Benefits of Membership

Members play a vital role in helping to preserve and enhance the Society’s collections, and making them more accessible to the public. Members’ subscriptions help fund the day-to-day running of the Society and pay for essential conservation work. Members are also able to volunteer their knowledge, skills and time to help ensure that the Society remains an active and vibrant part of local and national heritage.

For members who wish to be actively involved, we can offer you:

· Access to the museum and archives on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings, and at other times by special arrangement

· A congenial environment to discuss and share your particular interests with other members

· Access to an amazing library, important archives, maps, paintings and much more which are often not available elsewhere

· Opportunities for academic, literary or personal research, including family and local history

· Early access to training sessions to help you develop new skills in museum and archive care and understanding

· Members only events, including an annual outing and coffee house evenings with informal talks on the museum’s collections and local heritage

· Regular newsletters via email about upcoming events and developments within the Society

· An Annual Report and the opportunity to elect officers and contribute to policy decisions at Annual General Meetings

Members are able to help us by:

· Contributing to the care and conservation of the Society’s internationally important collections

· Becoming involved in the work of the Society to develop local, national and international knowledge and understanding of the collections

· Training as a volunteer museum tour guide to share the Society’s treasures with visitors

· Promoting the importance of the Society to the wider public to encourage greater awareness of and engagement with the Society and its activities

· Contributing to the Society’s ongoing efforts to increase public access to its collections, and contributing to discussions about the policies that will shape the Society’s future