Covid grants hid museum's financial woes, says director

The director of a museum has said that having staff furloughed and grants from the government during the Covid-19 pandemic hid some of its financial issues.

"It's a sad day for Shire Hall," said Virginia Smith who has worked at the museum in Dorchester, Dorset, from 2024 until it closed on Thursday.

The Grade I listed building was dedicated to the history of justice and home to the courtroom where the Tolpuddle Martyrs were tried in 1834 in what is widely regarded as a defining moment in the trade union movement.

The museum opened in May 2018 following a £2.9m revamp but its closure came after what trustee Rose Wallis said had been "several years of challenging economic conditions".

Smith said the museum had been struggling from day one: "Some of the financial problems were masked by the 2020 Covid because the museum was able to apply for a lot of the government funding and the staff were furloughed, so those big costs were masked for the next two years."

Despite community backing for the museum, visitor numbers were down during the summer heatwave because "a lot of people would [rather] be going to the beach or just staying at home or trying to stay cool rather than visiting a museum," Smith said.

"However, I also think it's a combination of the financial crisis that is affecting the whole world.

"We didn't expect a war in Iran and all the consequences on the cost living that has come with that."

As a result, the museum's utility bills sky rocketed and Smith said staff costs became more expensive.

Thomas Hardy served as a magistrate at the Shire Hall, which opened in 1797 and was the county hall for Dorset.

It also served as the area's former Assize Court for more than 200 years until 1955 and the story of Martha Brown, who in 1856 was the last woman to be hanged in Dorset, has been featured.

Ines Lage, TUC Regional Secretary for the South West and a trustee of the museum board, said the decision to close was a difficult one to make: "The cost of living crisis has really bitten us.

"We've had stories of people sharing a pot of tea, whereas before they would have purchased two coffees.

"We have to sell tickets for people to come in, but obviously the numbers aren't coming in as much as we'd like."

Lage said the museum could no longer operate without having an impact on how the staff were paid: "Half of our operating cost is purely for the maintenance of this building and we are running with some fantastic members of staff but not as much as we'd like.

"We are supported by a wonderful plethora of volunteers and even then it has been a struggle."

Smith is now urging members of the public to visit other local museums: "When I started, it was a huge decline and funding became very challenging because we have more and more charities that are struggling and they are applying for funding.

"So the funders are having to really cut what they can offer. So, for instance if I applied for £20,000 I might have received £3,000 for a project."

Shire Hall Trust will hand back the keys to the building to Dorset Council in two months time.