bafm - members news page 2

THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS OF MUSEUMS

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BAFM MEMBERS NEWS - PAGE 2

THE FRIENDS OF HELMSHORE TEXTILE MUSEUM

The Friends of Helmshore Textile Museum are delighted to report that the Museum has re-opened after two years, during which time lavish improvements have been made for disabled visitors. The café and shop area have been extended, and the old woollen mill and the slightly more recent cotton mill are now much more readily identifiable and the displays are also more understandable for the non technical visitor. The work was completed despite horrendous unexpected problems. The water culvert from the ancient water wheel (which passes under the mill) had partially collapsed and water wasn’t flowing where it should, and problems with sagging floors had resulted from fire damage in the 1920s which had been disguised with packing and asbestos. Whole machines had to be dismantled and moved before work could be started. Then, at the last stage, when nothing else could go wrong, it did. The disruption highlighted dry rot in the roof, and joists that did not support the upper floors! The officers of the Lancashire Museum Service achieved wonderful results in spite of all problems they had to meet and overcome. The Friends are now looking forward to repairing their own damage: during the closed period they lost a third of their members, who will be hard to replace due to the specialised nature of the museum.

Registered Charity: 270253

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