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Covid-19 Update June 2020
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Dear <<Your Name>>,
This is the second of our lockdown updates for Members, a little late for which we apologise. We do hope that you and your families are all keeping well and safe.
Future Safety Measures
We are looking forward to getting our buildings ready for re-opening as lockdown restrictions begin to ease. We have been working on putting in place many new safety measures and precautions in anticipation of opening later this summer. When we re-open, we will carefully manage the number of people visiting at any one time. The safest way to do this will be to ask everyone to pre-book tickets. We will be in touch soon with further details about our re-opening. For now, thank you for your patience and support; we’ll look forward to welcoming you back.
‘When the crisis is over Brighton & Hove will need its museums more than ever. The Royal Pavilion & Museums are key to the economy of the city and a major attraction for tourists. Our Museums also play a significant role in its identity by engaging communities, supporting well-being and providing learning and leisure opportunities for residents and visitors.’ Janita Bagshawe, Head of Royal Pavilion & Museums.
Our Work Continues
Last time we talked about the fantastic work our online staff were doing to bring the museums and collections to you via digital channels. I hope you have had a chance to explore and enjoy the various online options. This time we take a closer look at conservation activities.
Spotlight on Conservation
The Royal Pavilion may be closed, but this has provided a golden opportunity for the conservation team, joined by colleagues from visitor services who have been redeployed to help undertake various tasks such as deep cleaning, pest control and eradication (especially in those areas which have heavy public use), archiving and restoration. This is delicate and often highly skilled work with great care taken, especially with fragile items such as fabrics, books, furniture and priceless porcelain. These staff are our unsung, hidden heroes working hard behind the scenes to keep the buildings and collections in tiptop shape, ready for when we open again.
Here is a flavour of the tasks the team have been carrying out at the Royal Pavilion:
- All objects in the Long Gallery dusted with a brush and vacuum, including Royal Loans.
- The floor polished in the Banqueting Room, and all furniture brushed and vacuumed.
- Muslins throughout the building labelled and sewn in.
- Taxidermy in the Great Kitchen prepared for freezing (to eliminate pests).
- The floor and ranges vacuumed in the Great Kitchen and 45 copperware objects polished and re-labelled.
- All fenders throughout the building polished.
- King’s Apartment Library Books brushed and vacuumed
- Ongoing work to scan the Conservation archive
- Reinstallation of furniture in Queen Victoria’s bedroom following the completion of the wallpaper project.
Breaking News…..
We are excited to share the news that Royal Pavilion & Museums have been awarded a grant by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art for research on the Adelaide corridor Chinese Wallpapers in the Royal Pavilion. Paper conservator, Amy, will be working on this research project and she can’t wait to get going and share her findings as she progresses. The wallpapers have a great story to tell.
Membership Renewals Update
We can now renew memberships and we will catch up as quickly as possible with the backlog.
Direct Debits will continue to be taken as normal. For the foreseeable future, when your membership is up for renewal, you will be offered these options.
- Renew as usual. This will hugely support the Royal Pavilion & Museums providing a much-needed income for us to continue our work. A membership card(s) will be issued with your current details.
- Renew and receive 15 months for the price of 12. This covers the predicted period the Royal Pavilion & Museums will be shut and you have been unable to visit. Membership card(s) will be issued with an extended expiry date and we will change your Direct Debit collection date for next year.
- Place your membership on hold. Direct Debit will still be collected and your membership will be reactivated when we re-open and a card will be issued valid from this date. We will change your Direct Debit collection date for next year to correspond with your membership.
How you can help
Like many cultural institutions, we are facing a huge financial impact following the closure of all our venues due to Coronavirus. We will have lost £1.35 million between April and June through closure – a heavy blow as nearly 70% of our running costs are covered by earned income from ticket sales, retail, programmes, and events. Like many museums with high international visitor numbers, we are now having to review our plans on the basis that our income from visitors is not expected to fully recover for at least three years.
- Please remain a Member. This will lessen the impact on our charitable income and help us to maintain our wonderful buildings and collections through this difficult time. We are confident that with your continued support we will survive this period of great uncertainty.
Please keep in touch with us.
It is more cost effective, efficient and environmentally friendly to keep in touch with you by email. If we do not have your email address please contact us at info@pavilionfoundation.org As with other personal data we hold about you, we will only use it for the purpose of managing your membership, including telling you about our event programme and work behind the scenes, and informing you of fundraising campaigns.
Thank you again for your support and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Stay safe.
Warmest wishes from us all at the Royal Pavilion & Museums.
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