The story of the museum begins in 1971, when a group of community-minded locals formed the Kegworth Village Association charity. Their aim was simple but ambitious: to raise funds for a village museum. It took time, but in 1990 the group bought the building that now houses the museum — a former cluster of farmyard barns and cowsheds.
After extensive refurbishment, Kegworth Museum opened in 1992 as a registered charity. The two original charities were later merged into one: Kegworth Village Association and Museum. By our 25th anniversary in 2017, the original Village Association had wound down (a new group now runs village events), and we formally changed our name to Kegworth Heritage Centre.
In 2018, we began another serious overhaul. The main gallery needed a new floor, damp-proofing, windows, updated electrics, a new security and fire detection system — and the fire escape had to be repaired to meet safety rules. All told, the bill came to over £45,000, and our bank balance took a big hit.
Just as we were preparing to rebuild the displays, COVID kicked in. In the coming months we lost most of our board and all of our volunteers. The museum was shut, with no income and rising costs — and the fire escape issue was still hanging over us. Things were looking grim.
In 2023, we got a lucky break. A new group of volunteers stepped forward, and we began the huge task of rebuilding from scratch. At Easter 2024, we reopened the ground floor gallery, though the upstairs had to stay closed until the fire escape was fixed. The 2024 season was a real turning point. We redesigned the museum to be lighter, more spacious, and more interactive. We also acquired the Robert Williams Collection of archaeological finds from Kegworth’s Roman and medieval past — a real hit with visitors.
Later in 2024, we finally secured funding to repair the fire escape enabling us to reopen the second floor, doubling our exhibition space and bringing back some much-loved displays from our more recent history.
This year, we’ve submitted our application to become an Arts Council Accredited Museum. Now we wait (nervously) to hear the outcome.
There’s still plenty to do. We’ve got a solid but ambitious ten-year vision. But looking at what we’ve achieved in just three years, we’re feeling hopeful about the road ahead.