Inspectors give Melton Carnegie Museum a record rating

The Thorpe End service, which is run by Leicestershire County Council, scored an overall quality score of 94 per cent, beating even last year’s 93 per cent grading.

The museum attracts more than 15,000 visitors a year from across the county and it continues to meet high standards with all the areas across the inspector’s report scoring as either ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’.

Inspectors praised the museum overall, saying ‘Melton Carnegie Museum is a perfect example of what can be achieved when a museum service is quite correctly understood to be a front-line public service and is valued, supported and invested in by its local authority’.

Inspectors also commented on the ‘fascinating exhibitions, broad array of events, the excellent online presence and utilisation of social media’ and summarised that the ‘delightful civic museum is a tribute to the hard work of the staff team responsible who are supported by community volunteers. It is a real asset for its local authority’.

Councillor Christine Radford, cabinet member for adults and communities, said: “What an achievement this is for Melton Carnegie Museum.

"To be recognised by Visit England as an exemplary museum run by the authority is fantastic and a real credit to the staff and volunteers.

“The dedication and hard work that is put into the museum offering is often unseen and this accolade is a true reflection of the collective efforts from everyone involved.”

The museum is free and is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am to 4.30pm.