Llangollen Museum will have to close within the next year unless it can recruit more volunteers.
That’s the stark warning from the unpaid team which runs the much-loved Parade Street facility.
They say that, apart from the staffing shortage which has already forced them to cut their number of opening days, another major headache they are facing is finding £80,000 to repair a badly leaking roof.
In a statement issued today (Monday) they say: “Llangollen Museum has been making the history of the town and surrounding area accessible to local people and visitors for well over 20 years.
“With displays about the heritage of the area, and a collection of over 10,000 items, we are preserving the history of Llangollen for future generations, so that they can learn about the changes that have happened to our unique area over the centuries.
“Totally volunteer run, we became an accredited museum 10 years ago. We would very much like to be able to continue to provide this service to everyone for another 20 years and beyond, but, aside from the issue of steeply increasing running costs, we have two critical problems.
“The first is volunteers. As with many organisations our number of active volunteers has dropped significantly and, following the pandemic, we are struggling to recruit new ones.
“We have had to cut our days of opening to just four every week, not only making it harder for people to access the heritage but also reducing the income from our small shop area. This will become particularly noticeable when our energy bills shoot up next year.
“The second issue is with the building. The roof has developed a leak and the only solution is to replace the entire roof – at a cost of around £80,000. Under the terms of our lease from Denbighshire the museum will have to pay for this.
“We may be able to apply for funding to do this work, but again it comes down to volunteer numbers – volunteers with time to write applications but, more importantly, to show that we are viable to continue to stay open.
“Without good volunteer numbers we will struggle to secure funding, as it would be of little use to have a new roof if we do not have the people to run the museum.
“One thing is certain – if we do not manage to get more volunteers then Llangollen Museum WILL have to close within the next year. So we need your help.
“If you think that you would be able to give some time each week (days and times can be arranged to fit in with what works for you) to helping in the Museum please contact our manager Gill Smith at gilliansmith2@hotmail.co.uk or on 07516 023524. “So do get in touch and help us to let all visitors and local people enjoy the heritage of our fascinating area for the next 20 years.”
* The museum is, at present, open four days a week – Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
It is currently starting its programme of talks – the next one will be
on Friday September 30 and will be an illustrated presentation by Graham Greasley
entitled Chirk, 1939-1945, a tribute to those men and women who served their
country in the Second World War. The talk will start at 7.30pm – entrance will
be £3 on the door and, as usual, will include tea/coffee and a biscuit.
In the art gallery at the Museum is presently a display of local scenes by the Pen y Cae Art Group. This will run until September 17 and then, from the September 20 will be an exhibition of photographs of May Queens and May Day events in Llangollen over the one 111 years that it has been running.
