It’s been a tough few years under Tory austerity for Croydon’s once cherished libraries and museum, and their hard-working staff.
So the news that the borough’s archives service has received a £10,000 grant to help research a special project has been warmly greeted by the Museum of Croydon.
The Museum, based in the Croydon Clocktower, lost its official accreditation when Jason Perry and his Conservative cronies flogged off a large section of the Riesco Collection of precious, antique and historic Chinese ceramics (they didn’t even get the true value for the items sold, either).
Meanwhile, four libraries have been closed, books thrown out on to the street, and the buildings renamed “hubs” and handed over to community groups and private companies, who have replaced professionally trained librarians. The Year of Culture, and £1million-plus of funding from the Mayor of London, came and went without making a lasting impact, after culture grants were allocated to business groups.
So the comparatively modest £10,000 research and innovation grant from The National Archives, placed directly in the hands of the council’s culture staff, is a welcome change in fortune.
The grant is basically to hire-in a researcher to try to work out why the Croydon public are not making use of the borough’s archives. Some of the answers to their questions ought to be pretty obvious…
The project is called: “Access for All: Researching and Redesigning the Croydon Archives Digital Experience”.
According to the Museum of Croydon: “This research-led pilot will explore how different communities engage with our digital platforms, identifying motivations, interests, barriers and opportunities.
“A freelance specialist will lead focus groups and user research, working with remote users, younger audiences and people who do not normally engage with our offer – to try out new ideas and co-design improvements to our website, catalogue and other digital engagement platforms.”
And then there’s this: “The project will culminate in a creative digital engagement output and a sector-facing guidance document…,” our italics. They mean “report”, “… to support inclusive digital engagement across the archive sector.”
And the man who closed libraries, helped to flog off the ceramics and lined the pockets of his business mates with public funds, Jason Perry, said: “This project is about opening up our heritage to everyone and making sure our stories are accessible to all.” Which is nice.
Meanwhile, an exhibition of historical photographs of Croydon from a hundred years ago has just opened at the Museum’s Atrium Gallery.
Croydon Through the Lens of Charles Harrison Price comprises 50 images by Charles Harrison Price taken between 1903 and 1939, offering a remarkable insight into pre-war Croydon.
Price’s professional work work was studio portraiture, in the days before selfies, a must-have for Victorian and Edwardian up-and-comers, but when Price stepped outside his studio, he was always ready with his camera to capture people, events and local scenes.
“Travelling around the borough with a cumbersome box camera in the sidecar of his motorbike, Price supplemented his studio income photographing everyday scenes for postcards,” the Museum says.
The photographs in the exhibition are from the collection of John Gent, a former president of the long-established and widely esteemed Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, and the exhibition represents a welcome collaboration between the Museum of Croydon, CNHSS and another well-respected local history group, the Bourne Society.
The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday, from 9am to 5pm at the Museum of Croydon, Atrium Gallery, Level 0, Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, CR9 1ET.
Entry is free and no booking is required.
Read more: Museums Association kicks out Croydon over Riesco sale
Read more: Mayor Perry lies to BBC over his closures of Croydon libraries
Read more: How Croydon’s ‘Culture Club’ was turned into a business clique
Read more: It’s hard to find signs of the borough’s musical heritage trail
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Extremely tight opening hours might be a reason. I did arrange a trip before and remember it being very strict what times you come in. It wasn’t very relaxing either I seem to remember the rules being quite strict too about having to put my coat etc in a locker but I’m sure there’s a good reason for that.
As they have “archive material”, that is supposed to be kept at low humidity levels so they like things like bags and coats, which have come from the outside world, to be hung up or locked away from the archive documents.
Keeping bags and coats out of the reading rooms also makes it easier for staff to check what else is going in and out. It is not unknown for the unique material in an archive to be stolen unfortunately (or more rarely, fakes smuggled in so it appears there is historical reference for a particular view). So yes, all rules and restrictions are generally for the protection of the archival material. Similarly you will generally only be allowed to take in a pencil for note taking (no eraser on it) lest someone absentmindedly doodle on something from the archives in pen!
a large section of the Riesco Collection of precious, antique and historic Chinese ceramics was sold off if any body can help i would like to know.
1.How much was it sold for ?
2.Who purchased this donation to Croydon museum that should have stayed where it was ?
3.And what was the money used for to fund any thing ?
4.And all these grants and government funding why did they sell in the first place ?
5.And who authorized it ?
Answers to all those questions, and more, can be found in the Inside Croydon archive. Just use the site’s search engine, or click on the appropriate of the Read more links above, Michael, and follow the thread.
Before Covid the archive research room used to be open from 10am to 5pm on Tuesday to Saturday, but it is now only open from 11am to 1pm and 2 to 4pm on a Wednesday and a Friday.
I am reminded of Covid most weeks when I try to book an appointment at the Research Room because their website still says “Currently all access to our collections is by appointment due to COVID restrictions.” But Covid was years ago !
It was reading so well until The project is called: “Access for All: which caused a mild hiccup of a giggle
But
“This project is about opening up our heritage to everyone and making sure our stories are accessible to all.” Which is nice.
Caused serious stomach heaving and tears, and that dark terrible flippancy came and took over and all I could see was this-
”The Mayor formally announces that Access for all will be restored after the failed experiment to deny residents services as a cost cutting measure. We are now goig to restore libraries and reclaim sold items. The cabinet has donatined at their allowances forthe next two years for this. We will no longer be shutting down our heriage and assets and will once again be staffing premises to meet residents needs.”
Sadly I had bumped my head while laughing and was told I had concussion at the local Flu centre.
I now have a bit of a headached, a runny nose a shortage of breath and am being told that te Mayor is visiting the new Flu ward I am residing in to open that up and partake in a wonderful photo -opportunity with me.
Nope clearly still uncnscious.
I do wish the Museum and Archives well with their digital project and it does sound like it may be of benefit. What it will not be is accessible to all as too many in this borough are denied digital access and the narrow times of opening does not assist with enablement.