History of Challenge to William Morris Gallery 2007-2009

JANUARY 2007

In January 2007 staff at the William Morris Gallery and the Vestry House Museum, along with local residents of Waltham Forest read in the local paper that these museum services were to be drastically cut and that jobs were under threat. This site documents the campaign, keeps you informed, and lets you know what you can do to help.Please see the useful downloads which include: a summary of the cuts, a sample letter, Friends of the William Morris Gallery newsletters, and copies of the duplicate letters which Council has sent as replies.

Background

In February 2006 the entire Waltham Forest Council approved proposals put forward by Head of Libraries, Museum, Gallery and Archives to open both institutions on a much-reduced schedule saving £56,000 per year. Significantly, the cuts also included a drastic restructuring which meant a loss of jobs and valuable expertise. It was feared this lack of support and investment would lead swiftly to the closure of both museums and leave the Borough extremely lacking in important historical and cultural facilities, particularly in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

It was also feared that major Heritage Lottery bids for both the William Morris Gallery and Lloyd Park will be jeopardised. These and other concerns were addressed to the Leader of the Council in an open letter sent by the chairman of the WMG Friends, Martin Stuchfield and by Florence Boos, President of the William Morris Society, US as well as many others (see the letters page), and in a vigorous local and international campaign.

Part-time service: As of January 2008 part-time opening have been imposed, both venues now open 22 hours per week: Saturday & Sunday 10am - 5pm, Thursday & Friday 12 noon - 4pm. Previously the William Morris Gallery opened 36 hours per week and Vestry House Museum opens 38.5 hours per week. The council has said that both will be available for school visits during days closed to the public, however, there are grave concerns as to how the collections would be cared for and the new opening hours maintained within the vastly reduced staffing structures and without expertise.

OCTOBER 2007

Kennington Quarters, Lambeth & The De Morgan Plan: In October 2007, at a packed public meeting, the Council and Kate Catleugh from the De Morgan Foundation, unveiled plans to move 70% of the collection to Lambeth as part of the Riverside Development Agency’s planned regeneration of that area. The audiences was shocked and outraged that these secret plans had got so far, Kate Catleugh sent an open letter in response in which she states that Walthamstow (birthplace of William Morris) is the wrong place for the collection as it’s uninviting and inaccessible. Cllr Reardon stated that the plans were being put out to the public for consideration, see her interview on BBC London. The new museum has no home at present, the De Morgan Foundation hoped to acquire the Beaufoy Institute which is curently derilict, the plan is expected to cost in excess of £25 million pounds. It was proposed, that Waltham Forest’s William Morris Collection would make up the most significant part of the proposed museum’s collection - leading campaigners to ask - why the new museum could not happen in the existing William Morris Gallery?

On 31 October 2007, it was announced that Waltham Forest Council had withdrawn from the plan, the news broke via this open letter from Ms Catleugh.

Staff Redundancies: After 9 months of uncertainty, and a council enforced gagging order, the council finally announced that the renowned curator and keeper of William Morris Gallery Peter Cormack would be redundant, along with others at the gallery and at Vestry House Museum. Read the story in the local paper. The council state that Mr Cormack declined to apply for a position - which is not surprising when you read the general managerial job that he was expected to apply for.

DECEMBER 2007

Staffing: Peter Cormack left the gallery with no sensible option but to take redundancy, whilst the only other remaining member of staff with any knowledge of the collection leaves has been transferred to Vestry House Museum on a part-time basis. On a trip to the gallery, library staff had been drafted in to cover and they had no knowledge of the collection what so ever.

A new part-time Education and Outreach Officer was recruited to work across both the Gallery and the Museum. A temporary Keeper at the Gallery was appointed. There have been interviews for both the new Manager’s post (working across both sites) and for the Exhibitions Officer post at the Gallery. So why did it take so long for them to take up their posts? It was rumoured that neither had received written offers or contracts from the London Borough of Waltham Forest. In December 2007, neither of them has yet resigned from their current positions.

Collection in Danger: With no-one at William Morris Gallery with any knowledge of the 9,000 + objects in the collection there are serious worries for it’s safety and future.

JANUARY 2008

A beautifully bound copy of the petition with over 10,000 signatures from all over the world, was delivered to Downing Street on January 21 2008. The petition contains signatures from all over the world as well as thousands of local residents. The petition was bound by Wyvern Bindery in support of the cause.

