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The Museum of East Dorset in Wimborne is celebrating the success of its latest application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, securing £175,624 towards a total project cost of £219,530.
The funding will enable the museum to deliver a programme over 14 months to strengthen the museum’s long-term sustainability, broaden its community impact and improve the care of its historic building and collections.
The project includes a new fundraising plan to build a wider and more diverse group of supporters and donors; a digital upgrade for back-office systems including ticketing and donations and volunteer training; solar PV and secondary glazing to reduce energy costs, cut carbon emissions and improve environmental conditions for the collection; and a one-year trial Community Engagement Manager post to expand work with isolated, older and low-income members of the local community.
Jonathan Greenwood, Chair of Trustees said: “This is a huge vote of confidence in the Museum of East Dorset and in everyone who works so hard to care for and share East Dorset’s heritage.”
He added: “This project will help us build a more secure future, from improving our systems and reducing our carbon footprint to reaching more people who don’t always get to enjoy their local heritage. We are incredibly grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and to everyone who has supported the museum and helped make this possible.”
Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We’re delighted to support the Museum of East Dorset to work towards a strong and resilient future, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. It is fantastic news that the museum can deliver this programme of work to secure this much-loved heritage attraction for future generations and broaden its engagement with the communities of East Dorset.”
The award-winning museum is based in the historic Priest’s House on Wimborne Minster’s High Street. Its origins as a museum date back to Hilda Coles, who inherited her father Tom Frank Coles’ ironmonger’s business in 1953 and later worked with the Wimborne Historical Society to fulfil his wish that the building should become a museum. The museum opened on 31 July 1962 as a centre of education and culture for both children and adults.
Since then, the Museum of East Dorset has grown into a welcoming heritage hub, sharing the histories and objects of towns and rural villages across East Dorset. Its collections include around 35,000 objects, from domestic life, childhood, trades and agriculture to rare archaeological artefacts, some of national significance. The museum also includes one of the most important national collections of Victorian Valentine cards including Vinegar Valentines, which reveal spiteful rather than romantic messages.
The museum’s growing reputation has also been recognised through the Dorset Tourism Awards. It won Gold for Small Visitor Attraction of the Year at the 2022–23 awards, with judges praising it as “a surprising building and even more surprising experience”. Last year, it celebrated further success with Gold in Small Visitor Attraction of the Year and Silver in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award, recognising its visitor experience, imaginative programming, inclusive interpretation, accessibility and community engagement.
The museum previously completed a major restoration and renovation of its Grade II* historic town house with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The new project builds on that legacy, helping ensure local stories remain accessible for generations to come.
