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 Mistral. Journal of the Mersea Island Society. January 1989. Page 43.

Mersea Island Museum Trust, by Kathleen Haines.






It was in 1975 that Stanley Hills decided
that he would like to leave some tangible and
permanent contribution to the life of Mersea Island.
He realised, in those inflationary days, that whatever
sum he envisaged would buy a good deal more in the
present ...
Cat1 Books-->Mistral Cat2 Museum-->History

Mistral. Journal of the Mersea Island Society. January 1989. Page 43.
Mersea Island Museum Trust, by Kathleen Haines.

It was in 1975 that Stanley Hills decided that he would like to leave some tangible and permanent contribution to the life of Mersea Island. He realised, in those inflationary days, that whatever sum he envisaged would buy a good deal more in the present than it ever would in the future, and he also realised that it would be fun to engage in a worthwhile project, and see it off to a good start himself.

He visualised a cultural and educational centre that was active and alive, and able to foster a variety of interests. He was worried by the word "museum" because it so often carries connotations of dry-as-dust exhibitions - not what he had in mind at all - and he was afraid it might put people off. Some of us racked our brains and searched the dictionary, but were unable to come up with a suitable alternative. We did realise, however, that the better dictionaries define "museum" as "seat of the muses", and a "building dedicated to the pursuit of learning or the arts". In this case, the word was all right!

Stanley clearly needed support in this project, but a number of people were sceptical about the practicality of the idea. Happily, however, Mervyn Dands and Leslie Haines, and then Ralph Luckham and Myrddin Davies, took to the idea and devoted much time, experience, enthusiasm and expertise, to both the construction of the buildings and plans for its use. On their holidays, Stanley and Myrtle visited museums all over.the country to glean ideas, and a minibus load of us spent an enjoyable day visiting the delightful museum at Laxfield in Suffolk.

Soon a public meeting was held in the W.I. Hall, and this generated more interest; and some of us spent some very cold Saturday mornings in February, in the roofless shell of the building, serving coffee and signing up members.

The long, low building was designed to fit easily into the surroundings; it accorded well with the Church, and the Hall Barn (as it was), and the small windows contributed to security, as well as leaving scope for displays on the walls inside. Old bricks were used, and the 125 year old doors came from almshouses in Wivenhoe; the doors at the back are a hundred years old and came from a malting house at Hythe Quay; the decorative cats on the pillar outside are cast-iron Victoriana from Clacton. There being no suitable old tiles available, Stanley bought new ones and painted them with milk to "weather" them. The floor was of paving slabs that would be solid and serviceable, and suitable for the display of machines and engineering, and for Stanley's collection of steam engines.


Date: January 1989      

Photo: Mersea Museum
Image ID MIS_1989_053
Category 2 Museum-->History


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This image is part of the Mersea Museum Collection.