Strategic Plan 2019 - 2024

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We have agreed a Strategic Plan for 2019-2024 to maintain our forward momentum as we embark upon the development of the Devizes Assize Court as the new home of the Wiltshire Museum. The key focus of this plan is to deepen our engagement with audiences though our high-profile exhibition programme, engaging with a wider community and meeting the needs of under-represented audiences. These areas are important to prepare the Museum for the challenges of a major capital programme and to ensure that our focus remains on our audiences and users.

We remain a small organisation facing substantial financial challenges, with our income already fully committed. We value the partnerships we have developed and generating funding for specific projects has become an essential element of our finances. We need to maintain our partnerships and success in fundraising to enable us to thrive and prosper.

The Strategic Plan was agreed by the Board in August 2019 and by our members at our AGM in October 2019.

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Devizes Assize Court

We announced in September 2016 that the Society is looking at the potential of moving the Wiltshire Museum to the Devizes Assize Courts, turning the historic building into a landmark tourism asset for the county.

The building is listed Grade II* and on the Historic England Buildings at Risk Register.  It has been empty since the 1980’s.  Following a long campaign it was purchased in 2018 with the intention of restoring the building and making it the new home of the Wiltshire Museum. The building has now been rescued from futher decay and made safe with the support of Historic England, the Architectural Heritage Fund and the Pilgrim Trust.

In June 2023, we received initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for our project ‘Assizes for Devizes: Unlocking Wiltshire’s Stories’. Made possible by National Lottery players, the project aims to revitalise the derelict Devizes Assize Court into a vibrant community hub and iconic new home for Wiltshire Museum and its world class collection.
Development funding of £300,748 has been awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help Wiltshire Museum, working closely with the Devizes Assize Court Trust, to progress plans for the project before applying for a full National Lottery grant in 2025. If successful, work would start on the Assize Court building in three- or four-years’ time, with a target opening date of 2030.

A major fund-raising campaign will be needed to restore the building and create the new Museum. For more information, visit: www.devizesassizecourt.org.uk/

National Portfolio Organisation (NPO)

Over the last few years, we have been working with Salisbury Museum, Dorset  Museum and Poole Museums Service as the Wessex Museums Partnership. The Arts Council have supported the Partnership with grants to undertake activity such as marketing, development and fundraising.  Our museums have now formed the Wessex Museums Trust, a charitable organisation that will support projects and developments across the Partnership.

In June 2017 the Arts Council announced that the Wessex Museums Partnership, led by Poole Museums Service, is to be one of the new National Portfolio Organisations.  This means that the Partnership joins organisations such as the RSC, Punchdrunk Theatre Company and the Royal Philharmonic to deliver ‘great arts and culture for everyone’.  The £1.2 million grant over four years will support outreach and exhibition projects, including a Community Curator working across Wiltshire and an Exhibitions Officer for the Museum.

Archive

Strategic Plan 2014-2019

Our previous Strategic Plan is here - Strategic Plan for 2014 to 2019,

2017/18 Forward Plan

The main actions this year are to create a new Special Exhibition Gallery, enhance our special exhibitions programme, launch a new website and to prepare the implementation of the Wessex Museums Partnership NPO project that will begin in April 2018.

2016/17 Forward Plan

The Forward Plan outlined a range of activity including the Wiltshire’s Story in 100 Objects exhibition, featuring the Lacock Cup (see page 12), the completion of the Art and Archaeology storage project, fundraising events, delivering the Wessex Museums Partnership project and developing a funding application to the Arts Council for National Portfolio Organisation status.  The majority of the targets were achieved.