Best year for Visitors!
2022 was our busiest year ever with almost 2000 visitors. As well as the usual Sunday openings we again welcomed visitors on Thursdays during the summer and also opened to coincide with special events. These have been very successful, the last one during the Christmas Fair brought in around 200 people.
Our special displays in 2022 focused on the late Queen’s Jubilee and included a wide range of Royal memorabilia on loan from some of our committee members and volunteers.
Our Museum Volunteers are a vital part of our success and we would like to thank them for all they do to keep the history of Coggeshall alive to visitors and residents. If you would like to volunteer in the museum please make contact through the website.
Changes to the Committee
At the museum AGM in November Doug Judd and Miall James stood down from the museum committee. Doug is our longest serving committee member with a remarkable 32 years of service to the museum. Apart from the day to day stuff to keep the museum running, Doug led many guided walks in and around Coggeshall, assisted in fund raising and as a former professional proof reader has been invaluable in checking the museum’s various literary productions from exhibit labels to books. Doug’s family have a long history in Coggeshall and he has donated a lot of photos and items – including his childhood tin bath! Doug is going to continue as a volunteer and as our proof reader.
Miall has been an enthusiastic member of the committee for the last fifteen years. He has always given freely of his time, doing extra slots – dealing with the alarm if it goes off and generally doing jobs as required. As a retired pharmacist himself Miall had particular interest in our display about our eccentric chemist/pharmacist, Stanley ‘Pinkie’ Prentice. Miall knew him well and his stories of Pinkie are legend and were worth a visit to the museum in themselves. Miall has had to retire due to ill health but I am sure he will be back to help out soon. We send our sincere thanks to both for all their efforts over the years. Nic Johnson
We welcome two new members to the committee; Kate Finlay (whose father was Coggeshall historian John Gardner) has recently returned to Coggeshall after spending many years away. Margaret Lambert has also joined us and she, with her husband Peter, is very well known about the town. Margaret has a real passion for history and is an avid collector of royal memorabilia.