Seven skilled volunteers have been recruited by Wyre Forest District Council to play a key role in establishing Bewdley Museum as a fully independent trust.

The volunteers will work together to shape Bewdley Museum’s future by agreeing forward-thinking strategies, a business plan and more. They will become trustees when the fully independent trust is established.

Councillor Helen Dyke, Leader of the Council, said: “We received a high level of interest when we advertised these unpaid roles and I am delighted that we have been able to identify seven people who have a diverse range of relevant skills and experience. I look forward to working with them to ensure that the museum, in its new independent guise, will build on its popularity and good reputation.”

The plan is for the new trust to take over operational responsibility for the museum, Guildhall and Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Gardens in January 2022.

The prospective trustees will be working with the council in the remainder of 2021 to create and obtain the Charity Commission’s approval for the formal documents that will govern the new trust; to devise a business plan for the future and to recruit a new manager to lead the staff team. The council’s staff who work at the museum will transfer to the new trust’s employment when it takes over formal responsibility for operating the site.

The seven prospective trustees, all live in or near Wyre Forest and will be taking up their roles in a personal capacity, are:

Nick Farress – Owner and manager of Wyre Forest Books, Bewdley. Previous roles have included working in a train operating company, an urban economies think tank and in local government, and is still clerk to two parish councils. Volunteer with and former director of Severn Valley Railway.

Jacky Griffin – Former director of education, arts and libraries with two London boroughs, and subsequently worked for the Department for Education. Trustee of St George’s Hall Venue Management Trust and former Chair of Bewdley Development Trust.

David Gutteridge – Retired managing director and accountant, most recently Finance Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet School. Former chair of Sandwell Leisure Trust.

Andrew Pillow – A qualified public finance accountant, presently working with Worcestershire County Council.

Jenny Robbins – Former director, Wyre Community Land Trust; property director and treasurer of the Guild of St George. Presently the chair of the Friends of Bewdley Museum.

Robert Smith – A senior professional in the public transport sector, most recently as Chairman of Community Transport Wyre Forest. A founding director of St George’s Hall Venue Management Ltd and a former trustee of the Youth Hostel Association.

Matthew Terry – A former diplomat and consultant, founder and director of Cloud Chamber Limited, which provides evaluation and research services to the not-for-profit sector. About to finish his term of office as chair of the Board of Governors of Kidderminster College.

In their initial meeting, they have agreed that Matthew Terry will be the chair and Jenny Robbins will be the vice chair.

The prospective trustees can be contacted via Ali Bakr at Bewdley Museum by email – alison.bakr@wyreforestdc.gov.uk.

Bewdley Museum is to stage a major new art exhibition next month, featuring works of national significance highlighting the lives of four extraordinary Victorian women.

The Macdonald Sisters, due to open on Monday 17 May, tells the stories of Alice, Georgiana, Agnes and Louisa Macdonald. Born into an unremarkable Victorian family, they went on to forge connections with some of the most celebrated artists and thinkers of their time including William Morris, Ford Maddox Brown and John Ruskin.

Alice was mother to Rudyard Kipling; Georgiana married the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones; Louisa was the mother of Bewdley’s own three-time prime Minister Stanley Baldwin; and Agnes married Edward Poynter, artist and President of the Royal Academy.

Although remembered by many for the men in their lives, the sisters were not only muses and mothers, but accomplished artists, musicians and writers in their own right – intelligent and talented women held back by the expectations of the era.

The exhibition tells the stories of the sister’s intertwined lives, taking the visitor from an itinerant childhood which included periods in Birmingham and Wolverhampton, to colonial India, and London high society. Paintings on display include: two of Edward Burne-Jones’ earliest watercolours, Sidonia von Bork and Clara von Bork; A Sweetmeat Seller of Lahore by John Lockwood Kipling; and Georgiana Macdonald’s Dead Bird – one of the few surviving examples of her work.

This is the first time that Bewdley Museum has shown artworks from national collections. The loans are supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund. Created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Art Fund, the Weston Loan Programme is the first ever UK-wide funding scheme to enable smaller and local authority museums to borrow works of art and artefacts from national collections.

Sophia Weston, Trustee of the Garfield Weston Foundation, said: “The story of the Macdonald sisters is fascinating and provides a unique lens through which to look at Victorian society. We are delighted that our programme has enabled Bewdley Museum to display artworks from national collections for the first time, it is exactly the kind of project that it exists to support.”

Councillor Graham Ballinger, the Leader of Wyre Forest District Council, said: “This is a real coup for Bewdley Museum and will be the first time visitors will be able to see works from national collections on display in the town.

“Bewdley has such strong links with Stanley Baldwin, local man and former Prime Minister, whose statue now stands outside the entrance to the museum.  I’m sure this exhibition will prove to be a big hit with local residents and visitors from further afield.”

The Macdonald Sisters runs Monday 17 May to Sunday 15 August 2021. Entrance to the exhibition is £4 (free for under 16s and Friends of Bewdley Museum).  The exhibition will be open daily from 11am to 4pm. No booking is required, but social distancing will be maintained. www.bewdleymuseum.co.uk

This followed votes in the full council meeting on the evening of 24 February when the medium term financial strategy recommended by the Cabinet, as well as amendments proposed by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups, each failed to secure support of a majority of councillors.

Commenting on the situation, Councillor Graham Ballinger, Leader of the Council, said “It is disappointing that councillors were unable to agree any of the proposals before them yesterday evening. I will now work with the other political group leaders to identify a budget that will secure a majority when the council meeting resumes.”

The council voted to adjourn its meeting to 5.30pm on Monday 1 March. The meeting will be live streamed at – www.wyreforestdc.gov.uk/streaming.

Tributes have been paid to former Wyre Forest District Council Chairman and councillor, Mike Salter who sadly passed away on the night of Wednesday 20 January.

He was a serving councillor for 8 years on Wyre Forest District Council, having been elected to represent the Mitton ward in 2006. Mike was also the council’s Chairman from 2009 to 2010. June, his wife who died in 2019, was also a member of the council from 2000 to 2008. Chairman of Wyre Forest District Council, Councillor Shazu Miah said: “It is with great sadness that we learned of Mike Salter’s passing. Colleagues who served with him refer to his dedicated service to Stourport, and I remember how he used to attend every meeting of full council long after his retirement. I would like to send his family and friends the sincere condolences of everyone here at Wyre Forest District Council.”

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