Dear Councilor…….MP………. etc
A Permanent Archaeology Gallery at Brighton Museum
I should like to solicit your support for the campaign launched by Brighton and Hove
Archaeological Society (BHAS) to have a permanent archaeology display in Brighton Museum.
You may be aware of the Family Archaeology Day held on 31 January at Brighton Museum
which demonstrated the interest in local archaeology shown by residents and visitors: some
2,000 people came to the museum that day. The displays arranged for this event were linked to
the HLF-supported project to re-examine and re-evaluate artefacts and other information
gathered from previous investigations of the Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure on Whitehawk
Hill: one of several sites of national importance in the Brighton & Hove area. The artefacts
displayed and many others of archaeological significance are held in the stores of Brighton
Museum and, other than for this event, are not on view to the public.
In 1998 Brighton Museum won a Heritage Lottery grant of several million pounds to revamp
and modernise the museum ready for the 21st century. Unfortunately the new plans completely
removed any vestige of local archaeology from the museum. BHAS campaigned for two years
to have this changed but to no avail. In 2006 it was the centenary of the Society and the city’s
museum department produced an excellent display about the history of the Society with
enough materials and finds for three galleries. It was a great achievement and generated
considerable interest, but sadly, this display lasted only three months and was then dismantled.
It is a disgrace that there is no permanent display featuring our nationally important sites such
as Whitehawk Neolithic Camp and Hollingbury Iron Age Hill Fort, especially as the prehistoric
period is now part of the National Curriculum and such a gallery could provide a valuable
resource for schools.
There is now space in the museum as a result of the relocation of local history materials to The
Keep. This is an ideal opportunity to restore to the City of Brighton and Hove displays that
explain its ancient as well as its modern history.
If you would like more information or wish to discuss this further. Please contact David Rudling
president of BHAS at:
president@brightonarch.org.uk
Yours sincerely,