Ripon Museum Trust has secured three-year funding from Arts Council England worth more than £400,000.
The trust operates the Workhouse, Prison and Police Museum and Courthouse museums, which welcome around 30,000 people per year.
The grant means the trust will continue to be funded through the Arts Council’s national portfolio scheme. It will receive £142,576 each year for the years 2023-26.
The funding will help pay for jobs as well as a programme of community engagement, creative programming and improvements.
Last week Harrogate Theatre , which had received just over £140,000 a year from the national portfolio scheme since 2015, announced it had missed out on an award this time.
Richard Taylor, chair of the trust, said:
“This crucial grant funding allows us not only to continue to provide a range of inspiring experiences but to also look ahead to how we can find new and innovative ways to inspire and engage our visitors both digitally and in person.
“This is good news for Ripon and the wider community of North Yorkshire. It will help to raise the cultural profile of our city and everything it has to offer.”
Applications for funding were determined against criteria laid out in the Arts Council’s Let’s Create strategy, which requires organisations to demonstrate how the work they do will contribute to the principles of inclusivity and relevance, ambition and quality, dynamism, and environmental responsibility.
Trust director Helen Thornton said:
“It is hugely exciting to be part of Arts Council England’s next portfolio and to be able to respond to Let’s Create. It’s a vote of confidence that what we are doing here has real impact and potential to grow our cultural offer.
“We hope to be able to reach out to and work with new communities, strengthen and develop what we do for our local communities, our volunteers and the general visitor – to ensure they have a really creative and inspiring time in our museums”.
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Families invited to enjoy the sights and sounds of Ripon
Seven of Ripon’s best-known locations are combining on Saturday March 12 to provide free entertainment and interactive fun for families.
The Sights and Sounds of Ripon programme, organised by Harrogate Borough Council, runs from 11am until 2pm at all venues.
It includes activities ranging from participation in a Victorian school lesson at the Workhouse Museum, to a visit to the bell tower at Ripon Cathedral.
Anyone interested in how fingerprints have been used to catch criminals can find out at the Prison and Police Museum, on St Marygate, where they can try fingerprinting themselves.
The cathedral will host singing, dancing, displays, craft activities and a bell tower tour.
At the nearby Courthouse Museum on Minster Road, visitors can see how the city’s criminals were brought to justice in bygone days.
In addition to the array of activities at the three heritage attractions run by Ripon Museum Trust, the cathedral, which celebrates its 1,350th anniversary this year, will host an exhibition featuring community services provided by 14 local organisations.
There be family crafts and games and performances from local choirs, Ripon City Morris Dancers and Betty Lupton’s Ladle Laikers.
The dancers and the Ladle Laikers will also be performing at the Workhouse Museum, along with singers and a ukulele band, while Punch and Judy shows will take place at 11.30am and 1.30pm.
The city council’s treasured items will be the focus of talks in the Mayor’s Parlour
At Ripon Town Hall, the city’s silverware and other treasures, collected over centuries, will be the focus of talks held on the hour from 11am in the Mayor’s parlour.
Those looking for some interactive entertainment will find it at Ripon Arts Hub on Allhallowgate, where they can view a working rehearsal by Ripon Youth Theatre between 11am and 12 noon and join in live Oliver! workshops at 12.15pm, 1pm and 1.45pm.
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The city’s library will hold storytime readings for 0-6 year-olds from 11am and there will be stories and activities for 7-11-year-olds between 12 noon a 12.45pm.
In addition to the daytime programme at the library, which will feature community information stalls, Ripon Poetry Festival will be staging a free to attend open mic night at 7.30pm, for which places need to be booked in advance.
Further programme details are available here.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded almost £100,000 to Ripon Museum Trust to develop a major project.
The Inspiration for a Fairer Future project will enable the stories of poverty, law, crime, punishment and justice to be explored by a wider, more diverse audience.
It will also enable work to be carried out to safeguard the future of the Grade II listed Ripon Workhouse building.
The successful first round funding application provides the financial means for work to begin in spring, which will inform a larger proposal for £1.7 million, to be submitted to the heritage fund for consideration in 2023.
A fundraising campaign is being launched to secure match funding for the project.
The trust runs the Workhouse, Courthouse, and Prison and Police museums and the project will create a more cohesive story across all three sites, giving access to more historic spaces, improving orientation and creating new digital and on-site interpretation.
A new lift will be installed in the Workhouse to allow access to the upper floor and the dormitories will be opened up to provide new meeting spaces for community groups, schools and researchers.
There will be new facilities for school groups and other learners as well as new community spaces.
The initial development funding of £99,396 from the heritage fund will be used to appoint project staff and undertake community consultation to ensure the project reflects the needs of the people it seeks to engage, inspire and support.
Trust director Helen Thornton said:
“We’re delighted that we’ve received this support thanks to National Lottery players. Our long-term vision for the three museums in our care can now begin to be realised.
“This grant will significantly increase the opportunities for people to get involved here – after reflecting upon our history and themes we hope to inspire people to seek a fairer society”.
Richard Taylor, chair of trustees, said:
“We were able to purchase the workhouse complex in 2016 due to a significant grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
“Thanks to their ongoing support, we can safeguard an important listed building for the future and link up all the fascinating powerful and personal stories we have from the Workhouse, the Prison and Police Museum and the Courthouse Museum.”
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Unison awaiting answers over Harrogate council staff using public toilets
The trade union Unison is still in talks with Harrogate Borough Council over some staff having to use public toilets during office hours.
The union first raised concerns in April when plans to move Knaresborough Tourist Information Centre into the Courthouse Museum got underway.
As part of the move, roles are set to be amalgamated — tourist information officers and museum assistants will become ‘visitor experience assistants’ and become part of the council’s new Destination Management Organisation led by Gemma Rio to coordinate tourism.
The museum site doesn’t have adequate on-site toilet facilities, forcing staff to use public toilets on Cheapside.
Unison has argued the situation was never ideal and is now no longer viable as more staff join them.
The council and union representatives have met in recent weeks to discuss alternatives. The union is now waiting for the council to respond.
David Houlgate, Unison Harrogate branch secretary, said:
“We’ve asked them [the council] to identify somewhere for staff to have decent welfare facilities. We both agree Portakabins wouldn’t be suitable.”
The union has said it is also making contact with local organisations to see if it’s possible for staff to share facilities.
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Mr Houlgate added:
“The union understands there won’t be any compulsory redundancies but there may be some voluntary redundancies. We want to avoid any compulsory redundancies.”
‘Not possible to install toilets at museum’
A council spokeswoman said
“The Knaresborough Tourist Information Centre has relocated into the Courthouse Museum at Knaresborough Castle as planned. This coincided with the castle’s reopening following lockdown on July 19.
“The decision to relocate the tourist information centre into the courthouse museum pre-dates the creation of the Destination Management Organisation and the restructure that is currently being undertaken.
“There is no toilet available on site at Knaresborough castle and museum and due to the historic nature of the site it is not possible for us to install one.
“For this reason the staff at the castle are required to use the public toilets in the adjacent car park which are owned, managed and cleaned by Harrogate Borough Council.
“Staff at the Castle have used these public toilets for as long as the site has been staffed. However, we are continuing to explore alternative arrangements within the vicinity”.