Bridport Museum curator leaves for Chartwell
BRIDPORT Museum curator Alice Martin is leaving to become house and collections manager at Sir Winston Churchill’s old house, Chartwell in Kent.
“I went there once when I was a kid,” she said.
“Now I get to live in the house. It will be fantastic.
“I’m also looking forward to working for the National Trust.”
Ms Martin has been in charge of Bridport Museum for almost five years and is universally liked and respected for her enterprise and verve. Visitor numbers have doubled during her tenure, in part thanks to last year’s move towards free admission. Money raised through an auction of promises earlier this year enabled the museum’s free entrance policy to continue, and visitor numbers for 2010 have so far been good.
Ms Martin also helped to secure backing for a project exploring the links between Bridport / West Bay and Newfoundland, and the museum’s currently got extra young staff (such as fundraising officer Emily Weeks) working through the Future Jobs Fund.
Ms Martin has also been heavily involved with Bridport Museum’s proposed move to the Literary & Scientific Institute in East Street, Bridport (more of her thoughts on this should appear on this site soon).
In short, Chartwell’s gain will be Bridport’s loss. Ms Martin said she would miss Bridport but the chance to manage Chartwell was a fabulous opportunity.
She will leave Bridport Museum on September 21 and start at Chartwell on October 12.
Her job is advertised here.
Ms Martin said: “There’s a lot of bright people out there and curators’ jobs are quite sought after. I’m sure there will be somebody comes down to Bridport – or there could be somebody already in Bridport. You know what a range of wonderful people there is around here.”