Local Museums

Jen Craft Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the contribution of local museums.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell.

Colleagues will know that I am incredibly proud to call Thurrock home. I am the first local MP to be was born and raised in the constituency, and it is an honour to represent the people I grew up alongside. Thurrock has a fighting spirit. Our small part of the world punches well above its weight, with thriving ports, historic forts and the river on our doorstep. Geographically, we sit right where the Thames starts to narrow on its way into London, and because of our strategic location, we have always served as a gateway to the city. It was Thurrock where Queen Elizabeth rallied her troops to fight off the Spanish armada, where brave, ordinary people gathered and prepared for the D-day operations and where the Empire Windrush disembarked, bringing all those who answered the call to help restore and rebuild after the war.

Our history has shaped this country, and it is only right that it is recorded, remembered and celebrated. That is where our local museums play a critical role. They keep our local histories alive and engender a sense of pride in where we are from. They show young people, like my daughters, who are growing up in Thurrock—which, to be honest, does not always get the attention it deserves—that they are right to be proud of the place where they live. That is why I am so grateful to have such fantastic local museums on our doorstep.

The Thurrock museum is a prime example. More than 250,000 years of our history can be found in the display cases, and more than 1,500 objects are on show. I would really recommend a trip to take the kids to learn about the mammoths that once lived in Aveley or to look at the medieval relics from Grays. I am very grateful to the current Labour council for keeping the place up and running. Despite being under an immense amount of financial pressure, it recognises how much the whole Thameside complex, where the museum is housed, means to families in our area.

Just outside my constituency but still within the boundary of Thurrock, we have Coalhouse fort, which has just received heritage lottery funding to secure its long-term future, and the small but powerful Bata Museum, which tells the fascinating story of how an eastern European shoe manufacturer changed the face of this small village in Essex.

I primarily want to focus on the Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre. On Sunday, the centre reopened after a three-month renovation period. Volunteers have put in an immense effort to pull together a series of new exhibitions and revamp old ones. If someone wants to know something about our little corner of the world, I can guarantee that it can be found there. It tracks the Royal Navy from Nelson’s era to world war two, the RAF from its very beginnings all the way through to the battle of Britain, and the Army from the battle of Waterloo right up until the Falklands. On top of that, there is information on the local home front, the Royal Flying Corps and the Purfleet gunners.

In fact, even the building itself is a piece of history: it is a former gunpowder magazine built in the mid- 18th century, and for more than 200 years it formed an integral part of the UK’s military infrastructure, stashing the gunpowder that supplied our Army and Navy during countless wars, as well as both sides in the American civil war. One of my favourite exhibits in the museum is a model of an L-15 zeppelin, which is strung up on the ceiling above the shelves. It was the first zeppelin to be shot down in world war one; that achievement earned each of the gunners at the Purfleet garrison a gold medallion from the Mayor of London.

The museum also houses an exhibition celebrating and commemorating the achievements and history of the Gurkha regiments, and a significant portion of veterans from those regiments now call Thurrock home. I am extremely proud that the museum also plays host to the only Gurkha memorial in Essex, which was unveiled in 2024 thanks to the tireless efforts of the Thurrock Nepalese Gurkha community and its work with the museum volunteers. It sits alongside the museum’s proud tradition of remembering those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country and way of life.

I want to be clear that Thurrock’s place in the history books extends well beyond our military contribution. New displays at the Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre also show off the borough’s sporting success, our railways and industry, our geology, and perhaps most fascinatingly, our Dracula connection. Most people do not know that the infamous Carfax residence is based on Purfleet House, so for anyone who might be a goth, or of a gothic persuasion, do not go to Whitby—get the train to Purfleet, as we have a much bigger connection to Dracula than Whitby. For anyone who is interested, I am told that there is still space on the Halloween Dracula tour, which is a lot of fun.

Such tours are part of a whole range of visits and walks put on by the centre. Like everything else at the site, these are run by a group of volunteers, who work tirelessly year round. We are very lucky to have some of them in the Gallery today, including Trevor, Polly, Ollie, Paul, Sylak, Jeff, Phillip, Claire and Yvette. They follow in the footsteps of Alan and Sue Gosling, the husband and wife duo who saved the building, set up the museum and dedicated years of their life to researching local history. Sadly, Alan passed away last year, but his legacy lives on in the volunteers who have come after him. The 20-strong team have spent months renovating, organising donations and putting together collections. They do it because they love it, and are passionate about the story of our area.

