NEWHAVEN MUSEUM RE-OPENS
April 2014
By Newhaven Museum and Andy Gilbert
Newhaven Museum re-opened its doors to the public on Saturday 29th March 2014.
The museum had been closed for three months to allow for the repair of the heating system and for a total rearrangement of its layout. During that period, a group of hardy volunteers from the Newhaven Historical Society were busy working, often in freezing conditions, to prepare many new showcases and exhibits. Curator Tony Helyar is quoted as saying that regular visitors would not recognise the place and, having paid a visit last weekend, I'm inclined to agree!
The layout is now more 'people friendly', with wider spaces between the display cases, and artifacts have been placed in groups. As well as the previous special displays for things like Newhaven Lifeboat, there are now special sections for the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry, the War Years, the RAF Unit and 'The Way We Were'. In addition, the exterior of the museum has had a revamp.
The museum's vast collection of photos are, of course, still available in well over sixty albums. The collection has been digitally scanned and copies of any photographs can be ordered for a small fee.
If you've never visited the museum, and you've enjoyed browsing Our Newhaven, then you'll love a visit there! If you're a regular from years gone by, then pop in and see the changes!
I've taken some photos of the new layout. As they deserve to be seen in detail, I've put this page into Photo Gallery mode. Just click on a small image to see it in full size.