[murphymad]

Just to make it clear for everyone.

When I set up the Charity in 2004 the ground floor of the house (only) and the access and all of the outbuildings were assigned to a lease for the purposes of housing the museum and its contents.
The upstairs of the house WAS NEVER part of the lease and this was Gerry's express wishes.

Although the whole house and outbuildings were filled with items and this was absolutely fine while Gerry was living there it was always known that we would have to vacate the upstairs part of the house.
It was discussed and agreed with Gerry that changes would need to be made and it was his wish that Eileen would have a permanent dwelling within 23 Rosendale Road if she chose to.

In 2004 the value of the house was such that on Gerry's passing there would be no death duties to be paid. However the changes in property values in London since then meant that there was no way out of paying a huge bill of nearly a quarter of a million.

Well the choices were simple, either develop the building in such a way that the huge bill could be paid from the proceeds or sell up!

Selling up would almost certainly meant the end of the museum as it was known forever.
There was no rich benefactor waving a cheque book to stomp up the death duties and so with the best interests of the museum and the collection in mind the development path was taken.

I should add that although the space in the house is no longer part of the museum, that almost all of the items in it have been housed into the outbuildings.

We demolished the old transformer shed, the valve lab and the other shed that housed the ITV transmitter as they had been patched up several times and really were at the end of their life. These were replaced lsat year with a bigger building making better use of the space which now houses a good deal of the collection.

It is planned that the old wood work shed that is now also at the point of 'end of life' due to rot and structural deterioration will be replaced with a new building that is much bigger and sited next to the new building of 2017 with direct covered walkway connection.
This will further increase the ground area of the museum.

Other changes have been made in the ground floor stores where redundant space has been turned into display space and the upstairs stores will shortly become the archive and component stores area.

What I want to say is simply, stop speculating as to how bad it must all be now and come and see for yourself. The collection is still there, money is being raised by museum events to continue to make the whole place a unique attraction and a many hundreds of hours are being given by the volunteers and Committee to ensure the museum survives with as much charm and atmosphere as it always had.

Now it was Gerry's wish that Eileen would one day live at 23 Rosendale Road if she chose to do so. Well this is now happening and so there is a continuation of the long history of the museum being kept alive.

The museum trust will get a new full 25 year lease from 2018 which is great news and further ensures the future of the collection and its home.

So, Why not make the trip tomorrow and COME AND SEE for yourself.
Support the museum events as this is really the only way that it can survive for everyone.

I will be on the BVWS tables as usual and I hope to see many of you there.

Mike...