Warwick's Fusilier Museum gets lifeline grant from Government

St John's House in Warwick, which is home to the Fusilier Museum

The Fusilier Museum in Warwick has been awarded a grant as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF).

Based in St John's House, the museum will receive £115,535.

The museum is one of 588 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support – with £76 million of investment announced at the end of last week.

This follows £257 million awarded earlier in last week to 1,385 organisations, also from the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.

The Fusilier Museum tells the story of the county infantry regiment and the soldiers who served in it from 1674 to today.

It has been open to the public at St John’s House in Warwick since 1961.

The funding will help keep the museum running, save jobs, create new digital content, community outreach activities and plan for the future.

Stephanie Bennett, Curator at the museum said: “It is fantastic news to be awarded a grant from the Culture Recovery Fund.

"We are really fortunate to receive the public money which is a lifeline for us over the next few months enabling us to deliver heritage to the community and a real chance to bounce back in the future.”

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “This is more vital funding to protect cultural gems across the country, save jobs and prepare the arts to bounce back.

"Through Arts Council England we are delivering the biggest ever investment in the arts in record time. Hundreds of millions of pounds are already making their way to thousands of organisations.

“These awards build on our commitment to be here for culture in every part of the country.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England, said: “Culture is an essential part of life across the country, helping to support people’s well-being through creativity and self-expression, bringing communities together, and fuelling our world class creative industries.

“This latest set of awards from the Culture Recovery Fund builds on those announced recently and will help hundreds of organisations to survive the next few months, ensuring that the cultural sector can bounce back after the crisis.

"We will continue doing everything we can to support artists and cultural and creative organisations, with further funding to be announced in the coming weeks.”

The Fusiliers Museum Warwick plans to relocate to Pageant House in Jury Street and is set to feature a mix of sound, moving images, hands-on interactives and objects.

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm.

To find out more about the museum go to: www.warwickfusiliers.co.uk