Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A response by:
Chairman
Mr. Roy Friendship-Taylor M.Phil., MAAIS., AIFA
Tel. (01604) 870312
E-Mail: roy@friendship-taylor.freeserve.co.uk
Secretary
Dr Chris Cumberpatch
Tel. (0114) 2310051
E-Mail: cgc@ccumberpatch.freeserve.co.uk
Summary
RESCUE welcomes the publication of Understanding the future and is
pleased to be able to fully endorse the following points made in the document:
• The critical nature of funding for museums, particularly as this affects staff
recruitment and retention and the provision and maintenance of adequate
buildings and facilities for storing, conserving ad maintaining collections,
particularly in local and regional museums;
Introduction
RESCUE – The British Archaeological Trust welcomes the publication of
Understanding the future: priorities for England’s museums and is pleased to be
able to respond to it. We note that the document contains a number of very
positive statements but regret the absence of commitments on several key
issues which we believe must be resolved if our museums and galleries are to
make the type of positive contribution to national life that we all want to see.
This response is intended to indicate the areas in which we are in agreement
with the authors of Understanding the future and those where we remain
concerned at what seems to be a complete lack of understanding of the
fundamental problems which affect museums in England (and, to a significant
extent, in Wales and Scotland as well).
Living collections
RESCUE is concerned that Living collections appears to focus exclusively
on the purchase of objects and material for inclusion in museum collections.
This entirely ignores archaeological collections, only a small and insignificant
part of which are acquired through purchase. The provisions of Planning Policy
Guidance notes (PPG) 15 and 16 ensure that local and regional museums are
the repository for archives (including written digital and photographic records
and artefactual collections) generated by the archaeological investigation of
sites threatened by development. It is widely understood within the
archaeological community that in many parts of the country conservation and
storage facilities are inadequate to receive these archives, although they
constitute an essential part of the principle of ‘preservation by record’ which is
central to both PPG 15 and 16. In a number of counties the closure of museums
means that archives are not being curated or conserved effectively or
efficiently. In the case of Northamptonshire, for example, archives derived from
work undertaken in the county are spread throughout Britain (they are currently
to be found in Edinburgh, Cirencester, London and Lincolnshire) as they have to
be held by the archaeological units and trusts which undertook the excavations
in the county. In short, collections of local, regional and national importance are
no longer able to be accommodated in their rightful place with the result that
they are not available for display or for the research that underlies the
preparation of displays, educational materials or dissemination via museum
websites. This situation is the direct result of the failure of local authorities to
fund museums adequately or effectively. Project funding, via initiatives such as
Renaissance in the Regions, is not available to support investment in
infrastructural projects such as the creation of stores and archives. All too
often, high profile Lottery-funded projects fail to include the kinds of high quality
storage and research facilities which are required by local and regional
museums, even where these involve new buildings or substantial enlargement
of existing buildings.
RESCUE agrees strongly with sentiments expressed regarding the
importance of the dynamism of museum collections (page 16) but we are
concerned that this entire section has been written apparently without
reference to archaeology. Archaeological collections are growing, both in size
and in their potential but the infrastructures required to enable these collections
to be drawn on for research, teaching, and display have been so systematically
ignored that it is extremely difficult for them to be used effectively either by
museum staff or outside researchers. It is with this in mind that we are greatly
disappointed to see that the priorities listed on page 18 (3 f and g) have been
drawn up apparently in complete ignorance of the very real crisis affecting
archaeological collections. RESCUE would argue for a third priority here along
the following lines;
• Government, the museum sector and the development industry must find
a way to increase the financial and logistical resources available for the
proper curation and archiving of archaeological collections derived from
PPG 15 and PPG 16 inspired archaeological activity so that their enormous
potential for teaching, learning and the dissemination of information can
be effectively realised.
RESCUE remains concerned that the document fails to address two central
issues, specifically: