Honeywood Heritage Lottery Fund

The Friends of Honeywood Museum
Registered Charity No. 1067131
Honeywood Museum by Carshalton Ponds
Honeywood Walk, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 3NX Telephone: 020 8770 4297
e-mail: lbshoneywood@btconnect.com

2nd August 2011 - Museum revamp bid gets £300k lotto grant

Money will be used to open more rooms in listed building

First published by Rob Garratt in the Sutton Advertiser, and reproduced with the newspaper’s kind consent

The restoration of the Borough’s main museum has received a boost thanks to a lottery grant.

New exhibition rooms and children’s activities will be created at Honeywood Museum in Carshalton in an overhaul of the listed building

The fund to restore it now stands at more than £790,000 thanks to an extra £300,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Mike Bale, chairman of The Friends of Honeywood Museum said: “Honeywood’s successful lottery grant bid application is fantastic news for the museum and the heritage of the borough. Honeywood has already been voted Sutton’s number one attraction in the national Pride of Place awards scheme and is the symbol on Sutton’s badge for the 2012 Olympics. The grant will help cement it as a major focal point for the borough.”

The extra cash will be spent on rooms in the north corridor and ground floor of the 17^th century building, including a scullery, World War Two room and an Edwardian children’s room.

An old staircase which is currently blocked will also be reinstated, giving visitors a better idea of how the house was originally used.

Councillor Graham Tope, executive member for leisure and libraries at Sutton Council said: “This is excellent news and means the restoration project at Honeywood Museum will now be even bigger and better. We are committed to investing in one on the borough’s most important heritage areas, and this funding will help us protect one of its key attractions for future generations. The money will also allow remedial work to be carried out on damp found during the initial work. It will create new learning facilities for children, including IT packages for youngsters with special educational needs, art and photography equipment and chances to handle exhibits. Lighting systems will be upgraded to make sure exhibits are properly and safely lit.” Mr. Tope added: “It means residents can look forward to having a first class museum, which they will want to visit time and time again, right on their doorstep.”

As Sutton’s principle museum, Honeywood, in Honeywood Walk, is home to more than 6,000 items – mainly from the 19^th and 20^th centuries. When it re-opens next year the museum will also boast a shop, café and garden.

**********************************************

Angela Fletcher, Head of Libraries and Heritage Service at Sutton Council said, in a separate release: “I am delighted to confirm that the Honeywood Museum Refurbishment Project has been successful in obtaining a grant increase of £301,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This brings the total grant award to £636,000. The London Borough of Sutton are providing £140,000 matched funding and Sutton Arts Council are contributing £15,000 to the project.

The total funding for the project is now £791,000. This is fantastic news, and we are now looking to reopen next spring with new exhibitions and a fully refurbished building.

**********************************************

15th March 2010 - Honeywood’s Lottery Bid has been successful!

The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced that the bid for the refurbishment and development of Honeywood Museum has been successful. The Museum has been awarded £335,000. Sutton Council will contribute £140,000 and Sutton Arts Council £15,000. The project will refurbish the house and provide new exhibitions. There will also be a series of activities to involve more people in the project and the Museum will be able to employ two part-time staff for three years to help with the activity and educational programmes.

Detailed plans and designs will be drawn up over the next few months. The Museum will close for refurbishment in the late summer and will re-open with the new exhibitions in the spring. The whole project will last three years.

Watch this space for further news of developments.

15th March 2010 - Sutton's Olympic landmark receives £335k lottery grant

Honeywood Museum has received a £335,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in the same week it was chosen as Sutton's Olympic icon.

On 9 March Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games presented Cllr Sean Brennan with a pin badge featuring Honeywood House. The badge is part of the Landmark London' competition where Londoners voted for the most iconic landmark in their borough that they would most like to see featured in an individual pin badge.

The presentation of the badge was closely followed by the announcement that Honeywood Museum would receive a grant to permit restoration and repair work to the property, a complete overhaul of the way in which artefacts are displayed and interpreted, and a varied education programme.

The Grade II listed building is Sutton's principal museum housing a collection of 6,000 items – mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries - representing a history of local communities.

Lord Coe said: "Honeywood Museum is a real iconic landmark and celebrates what a fantastically unique city London is. I am delighted to see how proud residents of Sutton are of their borough and I hope they will wear their pin badges with pride."

Cllr Sean Brennan, Leader of Sutton Council said: "I am delighted that in the same week Honeywood Museum was chosen as Sutton's Olympic landmark, it has received a substantial grant to ensure its future. The museum will now be able to undergo an extensive refurbishment, ensuring that when the 2012 Games arrive, Honeywood will be a visitors attraction and educational facility which the borough can be very proud of."