It certainly is not easy. When I asked Trevor how the team created the new exhibitions, he told me, perhaps too candidly, that they “begged, borrowed and stole.” They have medal cases from London-based museums, old photos from Thurrock residents, original weaponry and even a 5-foot model shark up on the roof. Trevor says the museum receives very limited funding. It makes most of its money from small donations, the £5 entrance fee or yearly subscriptions from supporters. As a result, the team struggle with the cost of maintaining such an old building, and have to pull together to make basic upgrades, such as putting hot water in the toilets—I am pleased to announce that they now do have hot water in the toilets, following the renovations.

Many museums in other hon. Members’ constituencies will face similar challenges. That is why I am so glad that this Government are committed to offering more support. Ministers have earmarked more than £100 million to cover the costs of maintenance, backlogs and bills, and have put £20 million towards the new museum renewal fund, which is reserved entirely for local civic organisations. This is positive progress, and I am so pleased that the Government recognise the value of local museums up and down the country.

[Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for making an amazing speech and celebrating local history. In my constituency we have the Brunel Museum, which is a fantastic local resource covering engineering history, the Thames and the Brunel family. It makes an estimated £150,000 social value contribution, but it struggles to compete for resources. Does she agree that councils, Ministers and the Department should ensure that resources made available by this Government and at a local level can be received by smaller community museums, and not just the main national museums, which tend to take the lion’s share?

[Jen Craft]

I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution; I think he may have had a sneak peek at my speech, as that is just what I am coming to. Let me give a huge shout-out to the Brunel Museum—I am a big fan. It includes a replica of the first ever boring machine— I am sorry to be boring, but it is a boring machine—the technology of which is still used today. On Thursday next week, I believe, I am going to open a new one in my constituency, which will still be using exactly the same technology that Brunel pioneered at the Rotherhithe tunnel. It is really interesting; I love it.

It is important to ensure—this is the point I was coming to—that smaller, volunteer-run sites can access the help that is available. Such museums do not always have the capacity to work through complex application processes, and they are up against bigger organisations that have the time and expertise to put together more competitive bids. To give a bit of context, the Arts Council’s application guidance for the museum estate and development fund is just over 50 pages long, and it asks candidates to have detailed plans and proposals, as well as a recent costed condition survey. For places such as Purfleet Military and Heritage Centre, that is a big ask.

[Carla Denyer (Bristol Central) (Green)]

The hon. Member is making an important speech, and is particularly talking about small independently run museums. Does she agree that, since many local museums are owned and run by local authorities and face the risk of closure because of severe underfunding, the Government must ensure that local authorities have sufficient funding to keep those local museums open, especially given that all the research shows that they have a huge benefit in our local economies? In Bristol, for example, our arts and culture sector created nearly £900 million of economic and social value this year.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jen Craft]

I agree; it is really important to make sure that those museums are properly funded. As the hon. Member will be aware, they run by and large on voluntary efforts and voluntary contributions. Sometimes, although the local council owns the space, it does not necessarily pay for the upkeep, running and staffing. Looking at how best to fund those museums going forward, while recognising the contributions made by volunteers, is perhaps key.

There is no question that criteria need to be in place when looking at funding bids to make sure that money is well spent, but the process needs to be accessible. If we could provide smaller pots of money aimed at hyper-local, volunteer-run sites, perhaps the application could be simplified. At the moment, most grants start at around £50,000. In the east of England, recipients of the museum renewal fund were typically larger local organisations that were awarded upwards of £60,000. I have two questions for the Minister. First, how will he make sure that small museums can access Government support? Secondly, would he consider offering more small grants with a simpler application process?

It is right that we recognise the value of small museums. Although they do not attract massive numbers of visitors or bring in loads of tourist revenue—I am hoping to change that at Purfleet; we could be the outlier—they help to keep our local histories alive. That contribution cannot be measured in figures or footfall. Places such as Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre and the Thameside complex remind us to be proud of where we are from. They engage with schools, scout groups, cadets and guides, celebrate the legacies of local people and honour the efforts of extraordinary ordinary residents. Those stories would never find their way into a national exhibit. They are the histories of our grandparents and their grandparents, and they deserve to be remembered. They are keepers and tellers of our local story, and they contextualise it within our wider national story.

