The Novium Museum receives lottery funding

The Novium Museum in Chichester has received £8,300 in grant funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting project: 'Cutlasses & Contraband'.

This project will focus on sharing known and unknown stories of smugglers, and the punishments they received, in and around the Chichester District and the Sussex coast.

The HLF funding, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, will enable an exciting programme of events to run alongside The Novium Museum's new exhibition - 'Cutlasses & Contraband; A Smuggler's Tale', which launches on 16 November. Activities will include a series of ten 'Smuggling Saturday' family activity days, where families will be able to drop in to the museum and take part in craft, interactive storytelling and talks, all free of charge, and two evening talks on Smuggling in Sussex. The funding will help to upskill staff and volunteers to enable guided tours of the exhibition, as well as the development of three new school workshops, aimed at Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children.

The prizes for The Novium's annual schools' writing competition will also be funded by the grant, allowing the museum to offer the prize a Smugglers themed class sleepover to five lucky winners.

Councillor Eileen Lintill, Cabinet Member for Community Services at Chichester District Council says: "We are thrilled to have received support thanks to National Lottery players. The events funded by the grant will offer something for everyone, and the focus on training and upskilling will enable the team at The Novium Museum to really engage the public with the history of local smuggling."

'Cutlasses & Contraband; A Smugglers Tale' opens to the public on Thursday 16 November. The interactive exhibition will tell local smuggling stories, including that of the infamous Hawkhurst Gang, who were sentenced to death in Chichester's Guildhall in Priory Park.

Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the HLF Sharing Heritage grant helps groups and organisations to discover and share local heritage with wider communities.