Town support needed for museum (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Town support needed for museum

THE retiring curator of Malmesbury's Athelstan Museum has warned the facility could close unless the town supports it.

Roberta Prince, who has retired after 23 years as the curator of the Athelstan Museum in the Cross Hayes told the Standard on her last day at work: "I hope more people will get involved with the Museum in future - if people don't use and support it, they will lose it."

Since her appointment in 1983, Roberta - known to her friends as Bobbie has helped to preserve and research , catalogue and display thousands of items of local history.

Originally trained as a graphic designer and display assistant, Roberta worked with the Corinium Museum in Cirencester - her home town - before taking over the running of the Athelstan Museum.

Over the years she has worked closely with the local community, assisting visitors to the museum, both from the UK and overseas, with their family history research and also assisting professional researchers delving into Malmesbury's unique past.

Roberta has been particularly keen to research Malmesbury's lace industry and promote public awareness of the craft.

Her expert knowledge of the areas' history enabled her to publish a book Malmesbury Photographic Memories last year.

Married with two daughters Roberta says she will miss the contact with visitors to the town: "It has been a real privilege to meet, literally, thousands of people that have visited the museum through the years. No two days have ever been the same."

Personal highlights of Roberta's curatorship include getting permission from the Ashmoleum Museum in Oxford for using an image of its Athelstan coin as the Malmesbury museum's logo; and securing funds from Wiltshire County Council for setting up a children's corner.

Amongst the visitors she has welcomed to the Museum was the late Sir Harry Secombe when he was filming a television programme about Malmesbury.

In her retirement, Roberta is looking forward to helping her daughter establish her business in Barcelona and hopes to find time to indulge her love of sailing."

Roberta's retirement coincided with the transfer of the management of the Museum from North Wiltshire District Council to the Friends of Athelstan Museum (FOAM). More than 150 people flocked to an open day at the museum on Saturday - ten percent of the total number of visitors over the past year.

"We were very heartened by the response, and we signed up some more volunteers", said Roger Griffin of the Friends group. "Several people who came had not known the museum was here until they read about the open day."