Brampton Museum 2027 funding proposal

Unlocking Collections at Brampton Museum - an outreach project

For the past year, the Brampton Museum team have been working with our supporters, stakeholders and visitors to find out what people love about our museum, what new things they’d like to experience and what we’re still missing.

We’ve worked hard to turn these ideas into a long-term plan and we’re excited to share with you the proposal for our next project, hoping to start April 2027 subject to a successful funding application.

What’s the idea?

We want to bring more of the Museum’s displays to life, and to do this we want to record and celebrate the stories, voices and memories of the everyday people of our borough. We want to go beyond beautiful objects on shelves or old photographs in our archive. We want visitors to the museum or online to hear the real-life stories that lie behind our shared history and listen to what Newcastle means to local people.

1950s street scene

Archive photograph of Rists Wires and Cables party in 1960

We want to make a walk through our recreated Brampton Street an even more immersive experience- with sounds bringing to life the hustle and bustle of a market town, with moving images glimpsed behind a net curtain and the voices of real people bringing our borough’s story through the 1960s, 1980s, 2000s and beyond.

Victorian street scene, Photo Credit Jenny Harper

We want to showcase the stunning artwork of locally born artists that have captured our urban landscapes- those places that are ‘almost gone’ but still tell us so much about ourselves.

Original paintings by Doreen Fletcher

We want our museum experience to be enjoyed by even more people. Whether it’s taking displays and stories out into our high streets, parks and community venues, enabling people to browse more of their history from home, or creating accessible audio tours for visitors with dyslexia, dementia or a visual impairment, we want all Newcastle residents  to be able to experience their past.

Most importantly, we want Newcastle borough's story to be not just the history of the great and the good- it has to be our story too.

What will it look like?

Our team will be out and about visiting local community groups, businesses and local historians recording their memories. We’ll create an online archive where you can listen and browse 24/7 plus two permanent listening points at the museum. Plus, we aim to expand our virtual tour to include more audio and contribute to the existing “Castle Uncovered” interactive map.

Castle Uncovered Map

We’ll be taking the museum out onto our high street, parks and the big screen displays. We’ve seen the success of eye-catching displays on shop fronts, street railings, electronic billboards- anywhere that get people to stop and talk- and we’d like to build on this success. We’ll also be creating a portable listening station that looks and feels like a 1950s telephone – which can travel out to community venues alongside pop up displays.

Example audio listening point

Example information sign

The project will culminate in a beautiful exhibition of art in our Courtyard Gallery that celebrates our everyday lives- the homes, shops and community spaces that “are otherwise overlooked.” It will feature a collection of urban landscapes by iconic Staffordshire born artist Doreen Fletcher which were acquired by Brampton Museum in 2026 and have never been on public display before.

Original paintings by Doreen Fletcher

Where will it be taking place?

We’ll not just be transforming our Historic Street Scene and Living Memory gallery inside the museum, we’ll be creating pop up displays and vibrant activities out in community spaces. We’ll be out and about in Kidsgrove Town Hall, St Mary’s Knutton, Talke Village Hall and your local library to name just a few, as well as creating outdoor displays in our main Newcastle Town Centre and Brampton Park.

Who will be doing the project?

We’ll be out and about connecting to community groups, local businesses and market traders - like Nigel from Shaw’s Chippy, pictured here with museum collections officer Clare Griffiths.

Shaw’s Chippy

Groups who have already signed up to take part, include:

• Staffordshire libraries

• Newcastle Blind Club

• Father Hudsons at Talke Village Hall

• Kidsgrove Rotary Club Dementia Group

• Connect at St Mary's Knutton

• North Staffordshire Guild of Historians

• Belong Village

• K19 Kidsgrove group

• Reminiscence with Kath Reynolds

• Kidsgrove local history group with Philip Leese

• New Vic Theatre Creative Ageing Programme

If successful, the project will be run by the award-winning Brampton Museum team. The project has been shaped and endorsed by the Brampton Museum Supporters Group who will act as the guiding inspiration throughout.

Supporters

We commit to collaborating with the outstanding creatives and suppliers who are local to the area and offering placements to local students from places like Keele University. The project is supported by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Newcastle Business Improvement District.