I want to finish by thanking the brilliant volunteers in the Gallery again. I have three questions for the Minister, actually—I want to encourage him to visit the rather fabulous Purfleet Military and Heritage Centre, where he will be sure of a very warm welcome and a lovely cup of tea. He will also be in the company of Benjamin Franklin, William Bligh, Captain Cook and Queen Victoria, who have all made the trip to Purfleet-on-Thames over the years. Most importantly, he will get the chance to learn about some of our fascinating local history.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

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[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. What an inspiring tour we have had of museums up and down the nation. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for securing the debate and inspiring speeches about so many opportunities. She mentioned everything from Zeppelins to Gurkhas. I do not think anyone was expecting an argument over who owned Dracula—certainly something for us to get our teeth into. [Interruption.] I apologise.

More importantly, I thank the hon. Member for giving me the opportunity to promote and champion the museums in my constituency. The Museum of Farnham, Haslemere Educational Museum and the Rural Life Living Museum in Tilford are not only recognised throughout Surrey and Hampshire but attract visitors from far and wide. People are drawn by the rich local history that they preserve and the way that they celebrate and bring to life the heritage of our local market towns.

Museums are deeply valued by the public. Some 89% of UK adults believe that museums are important to our national culture—I do not really understand what the other 11% are thinking, but never mind—and three quarters agree that having a local museum adds real value to their area. Indeed, 54% of people say that they would feel “disappointed” if their local museum were to close and 41% say that they would feel “genuinely sad” at such a loss.

Over the past 25 years, under Governments of all colours, about 138 independent non-profit museums and 152 private museums closed, while 418 independent non-profit museums and a further 209 museums opened. That tells us two things: the sector faces real pressures, but it also shows remarkable resilience, and there is such enthusiasm for local museums and heritage. Each museum is different. Some are run by charities, others by local authorities, universities, the armed forces or Government-sponsored bodies. The sector supports about 33,000 jobs and has more than 93,000 volunteers. Yet, increasingly, museums are forced to diversify their activities and income simply to stay afloat as costs continue to rise.

The challenges facing museums are clear at the Rural Life Living Museum in my constituency. It began as a private collection in 1968 and has grown into a significant open-air museum in Tilford, with about 40,000 objects and 20 historical buildings that bring 19th and 20th-century rural Britain vividly to life. My family and I thoroughly enjoy visiting the museum, in particular with its open-air, hands-on approach and the volunteers who quite literally inhabit that history. They immerse visitors through working demonstrations at the forge, in the woodyard and along the narrow-gauge railway. The museum operates entirely on ticket sales and donations, but with costs rising faster than income, its future is far from certain. Sadly, that story is being repeated in museums across the country, as we have heard from several hon. Members today.

We see similar pressures in Farnham, where the Museum of Farnham sits at the heart of a vibrant and creative community and celebrates the town’s long artistic and craft heritage, recognised in 2020 when Farnham was designated a world craft city. The Haslemere Educational Museum benefits from the expertise of individuals such as Richard Sabin, a trustee of the museum but also the principal curator of mammals at the Natural History Museum in London. The museum in Haslemere specialises in human history, natural history and geology, and provides invaluable educational opportunities for local schools through key stages 1 to 4.

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve being taken to the Haslemere museum by my parents to see Arthur the Siberian bear and the 2,500-year-old mummy, with its toes visible through the bandages—I encourage the hon. Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) to bring her children to see another mummy. For a small boy, that was extraordinary. The museum was founded in 1888, but this year marks 100 years on the High Street site. It launches a centenary appeal this evening—I appeal to the Minister, because I am sure any donation that the Government were to give would be welcome.

More nationally, local museums play a vital role in our communities and in education. Under the Conservative Government, following publication of the culture White Paper, the Mendoza review was launched. In the public consultation that followed, 85% of the more than 1,200 respondents agreed that museums and galleries are primary places for education. The review led directly to the establishment of the museums estate and development fund, which distributed about £100 million in grants to support essential repair and renovation work. The levelling-up fund, shared prosperity fund and towns fund also provided much needed investment in museums and, during the extraordinary challenge of covid-19, the £1.57 billion culture recovery fund safeguarded the UK’s heritage, with £296 million specifically supporting museums, heritage sites and historical places.

