Sleaford Museum and Monument Gardens refurbishments celebration

National World

Visitors were invited to join in celebrations on the completion of refurbishments to Sleaford Museum and Monument Gardens at an open day on Saturday.

Transcript

00:00So we've got a bit of a musical accompaniment here as well with the band from County Hill's

00:23Klansmen drummers.

00:24Just tell me a bit about today and how important it is.

00:28This is the opening or the rededication of Monument Gardens following a redevelopment

00:37which was funded by UK SPF money, the levelling up money, and effectively organised by the

00:46North West Union District Council.

00:48The major idea was to open up the museum visually and as you can probably see what we've done

00:56is got rid of a lot of the heavy planting and replaced it with minimum planting to

01:03get lots and lots and lots of space.

01:11And you've had a bit of a refurb of the museum as well.

01:14We have indeed.

01:15The exterior of the museum has been repainted.

01:17We've had completely new signage done as well and it's also been provided with lighting

01:25Do you want to take me in?

01:41So the interior of the museum has been redesigned.

01:46Only in as much as some additional cabinets.

01:49Nothing too much by way of external decoration.

01:53As you can see the idea is to make as much space as possible but we don't exhibit everything

02:00that we have.

02:01We only exhibit a selection of things and we tend to exhibit to themes or we respond

02:08to events.

02:10So for example behind the cake there you can see that we have got our remembrance display

02:16which we've left in place for today particularly.

02:22Ah yes.

02:29And for those people that may not have been here before, this used to have a different

02:34use didn't it?

02:35It did.

02:36This used to be an Edwardian toilet block and so where we're stood at the moment is

02:40in the ladies and was the gents.

02:43Of course.

02:44And so you've got some new exhibits on as well I believe.

02:47Yes we have indeed.

02:48Starting with this one here.

02:50This is the Hanley Cup and this was presented to Benjamin Hanley for his work in getting

02:59the Slea Navigation to actually function, actually to become a reality.

03:04And what we're doing at the moment is we are effectively babysitting this for the Slea

03:10Navigation Trust whilst there is a major exhibition on Sleaford Castle in Navigation House.

03:17When that exhibition comes out this will then transfer to where it properly belongs

03:22which is really in Navigation House.

03:24I see.

03:25But it's a very splendid cup.

03:27We've also used some of the things that we have as well such as the 1792 Act of Parliament

03:34which actually gave permission for the canalisation of the River Slea.

03:40Great.

03:42We have a new exhibition here celebrating this Festival of Sport.

03:48Festival of Sport was a major event in the town running from the mid-1970s right through

03:54to the mid-1990s.

03:56And many famous sports people of the day came to support what was happening in the town.

04:05So we had celebrities like David Coleman and Harry Carpenter and Jonah Barrington and

04:12Geoff Capes, Fatima Whitbread and so on.

04:17And they came to support the Sleaford Festival of Sport.

04:24And here we are hosting a temporary exhibition which is loaned to us by Dr Eric Grigg.

04:31Dr Eric Grigg from the Bishop Gossetet University has put together a travelling exhibition on

04:36the Home Guard in Lincolnshire.

04:38And we're hosting the Home Guard in Lincolnshire exhibition through until we close for our

04:44Christmas shut in December.

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