The Fusilier Museum awarded £81,244 from the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND)
The Fusilier Museum, Bury is all set to receive £81,244 from the fourth round of Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) to carry out essential restoration work to the roof and chimney.
The Fusilier Museum is one of 29 successful museums up and down the country to receive a share of almost £25 million to upgrade their buildings.
The Museum Estate and Development Fund, provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, enables museums to deliver a better experience for visitors and staff, make access and environmental improvements, unlock income-generating opportunities, and continue to protect treasured buildings and collections for future generations. The grants are administered, awarded and monitored by Arts Council England.
Work at the Fusilier Museum will include a focused roof repair to stabilise the chimney and prevent water ingress into the lift shaft. This will ensure access to all floors of the museum continues and supports its learning, engagement and wellbeing activities for the local communities of Bury.
Colonel, Brian Gorski, Chairman of The Fusilier Museum, said: “ We are delighted to hear the news that we have been approved for a MEND 4 grant of just over £81,000 following our application last year. This award follows the award for MEND 2 during which serious issues were discovered in the chimney. The work will ensure further conservation of a much-loved Grade 2 listed building in which the collection of the Lancashire Fusiliers and Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is housed.”
Rebecca Ball, North Area Director, Arts Council England, said: "This fourth round of MEND comes at a vital time for our region's museums. The North's heritage and cultural assets are second to none. They offer so much to their local communities as well as attracting significant levels of tourism, helping to grow the local economies of our towns and cities. The immensely important redevelopment work that these funds will support will be a welcome boost to cultural organisations across the North and will help make sure that more people can access the amazing creativity and culture our region has to offer."
Work on the project is due to start in the next few months with a completion date expected later in the year.
The Fusilier Museum is home to the collections of XX The Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. It documents over 300 years of history and heritage through permanent and temporary exhibitions as well as telling the fascinating stories of the people who have served and continue to service in the Regiments.