“We believe full planning permission for the statue will not only secure the future of the museum for the next 10 years but allow us to develop and improve our permanent Margaret Thatcher exhibition which is viewed by thousands of visitors each year.

“We will continue to raise money for the statue project and every penny donated will help to tell the story of Margaret Thatcher in the Grantham Museum.”

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 in her home town.

“I welcome the work being done to create a permanent memorial to Grantham’s most famous daughter.”

The Sculptor, Douglas Jennings, said: “It was a great privilegeto work with Ivan Saxton of The Public Memorials Appeal to create and capture the essence of Margaret Thatcher, one of the UKs most recognised political leaders.

“Dressed in the Baronial Gown of Kesteven and wearing the chain of the Order of the Garter, I think it is appropriate that she has a memorial in the heart of the historic region of Kesteven.”

You can donate to the project by clicking below, in person at the Museum or by cheque made payable to Grantham Community Heritage Association.

 

On Friday 7th December 2018, Grantham Museum will be holding a fundraising Race Night to raise vital funds for the upkeep of Grantham Museum.

Amanda Schonhut, Fundraising Director says “This will be your opportunity to have a great night out with friends and do your bit to help keep Grantham Museum open”.

Lots of fun to be had in a great location. Entrance is £2.50 on the door. Doors open at 7pm and racing starts at 7:30pm

Grantham Writers is launching its second annual book festival this November, following the success of last year’s inaugural event.

Grantham Book Festival 2018 will be held at Grantham Museum on St Peter’s Hill on November 3rd from 10am until 4pm.

New for this year is a poetry slam, where participants will be able to compete for the cash prize of £100. The competition will be hosted by multi award winning poet Sue Gerrard alongside Peter Clawson, one of the founding members of Grantham Writers. There will be a small charge of £3 per poem (with a maximum of three entries per person) and the group is keen to encourage writers of all ages and abilities, from across the East Midlands, to take part. 

Visitors to the book festival will also be able to enjoy six talks from local authors, who will be reading extracts from their books, answering questions and carrying out book signings throughout the day.

Confirmed authors include Lisa J Rivers who has published a number of books, including popular poetry collection Why I have so Many Cats?, as well as Grantham Writers own Riis Marshall. Riis is currently working on the follow up to his first published novel – a political thriller called Nudge Nudge Wink Wink Die, which follows the adventures of Os Doran, a Close Protection Security Consultant. 

In addition, there will be 24 stalls, selling a wide variety of books and some gifts. 

Peter Clawson said, “We are thrilled to be holding our second annual book festival and are in the process of getting a great line up of authors involved. 

“The event will be a fantastic way to celebrate the local writing talent that we have in and around Grantham, as well as provide a platform to encourage and inspire more writers in the area to share their work.