Cambridgeshire’s Wisbech & Fenland Museum is to charge an admission fee for the first time in 100 years as it struggles to pay its daily running costs.
One of the oldest purpose-made museums in Britain, the Wisbech & Fenland Museum will charge a £5 entry fee for adults from 1 May.
Also, the institution is calling on local businesses to sign up to a new patrons’ scheme and pledge £1200 or £600 per year, and is asking for monthly donations of £5, £10 or £20 from the local community.
“Quite simply, even with admission charges, we can’t survive in our present form beyond this financial year,” said the museum’s chairman Steve McGregor.
“We have won one-off grants for capital projects like the recent magnificent refurbishment – but we can’t use a penny of that money to keep the lights on, our collections curated or staff paid.”
Wisbech & Fenland Museum launches appeal
The Wisbech and Fenland Museum moved into its current building in 1847. It underwent a major refurbishment in 2022, which was largely funded by Historic England.
The museum lost its annual grant from Fenland district council five years ago. Since then, it has been surviving thanks to funding from Wisbech town council and donations from supporters through a different scheme.
That scheme’s time is now up, and the new subscription schemes will need to almost double what it produced, the museum said in a press release.
“It was a decision taken with huge reluctance. We really didn’t want it to come to this,” McGregor told the Guardian.
“But we have to do something to make up the shortfall in our funding,” he added.
“We’re facing a problem museums have up and down the country. We can obtain grants for capital projects, but there is nothing available for day-to-day running costs.”
Images: Wisbech and Fenland Museum
