Visit England inspector gives Melton museum top marks

Flashback to 2019 - market towns museums manager for Leicestershire Council, Zara Matthews, at Melton Carnegie Museum EMN-211216-105112001

The Thorpe End service, which is run by Leicestershire County Council, scored an impressive 88 per cent, up from 82 per cent for the previous inspection in 2019.

The inspector’s report stated: “First impressions of the magnificent building continue to be excellent, with the well-kept flowerbeds that included pumpkins to delight children during the October half-term.

The appraisal continued: “Visitors are greeted immediately on arrival and all the relevant information about the museum was provided by friendly and helpful staff.”

Melton Carnegie Museum, on Thorpe End EMN-211216-105123001

Other areas singled out for praise and rated excellent at Melton Carnegie Museum included the overall cleanliness of the place, the multi-sensory children’s trail and the presentation and interpretation of the displays.

Two other county museums were also praised by Visit England inspectors when they were visited, also bettering already high scores from the previous ratings.

Charnwood Museum, at Loughborough, was given a score of 82 per cent, an increase on the 80 per cent it received two years ago.

The report said: “Among a set of consistently good scores, the stronger aspects noted during this assessment were the overall cleanliness of the museum and facilities, the welcome and performance of the reception staff, the quality and maintenance of the gallery displays and the attractive museum shop.”

It continued: “The range of content is impressive, encompassing much of local interest to a wide range of audiences and ages, with the temporary Market 800 exhibition being a particularly interesting and engaging feature.”

Harborough Museum scored 74 per cent, slightly up on 2019, with the inspector singling out the ‘exemplary’ standards of cleanliness, impressive range of content, well-presented displays and the knowledgeable team of staff for particular praise.

Councillor Christine Radford, cabinet member for heritage, leisure and arts at County Hall, said: “Our three market town museums are gems, which perfectly showcase the history and heritage of the communities they serve.

“I am delighted that the hard work of the staff and volunteers at Melton, Charnwood and Harborough Museums has been recognised by Visit England.”