Opinion: Guildford Museum: This Temple To The Past Needs To Embrace The Future Now

Published on: 14 Oct, 2016
Updated on: 14 Oct, 2016

By Gavin Morgan of the Guildford Heritage Forum

The press release on Guildford Museum released by the council (story based on it on published on The Guildford Dragon NEWS) is welcome.

It paints a rosy picture and we are grateful to all that the council is doing. However, we will have to wait until next spring to properly learn what is happening. We are told that this is the “first stage of a long process”.

I think we need to start breathing life into our museum now and over the next few months I hope we will see evidence of this. It is in a terrible state and is not a good advert for the town. It is hard to imagine that our town once breathed history and celebrated in style. We need to recapture that spirit.

Today visitors could be forgiven for thinking that our local history museum is not very interested in local history. The galleries have not changed very much in years, in some cases decades.

There is no publication programme. On top of that our council has just closed the museum library. It was run by the Surrey Archaeological Society (SAS) which founded the museum in 1898. It contained a breathtaking amount of information on the history of Surrey and our town.

However, the council was not happy with the lease and, rather than renegotiate, it decided to evict the library after 118 years. The library will reopen in Abinger in January.

There are, of course, explanations for the above. The museum is just part of a busy heritage service running several sites. The councillors who evicted the SAS no doubt believed they were acting in the best interests of the town. However, none of this changes the impression we are giving. I believe we can do better and we need to start now.

This year we celebrated the 90th birthday of the Queen. It was rather appropriate that in the week that the nation celebrated Guildford Borough Council agreed to spend an impressive sum on revamping Guildford Museum.

Many people will remember previous celebrations, in particular the Queen’s silver jubilee in 1977 and how the whole town came together to celebrate in style. If we can somehow rekindle that spirit then our museum will have a great future.

The highlight of the celebrations in 1977 was the Silver Jubilee Pageant. Hundreds of people in the town took part. It was the brainchild of David Clarke, a larger than life character with infectious enthusiasm. He toured schools, drama clubs, and other community groups around the town drumming up a small army of people from all walks of life and all ages.

By June, a small village had started to appear in Shalford Meadows. There were three grandstands and tents for costumes, cast members, hospitality, souvenirs, first aid as well as the press.

For two weeks crowds were entertained to a potted history of England on the grandest of scales. Starting with a sacrifice at Stonehenge, the pageant presented Romans battling the ancient Britons. Norman invaders, a medieval fair and joust. The audience were taken to Vauxhall Gardens for a firework display. A one-dimensional replica of an early steam engine puffed its way across the arena to take Queen Victoria on a royal tour.

It was a great success and even Princess Anne came to see it. It seemed like the whole town had got behind the project. Thousands of people from the town were entertained by hundreds of amateur performers from the town. But what is more the event seemed to kindle a spirit that saw Guildford embrace its past.

Over the next few years David Clarke’s theatrical army reappeared. The award-winning local film group Circle Eight started to make historical films and many people dressed up for the crowd scenes.

Gavin Morgan.

First there came Tales of Guildford, followed by Tales of Surrey. There was a mini pageant featuring scenes outside historic buildings in the town and then in 1987 another full scale pageant in Shalford Meadows.

Guildford embraced its heritage big time and there was more to it than a bunch of eccentrics dressing up to entertain.

Out of this enthusiasm came the Guildford Town Guides who have contributed so much to tourism. Guildford also embraced heritage weekend when historic buildings are opened to public. Guildford’s offering is frequently among the top 10 in the country. Guildford Museum was also very active with publications and events in the town.

The pageant may not have directly inspired all this but it gave expression to a spirit which has touched many aspects of the town’s heritage industry.

The scores of local history books by authors such as Helen Chapman Davis, Stanley Newman, Philip Hutchinson and David Rose (some of his books co-written with Graham Collyer, Bernard Parke and Martin Giles) have all contributed to creating much interest and knowledge of Guildford’s history.

The recent press release for the council says it will “consult and involve residents, businesses and other organisations”. Or to put it in my language, if you are a teacher, community worker, historian, actor, musician or anyone who has a passion for bringing history alive in our town then watch this space and get involved.

I am delighted that on December 18 the council’s heritage services is putting on a Medieval Christmas event at the castle.

The press release says that “Guildford Castle will become a winter wonderland as we bring you a Medieval Christmas as experienced by King Edward III in 1347”.

This is the sort of spirit that we need.(http://www.visitsoutheastengland.com/events/a-medieval-christmas-at-guildford-castle-p1328371)

Over the next few years Guildford Museum will be transformed. However, its success should not be measured just by the quality of the building or its exhibits. If the pageant tells us anything then it is that the success of Guildford Museum will must be measured by its ability to inspire Guildfordians and get them behind their heritage. If that can be achieved then everything else will follow.

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