Rishi Sunak has welcomed the reopening of the Green Howards Museum.
The Richmond attraction, which celebrates the history of the famous local regiment, opened its doors again earlier this month.
The MP was among the museum’s early returning visitors and saw the museum’s new exhibition – Treasures in Store – and how visitors were being welcomed back safely.
Tours of the museum currently have to be booked and timed to ensure social distancing but entry charges have been halved at least until the end of August.
The new exhibition – running until the end of the year – is a result of the museum going through its extensive collections and picking out objects not normally displayed – in some cases because they are very fragile and would be damaged by being on permanent display.
Mr Sunak said: “The exhibition really brings home the very personal experiences of the men and their loved ones and what living through events like the Great War was really like.”
“The diary of a young woman desperately waiting for news of her boyfriend and the range of emotions she experienced as the days passed by was particularly moving.”
Mr Sunak said the museum had implemented comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of visitors and its staff. As well as the pre-booked timed slots, the museum’s capacity has been reduced to allow social distancing of two metres for visitor comfort and peace of mind. Specified routes around the galleries are marked and screens and hand sanitiser stations are in place.
Fiona Hall, the museum’s communications and commercial manager, said the museum was grateful that Mr Sunak had found the time to visit and also for the Government’s £25,000 Covid-19 discretionary business grant, administered by Richmondshire District Council.
