‘Hope’ future of Windsor museum can be secured despite looming funding cut 

Uncertainty over the future of a threatened museum in Windsor persists despite new regular opening hours agreed for the New Year.

Windsor and Royal Borough Museum, based at the Guildhall, is home to 13,000 exhibits showcasing the borough’s history and is now open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

But with the museum’s funding from the council set to run out by the end of March, a decision on whether its doors will remain open in the long term still hangs in the balance.

Royal Borough cabinet member for communities and leisure Cllr Jack Douglas said the museum’s future was ‘still under discussion’ but there was ‘hope a way forward will be found’.

View of Windsor Guildhall from High Street 

Windsor MP Jack Rankin launched a petition in January last year calling for the museum to be kept open after questions were raised over its future.

The change.org petition, which has been signed by more than 1,700 people, also called for the town’s tourist information centre at Windsor Guildhall to be protected.

But this closed in June.

The museum was also closed for a period last year while its store flooded, but reopened over the Christmas period.

Extended opening hours have now been agreed for the New Year on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 10am and 4pm.

Chairman of Friends of Windsor and Royal Borough Museum Gerald Hyder has volunteered at the museum for around seven years and has spoken at Royal Borough council meetings about the challenges it faces – and the importance of keeping it.

Mr Hyder said he was ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the new opening hours.

He said: “We still need to add on to that positivity. This is only part way down the road.”

The Friends of the Museum group has more than 60 members who support the Windsor venue through volunteering and fundraising.

“The role of the friends has been increasingly to keep the story alive,” Mr Hyder said.

“You just need to keep the fire burning to make people realise it’s a cause worth supporting and it’s been amazing to see the support that’s out there for the museum.”

Asked why it was important to keep the museum open, Mr Hyder said it was an ‘asset of the community’.

He added: “The past is a guide to the future and it’s important for kids to learn about that.”

Councillor Jack Douglas, Royal Borough cabinet member for communities and leisure, said: “The future of the museum at the Guildhall is still under discussion, with the current funding due to end in March.

"In the meantime staff and volunteers have been able to open on an extra day.

“We are hopeful that a way forward will be found despite the very challenging financial situation, and that the museum will continue beyond March in some form.

“This may be possible with the continued support of the amazing friends of the museum volunteers.”

You can find more about Windsor and Royal Borough Museum on its website.