The Three Rivers Museum (TRM), based at Basing House in Rickmansworth, has been a hidden gem in the community for more than 30 years, telling the story of what it was like to live and work in the district throughout history.
Visitors can learn from chronology boards with information on the stories of different local communities, as well as physical collections of memorabilia, and special exhibitions. Basing House is also home to digital collections from the past such as memories of World War Two, old film footage of the area and more recent special events.
The museum is currently undergoing some exciting changes to make it more accessible and a more interesting place for everyone in Three Rivers to enjoy and gain an understanding of the shared heritage.
Fabian Hiscock, Chairman of Three Rivers Museum Trust, told RICKYNews: “This is a crucial time for our museum. We will be closed in January and February for a significant refurbishment, and will reopen with a brand new look, a new layout and a new way of presenting our information.”
Part of the planned refurbishment will be a new interactive digital display on a 32 inch screen, where visitors will be able to select the content they want to see. It will present images, videos, audio, scanned documents, and residents from across the district can come along and find out about the history, and the heritage, of the area in which they live.
The new interactive elements of the museum are not the only changes happening at Basing House. As reported in the November edition of RICKYNews, the museum is now working towards official accreditation from The Arts Council.
The Museum Accreditation Scheme ensures museums are sustainable, focused and trusted organisations which offer visitors a great experience. TRM now has the status “working towards accreditation”, and the process takes around three years to complete in total and opens up further opportunities for grants, training and support.
The Museum Trust hope that the changes taking place over the next few months will attract more footfall to the museum, bringing new visitors who may not have considered a trip before.
Fabian Hiscock, Chairman, explained: “We want to reach out to different community groups and individuals in all corners of the district, and we’ll have the help of Three Rivers District Council in doing that. From Abbots Langley, South Oxhey, Maple Cross, Chorleywood, Sarratt, the museum exists to help residents understand the heritage we all share: many people don’t realise that we have got something here to do with them.”
He added that the museum was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of closure for prolonged periods, but thanks to government grants designed to support museums, TRM expects to emerge from the pandemic and various lockdowns stronger and with something new to offer.
In the midst of the exciting changes happening, the museum is looking for more volunteers to help out with a range of tasks. To find out more about volunteering please email enquiries@trmt.org.uk or visit www.trmt.org.uk
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