OUR NEW MUSEUM

Aldeburgh Museum needs significant investment to redevelop and reinvigorate its displays and broaden their appeal to visitors including its educational and outreach offerings for the local community across East Suffolk.
 
A comprehensive study has been done to assess what is needed in terms of not only what visitors would like to see but also how the Museum can best appeal to all of the community.  We have developed an Activity Plan which shows for example a demand for an educational offering from schools across the district and a requirement for outreach services from the Museum for the elderly and others.

A Stage 1 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was awarded in December 2016 to develop detailed proposals in support of a £750k grant from HLF to improve the Museum and its offerings.  These proposals have now been developed and a Stage 2 submission to HLF was submitted in February 2018 for decision in late June.  To enable a grant from HLF, Match Funding of £55k has to be raised by the Museum.  To date (18 April) approximately £42700 has been promised from Aldeburgh Town Council, local societies, individuals and the Museum’s own reserves.  A further £12000 has still to be raised and a fund-raising campaign is underway.  Please help us with a donation if you can.  Our DONATE page is HERE.
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You can find details of our project on this website and if you so wish we would love to receive your donations.  This project is a partnership between the Aldeburgh Museum Charitable Trust and Aldeburgh Town Council,

OUR STORYLINE

The Burgesses of Aldeburgh built the Moot Hall over 450 years ago to demonstrate the wealth of the town and provide a venue for the council to meet. The Council still meets there today. Since the sixteenth century it has sat at the heart of the community during the town’s development into the coastal destination it is today.

The Moot Hall has over the centuries also housed shops, a court and a jail, as well as a museum.

What better place could there be to tell the rich history and stories of Aldeburgh?

The story of Aldeburgh is formed around the common threads of:
• Attraction, of settlers, of ships, of the 19th century gentry and later holiday makers, artists and tourists.
• Dynamism of the sea, the coast, politics, religion, people and places.
• Inspiration of the sea and coastline on artists, intellectuals and everyday visitors.​

OUR PROJECT

This exciting project will regenerate Aldeburgh Museum, reinvigorate its displays, broaden their appeal to visitors and instigate an activity programme that will not only attract more visitors to the Museum, both young and old, but also take the Museum into the local community.
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Collections are housed in the 16th century Moot Hall, itself a prime exhibit. This Grade 1 timber-framed building, continuously used for local governance since Tudor times, is owned by our partner, Aldeburgh Town Council. Our project combines improved visitor access with better continuity of displays. A new narrative and coherent visitor orientation, together  with sympathetically applied digital technology will enhance visitors' understanding and exploration of our heritage. We will implement an outreach programme to target schools and the community; recruit and train additional volunteers; introduce changing exhibitions; forge partnerships with regional museums and history associations, resulting in a sustainable future for our rich heritage.​

OUR VISION

To be an inspiring and progressive local museum that actively engages all ages with the rich heritage of Aldeburgh and its surroundings 
Go to the DESIGN page to find our more about how Museum will look at the end of the Project and the ACTIVITIES page to look at the activities and our outreach programme.