Long-serving Maidenhead Heritage Centre chairman to step down

Long-serving chairman of Maidenhead Heritage Centre Richard Poad is stepping down from his role this week as the museum team welcomes some new faces.

Having been in position since the early 1990s, Richard said it was time to take on less responsibility at the Park Street museum, however he will still be involved with the heritage centre as a trustee.

“I have been chairman for the entire time the centre has existed,” he said.

“I decided for a number of reasons that I needed to step away from the chairman stuff.”

Richard told the Advertiser he wants to ‘fade into the background a little bit’ as the heritage centre prepares to welcome a new chairman, Alan Mellins, who holds the same position at the Maidenhead Arts Council.

An influx of youth will also be provided with Saneela Hanif, 22, taking over as assistant manager at the heritage centre.

Richard said of his nearly three decades of service: “I have loved it.

“It is really important that the community knows about why Maidenhead is here.

“I very firmly believe that you can’t plan for the future unless you understand the past and how we got here.”

He said that the museum started as an ‘experiment’ back in 1993 and has since gone on to teach thousands of people about Maidenhead’s history across seven different bases.

“Here we are now owning our own building in Park Street and planning to move to bigger premises to accommodate a much bigger collection,” Richard added.

On Alan and Saneela, he was confident the heritage centre would be left in good hands as the museum prepares to welcome more historical items over the coming weeks.

One of these is a GWK car – built in Maidenhead in 1921 – which is still roadworthy and will be driven to events in Maidenhead this summer.

Alan, who is also a former Conservative Royal Borough councillor, said that one of his main priorities in his new role will be to give the heritage centre a ‘bigger public profile’.

“I am still surprised by the number of local people who do not seem to be aware that we exist,” he said.

“I want to promote the fact that we are there and have something interesting to talk about. That is going to be one of my priorities.

“We already need more space and the excitement is that we have got some big stuff coming our way imminently.”

Other updates at the museum include an agreement being reached to enable the shop to offer eco-friendly and sustainable household products, while it is ‘continuing to discuss’ with the council its planned move away from Park Street to a bigger venue.

For Saneela, the new role is right up her street having lived in the town her whole life and with a degree in history from the University of Essex.

“I believe we can really learn from the past and I have learnt a lot about Maidenhead that I did not know about before,” she said.

“I feel I can bring a lot to this role – I have been learning a lot about how things work and it has been great.

“I really enjoyed meeting the people who volunteer here. They really make the museum what it is and have been so friendly and welcoming.

“It’s also been great meeting members of the public and showing them round, talking to them about the history of Maidenhead. I have lived here all my life so it is nice to learn.”

Richard Poad said that the introduction of another young person at the museum would assist the centre with its social media output.

Due to an acting manager not yet in post, Saneela is taking on manager duties in the meantime.

Richard added: “[Saneela] has a really warm personality and has a smile that lights up the room. She is learning incredibly fast and is getting to grips with many aspects of the job.”

Visit maidenheadheritage.org.uk for more information.