February 2008

Council documents revealed that Waltham Forest Council had been forced to pay someone £35,000 for a temporary 6 month contract to fill in the Heritage Lottery application - because  “expertise not available within department so bid unlikely to be successful”. Peter Cormack started the Heritage Lottery bid - and clearly had the expertise to do this and more. An additional £98,000 has been ‘found’  and according to council documents, the extra money will help create a “dynamic community facility” after lottery executives expressed concern that there were not enough resources for curating the collection and education. Read the article in the local paper.

March 2008

It was rumoured that further concern from Heritage Lottery executives has meant that the council will have to re-open the gallery all day on Thursday’s and Friday’s (as opposed to their preference for half days on both). Apparently lottery executives were concerned about that the messages the meagre opening hours sent out was that the council were running down the service.The council finally re-establish normalised opening hours, now both William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum are open 10am - 5pm Wednesday to Sunday.

March 2009

It was announced that William Morris Gallery has been successful in passing the first round of the Heritage Lottery bid, the gallery was awarded £80,000 which is 28% of the total bid. Much work has to be done over the next year to raise significant match funding in order for the second round of the bid to be successful.

PRESENT DAY

Keep Our Museums Open feels they have achieved a great deal over the past 2 and a half years. Sustained pressure from the organisation and all the tens of thousands of supporters has temporarily averted the threat to the gallery posed by Waltham Forest Council. We are now devoting all of our efforts to help the Friends of the William Morris Gallery to raise match funds to ensure the gallery is developed and has a healthy and secure future, ensuring a future generation will have access to the collection.

The Friends of the William Morris Gallery have worked tirelessly to fight the council cuts, and are now charged with raising £1 Million to develop the gallery.We hope you could transfer your support for this campaign to the Friends, membership for individuals is only £8 per year. You can join the mailing list on their website and support them on Facebook.

ARCHIVE 2007-2009 RESPONSE AND CONTINUED ACTION

Since January 2007, public outcry to the cuts has been enormous on both local and international levels, highlighted by the continual press cuttings and the online petition which has over 11,300 signatures. It is vital to work together to keep both facilities accessible to the public throughout the week and that the Council promote their museums both locally and beyond. People contacted Waltham Forest Council, their local Councillors and MPs and made them aware of the benefits, value and importance of these facilities. During the years, a number of local people and campaigns have come together to improve services in Waltham Forest, and to urge the council not to make so many cuts to the cultural sector. These include:St James Street Library Campaign - this important library was closed without consultation. McGuffin Film & TV Society - Waltham Forest doesn’t have a cinema, and the McGuffin’s have worked tirelessly to get the former Granada (EMD) cinema re-instated as a cinema.Blackhorse Road Residents Association - campaigning against the council’s building on greenbelt land.

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ARCHIVE What the closures meant ….In summary it meant:

• There are no specialist staff to care for the collections at either Vestry House Museum or William Morris Gallery, valuable skills and expertise have been lost.
• A part-time service: Access to both is now limited to Saturdays, Sundays and School holidays and 2 afternoons per week.
• Loss of revenue for both from the shops and donations.
• Reduced international importance will mean less visitors, less visitors will mean further reduction of support from the council.
• William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum are to be used as a wedding venue, possibly endangering the collection.
• Restructuring means both sites having one manager in charge despite the fact the Museum and Gallery have completely different functions.
• Potential breaking up of a holistic collection.
• Less visitors to Walthamstow, and less money invested in the local economy.
• Less opening hours could jeopodize future funding, as fewer opening hours means less access.

Why both gallery and museum are important:

• The William Morris Gallery is internationally renowned, housing the largest Arts and Crafts collection in Europe
• The former Keeper of the Gallery, Peter Cormack, is one of the foremost and highly regarded William Morris scholars in the world
• Vestry House Museum is the only museum in the borough where local people can learn about the history of their community.
• Vestry House Archives is widely used by researchers into family, community and regional history.
• Staff at the gallery and museum did have specialist knowledge which helps visitors and enhances the experience of a visit.

Why the Council wanted to restrict access

• The original proposals were supposed to save the Council £56,000 a year - it has since cost them far more.
• The council was the restructuring and part-time opening hours as ‘increasing access’.