The Food Museum, in Stowmarket, awarded over £350,000 for its Kitchen Project and redevelopment works by National Lottery Heritage Fund
A museum in a Suffolk town has been awarded over £350,000 to develop both its premises and an activities programme.
The Food Museum, in Stowmarket, has received the sum from The National Lottery Heritage Fund towards its ‘The Kitchen Project,’ which is a multi-year programme of activities and capital works.
Over the next 18 months, the venue will appoint an architectural team and develop plans to reach a point where it can submit a stage 2 application for further support in early 2025.
The museum says it is a significant step in the multi-million pound redevelopment of its 84-acre site.
Director Jenny Cousins said: “‘This project is going to be great fun - it’s going to enhance our hands-on visitor experience, improve access and create lots of opportunities for people to get involved
“It will transform a group of historic buildings at the heart of the site, improving their condition and creating new displays.
It will explore many topics and historical periods and involve lots of other organisations; we’ve had a really good year and this is absolutely the cherry on the cake.”
The venue began life as a volunteer-run rural life museum in 1967, later becoming The Food Museum in April 2022.
The Kitchen Project will deliver five years of collaborative programmes, activities and exhibitions, creating new volunteering opportunities alongside this.
Capital works made possible by the funding include re-erecting the medieval timber-framed ‘Edgar’s Farmhouse,’ as well as two second world war huts and works to its Grade II* Medieval Barn.
The Food Museum will also embark on a ‘School Dinners’ programme over the next year, in conjunction with the Museum of the Home in East London amongst others.
The Kitchen Project has been granted an initial £353,937 as a first round of development funding, after which detailed proposals will be considered by the Heritage Fund where a final decision will be made on the second round award of a full £2m.
