Volunteers are wanted to help Richmondshire Museum continue telling the story of the district’s heritage.
Having survived the uncertainty of the last two years during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Richmond attraction once again opened its doors for the 2022 season on April 1.
The museum would normally host around 4,000 visitors a year, welcomed to the site by a team of dedicated volunteers.
Curator, Zoe Johnson, is a paid member of staff and this year turns her attention to raising the profile of the museum in 2022, increasing visitor figures though improved marketing and engaging community events.
She said: “Richmondshire Museum is held in great affection by our regular visitors, and first-time visitors are stunned by the breadth and scope of our collection. It is so important to me that residents of Richmond and the surrounding areas know about their heritage and have access to our collection.
“The museum also provides wonderful insights for tourists visiting the area. While we work hard to welcome more visitors to the museum, we will of course need more volunteers to help keep things running smoothly.
“Volunteers staff the front desk and welcome visitors. They also catalogue and conserve collections, and work on PR and media presence.
“A key role also is to ensure schools have artefacts to explore with their children, and that young families have local history-related activities to engage with during holidays and weekends.”
Some volunteers at the museum have lived in Richmond and the local area all of their lives.
Others, like Carole McCormack, are new to the area and volunteering has helped them to meet new people.
Carole said: “Having moved to the area in early 2020 I was keen to put my passion for history to good use as soon as possible.
“I love history and I love stories, and Richmondshire Museum holds both.
“It is the local storehouse of precious personal artefacts, given or bequeathed, so that a particular person’s story can be told. It is the repository of archaeological finds, which tell a powerful tale of the area’s complex past – the astonishing Catterick Lions for example.
“It holds nostalgia – the surgery set of the original All Creatures Great and Small; the touching and beautiful embroidered postcards sent to loved ones from the front in WW1.”
If you would like to get involved at Richmondshire Museum email admin@richmondshiremuseum.org.uk.
Richmondshire Museum is open April 1 to October 31, 10.30am to 4.30pm, closed on Sundays.
