Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum has the largest collection of mining artefacts, research materials, including the CHAD archive going back to 1886, documents relating to mining in the Midlands and their social history collection. Officially opened in 2014, the Museum has been successfully offering free admission to their collection, as well as school and group visits and tours by their very knowledgeable ex-miners. Although they don’t charge for any of their services, donations are very welcome as they do not have any other source of funding apart from their coffee mornings, which take place four times a year.
They are currently hosting a temporary exhibition that highlights the role local schoolchildren had in the design chosen for the memorial garden. The Miners’ Lamp memorial has taken pride of place in The Miners’ Memorial Garden at the end of Crompton Road since October 2011. The display shows the garden from conception to completion and features drawings by the pupils of Bilsthorpe Primary School, as well as photographs of the unveiling.
The Museum’s volunteers are busy getting ready for their fundraising coffee morning in April as well as preparing for wildlife planting in the Memorial Garden. They are always looking for volunteers to help with the garden and the museum, so if you have any time to spare, please get in touch with them by telephoning 01623 871533 or emailing Bilsthorpe_heritage@yahoo.com.
Don’t forget their Wellbeing Walks on the last Friday of each month. They last about an hour and include coffee at the museum afterwards.
On Thursday 20th March representatives of the Museum will be at the Nottinghamshire Tourism Awards dinner as they have been shortlisted for an award. This magazine will have gone to print by then but we have our fingers crossed.
If you would like to support Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum and be in with a chance of winning £25,000 on the Newark and Sherwood Community Lottery, you can buy tickets online for £1.00 each. One of their supporters won £2,000 in February and there’s the monthly prize draw as well.
Find them on Facebook, Instagram and their website is www.bilsthorpemuseum.co.uk, or email them at bilsthorpe_heritage@yahoo.com.