I am proud of that record—the practical support, serious investment and clear commitment to protecting our cultural heritage that the previous Government showed. Unfortunately, by contrast, Labour’s first tranche of funding, announced in summer 2024, disproportionately benefited national museums. Those institutions are already protected by grant in aid and are largely insulated from the financial pressures facing local authorities. Meanwhile, the smaller museums that form the backbone of local cultural life are left to struggle.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan) stated, many of our local museums are charity-run or heavily reliant on local funding. They often occupy historical buildings that are expensive to maintain, difficult to modernise and in urgent need of repair. In Farnham, for example, the repair bill for a relatively modest museum building has already reached £2 million. When council budgets are squeezed, culture is often the first thing to be cut. At the same time, many charity-run museums face falling donations, fewer volunteers and rising operating costs, including higher employment costs and increased national insurance contributions introduced by this Government.

In short, the pressures are growing, but the support is not. The result is that smaller museums are left exposed. Too many lack the staff, time or specialist expertise needed to navigate complex funding systems, co-ordinate bids or build partnerships with larger national institutions.

When public money is spent, it must be spent wisely. Last year in Wales, the National Museum Cardiff reportedly faced a £4.5 million deficit, yet at the same time taxpayers’ money was spent on exhibitions such as “The Dynamic”, which explored radical newspaper culture, alongside displays of Extinction Rebellion posters. It is entirely reasonable to ask whether institutions facing serious financial pressures should prioritise political activism over the core mission of preserving and presenting the nation’s history and heritage. Museums should bring communities together around shared culture and shared history. That must remain the central purpose, especially when budgets are tight and buildings are in need of repair.

[Jen Craft]

Does the hon. Gentleman not think that political activism is part of our nation’s story and of local history in certain places? The People’s History Museum in Manchester springs to mind at the top of the list, but there are many more. Activism and political interest form the path of our nation and our local history.

[Gregory Stafford]

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. It is rare that we agree on anything, so she will be slightly disappointed now. There is a distinct difference between looking back at movements and discourse that happened in the past and what that museum was doing: promoting a political cause of the moment.

I want to ask the Minister three questions. First, have the Government considered ringfencing local authority funding for cultural purposes in order to safeguard local museums? Secondly, what practical support is available to smaller museums to help them to navigate funding applications, manage financial risk and collaborate more effectively with national institutions? Finally, how do the Government intend to encourage private and corporate philanthropy beyond the major cities—for example, through place-based giving incentives, as suggested in the Hodge review?

Our museums are not just custodians of the past, but living educational and cultural resources at the heart of our communities. They deserve practical support to ensure they can continue to thrive, educate and inspire future generations.

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[Jen Craft]

I thank all Members who have taken part in today’s debate. I appreciate their time, and I am sure that VisitBritain will contact us shortly about our commissions. We have had a brilliant whistle-stop tour of fabulous local museums around the country, from the Bayeux tapestry to the Dad’s Army Museum, which I very much want to visit. I will make my own pitch for town of culture, and Thurrock has submitted several—we should obviously be a recipient because we have so much to offer, as I said in my opening remarks.

To my hon. Friends the Members for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) and for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer), “fangs” for entering the Dracula debate. I will bat away any suggestions that Purfleet-on-Thames is not the epicentre of Dracula lore.

I will touch on a few things that have been mentioned. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said that local museums are an opportunity to learn from what history can teach, and perhaps not repeat the same mistakes. The Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre has an exhibit that lists the human toll and cost of war, which is incredibly timely with the discussions that are currently under way.

To my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner), I am friends with a very proud potter who has taken me to a number of the museums. I look forward to visiting the Gladstone Pottery Museum when I can. It is important to have a cultural exhibit that informs how modern techniques and practices deliver. My hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) spoke about how a museum can transform a town and about the power of arts and culture to drive a real sense of place.

I thank everyone for taking part in the debate, despite some of the fractious exchanges at the end. Local museums contextualise the people and history of a place, and they put it very firmly in the present and in our national story.

I once again thank the excellent volunteers at the Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre for the shift they have put in over the last few months to bring the museum up to where it is now. I again encourage everyone to get on the train and visit. It is only half an hour from London, and they will have an excellent time.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the contribution of local museums.