News
News from the museum, the Lilac Fair and the Trust. Members also receive the newsletter, The Crest, three times a year.
2026
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Annual report and accounts 2025–26
The trustees’ annual report and accounts for the year to 31 March 2026, presented at the AGM on 8 October.
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Funding agreed for the statue conservation
A heritage grant of £28,500 means the conservation of the statue can go ahead. Our appeal for the rest is open.
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Lilac Fair 2026: thank you
Ninety-eight stallholders, 1,486 bottles of cordial and a wet Sunday afternoon.
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Survey finds corrosion on the statue
A condition survey of the market-square statue has found corrosion on the bronze and open joints in the plinth.
2025
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Annual report and accounts 2024–25
The trustees’ annual report and accounts for the year to 31 March 2025 are now available.
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1,163 pupils visited the museum this school year
Twenty-six schools brought 1,163 pupils, the most since the schools programme began in 2008.
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The Flood Bell goes back on display
The bell that rang the town awake in the floods of 1795 and 1852 is back in the River and Mill gallery after conservation.
2024
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Twelve new lilacs for Church Walk
Volunteers and pupils from Church Walk Primary School planted twelve lilacs to replace trees lost in the 2022 drought.
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Lilac Fair 2024: a record for the cordial stall
The cordial committee made and sold 1,512 bottles, the most since the stall began.
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Two new trustees
Rajesh Mistry and Clare Beddoes have joined the board.
2023
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Over 1,400 visitors to the almshouses and the mill
The heritage open weekend brought 1,436 visitors to Corbet’s Almshouses and 1,102 to the Town Mill.
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The museum keeps its accredited status
The museum has been confirmed as an accredited museum under the national scheme for a further term.
2022
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A new Town Trail leaflet
The Town Trail has been rewritten and redrawn, with step-free alternatives at each stop.
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The Lilac Fair is back: thank you
The first fair since 2019 drew an estimated 8,700 people over the weekend, and the cordial stall sold out at ten past two on Sunday.
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The flood marks on the Town Bridge recorded and recut
A stonemason and our volunteers have recorded every mark on the upstream face of the bridge and recut the two that had worn away.
2021
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The museum reopens on Saturday 22 May
After fourteen months closed, the museum and visitor information point reopen with timed entry and a one-way route.