Joy at museum's cash boost

The museum was yesterday awarded up to £84,600 to update its collection and reach new audiences in the next three years.

The museum was founded in 1985 and attracts about 6,000 visitors a year.

The grant will enable the museum to take exhibits on the road and hopefully entice more people to see its collection, which includes works by Eric Gill, Frank Brangwyn and David Jones.

Director Rachel Bairsto said: "It is just beginning to sink in. The grant really is going to make a difference to us and our visitors.

"It will help us to build partnerships with schools. We have very localised school visits at the moment as we are quite difficult to get to.

"It will provide us with the chance to take exhibits out to schools.

"We are also going to get our documentation right in the museum and put it all on a computer database. Hopefully by year three, we will have interactive access to our exhibits.

"Also, we are gathering oral histories from local people and hope we will be able to offer these at points around the museum too. It will tie in with our local history of Ditchling and also arts and crafts.

"It is a huge amount of work to do but we are really pleased to be given this opportunity."

Funding is also being provided by Lewes District Council and East Sussex County Council.

Ditchling Museum's cash injection was one of a number of grants announced yesterday by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Amberley Working Museum, near Arundel, scooped £108,000 towards building a new exhibition and conservation hall for the restoration and display of railway locomotives.

Tessa Hilder, the Heritage Lottery Fund's regional manager, said: "It is important we save these fantastic examples of our railway heritage that will help everyone to learn about our industrial past.

"It is just as vital we preserve the rapidly disappearing skills that are needed to carry out this work so we can continue to safeguard our heritage for future generations."