Cultural Social Enterprise
Weald and Downland Open Air Museum - a living piece of history
Weald and Downland Open Air Museum.......
- A self-financing museum and major tourist attraction.
- Bringing education to life for 25,000 schoolchildren each year.
- Benefiting from the support of 500 volunteers as well as 40 paid staff.
When it comes to literally bringing culture to life, there can be few places that do so more dramatically than the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. The heritage social enterprise is set in 50 acres of rolling Sussex countryside. Visitors can wander around this fascinating collection of almost 50 original historic buildings dating from the 13th to 19th centuries, many with authentic gardens. Other attractions include farm animals, woodland walks and a picturesque lake.
Rescued from destruction elsewhere, the buildings have been carefully dismantled, conserved and rebuilt to their original form, thereby bringing to life the homes, farmsteads and rural industries of the last 500 years. The range of structures includes a majestic timber-framed Kent farmhouse, an imposing market hall from Hampshire, a Victorian school, and even a working water mill where stone-ground flour is produced daily.
Established 30 years ago, the Museum is Limited by Guarantee and a Registered Charity. Initially, when the Museum was first set up there was a lot of local fund-raising, plus a one-off grant from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Today, however, it enjoys the enviable position of being a self-financing enterprise, partly due to the generosity and foresight of the Edward James Foundation and the West Dean Estate who years ago allowed the Museum to lease the land for a peppercorn rent.
Income is derived from admission fees, running educational and vocational courses, retail sales in the shop and the on-site catering franchise. Last year there were 150,000 paying visitors, of which 25,000 were schoolchildren. Compared with the stiff competition it now faces within the region, The Weald and Downland remains a leader in its field, maintaining its visitor numbers year on year. The whole organisation is maintained by 40 paid staff members and a staggering 500 volunteers.
A relatively new addition to the Museum's portfolio is the innovative Downland Gridshell. As a 
charity the museum has secured the support of a raft of organisations and trusts, including the Jerwood Foundation, the Mitford Foulerton Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund. This unique structure, made of slender oak lathes bent into a double curvature shape over a grid, serves two main purposes. Not only does it house the ten thousand or so tools and artefacts from rural life in the region, but it now means that conservation and restoration of timber-framed buildings can take place on site. The space can also be used for the Museum's ever-expanding programme of training workshops and the conservation of large objects.
The beneficiaries of the Museum are numerous – helping to fulfil the “social” aspect of the social enterprise. The wider community benefits from the preservation of vital parts of our heritage for future generations. Education also plays a big part in its overall remit. No fewer than 2,000 course days are offered on site for both adults and children, and can range from a week-long course in timber framing to guided bird walks in the woods. There is a special emphasis on teaching rural and conservation skills. For schoolchildren learning can be cross-curricular, from being taught in the working Tudor kitchen or working on a science project in the water mill.
While the Museum could not survive without its extensive volunteer network, they undoubtedly benefit from the whole experience too. While many are retired, volunteers are drawn from the whole cross-section of society. Even though they receive no remuneration for their efforts, they are reimbursed for travel expenses. Well-attended Christmas and summer parties for the volunteers add to the social aspect of volunteering and make them feel valued. Work can be varied: they can work in the shop or stables; impart information in the various historic buildings; or even run workshops. Training is given where necessary. Volunteering at the Weald and Downland is very much seen as a 'give and take' process - they are regarded as valuable stakeholders in the whole organisation.
The Weald and Downland is heavily involved with local tourism bodies, attracting visitors into the local economy. Henry Warner, Chief of Operations at the Museum, sits on the Chichester PR Group and has also forged close ties with 'Visit Chichester' which was set up by the local tourism authority.
Henry Warner has this to say when giving advice to anyone going down the social enterprise route: " Whatever your planned project there is always a need for adequate funding. The business and financial side of things has to be sound, otherwise your business plan will never get off the ground. Once this is set in place then things will really start moving."
copyright © 2008 Cultural Social Enterprise