Heritage is one of the best public faces for lottery good causes. Over more than 20 years, it’s been a vital source of income for minor and major visitor attractions. HLF transforms how we approach heritage and allowed for greater outreach. Now, Redfern’s Cottage in Uttoxeter is celebrating a £988,400 HLF grant. It will fund a Uttoxeter Museum major overhaul for the facility based on Carter Street. The intention is for Uttoxeter to go from small provincial museum to large, regional attraction. So it is hoped by locals and museum management. The Staffordshire town is famous for its racecourse; its also famous for construction manufacturer JCB.
By Adrian Gilbert-Brooks – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55918237
Uttoxeter Museum Major Overhaul: The Plans
Expansion plans include a refurbished café, a new exhibition area specifically for “community life” of Uttoxeter. Also planned are several interactive galleries regarding local domestic life. War history buffs will be pleased to know a new area will open on information for the English Civil War. A sensory garden will attract those who like to go outside during a heritage experience. Finally, the Uttoxeter Museum major overhaul will focus heavily on the town’s markets economy and development of the modern town. It will ensure the future of the 400-year-old building, jobs and income for the local economy.
Locals were full of praise for locally-based industrial giant JCB. It’s largely thanks to them that the Uttoxeter Museum major overhaul plan was granted. They contributed £30,000 towards a required £50,000 fund in order to apply. Without this, Uttoxeter Museum may not have been able to apply at all. But the support doesn’t end there. JCB has been fundamental to the town’s economy for generations and will continue to be so. This is why projects like this are so important – to demonstrate local economies and bringing history to life.