Broadfield House Glass Museum - the next step...

[flyboy90]

Congrats Janet its what this Ward needs someone to speak the truth and support the glass heritage which the other shower dont seem to do! You have my vote and lots of others too.
Flyboy 90

[Janet H]

Protest to be held at Broadfield House Glass Museum 29.1.10

Dudley Council voted on 12th October 2009 to work towards creating a museum of national importance for the Dudley Borough. In the opinion of many, this resolution has not been upheld and as a result negotiations have broken down.

The glass collections are a national treasure and Dudley Council has treated the museum, the collections and the people of the borough with disdain and contempt. In Birmingham we have a council supporting culture and in Dudley there is a cultural disaster about to happen.

JH

[Janet H]

Protest Update On Broadfield House Glass Museum

A successful protest was held at Broadfield House Glass Museum. It was well attended by the friends of Broadfield House Glass Museum, including the Chairman Barbara Beadman, local Lib Dem Councillor Lynn Boleyn, leader of Save Our Glass Heritage Campaign Janet Hendry and local people. The protest was held after talks between the council and interested glass parties of the museum broke down and the future of the collections is once again uncertain.

[Frank]

If Dudley do not want the glass it might be time to find someone that would. No reason it should stay in the UK as long as it as assured of a permanent and accessible home. There are probably several museums in Europe, possibly even China, that would leap at such an opportunity. These days UK Museums seem to go for multimedia experiences to draw the crowds in and boost their 'performance' ratings. Culture has little value in that equation beyond its realisable commodity value and that is usually made elsewhere. Glass falls low down on virtually all museum agendas, look at the V&A displays!

I guess if the idea got taken up, the press would have a field day as there is nothing like stirring up a bit of national fervour to sell papers. It might also get the attention it deserves from Parliament which the local efforts do not seem to have managed to really stir up.

[aa]

If Dudley do not want the glass it might be time to find someone that would.

Dudley do want the glass. They just don't want to display it properly. They own most of it, with the exception of the loan collections. So moving it out of the borough is not really an option.

It might also get the attention it deserves from Parliament which the local efforts do not seem to have managed to really stir up.

Actually, this has been debated in Parliament, to the considerble embarassment of Dudley Council.

It's quite difficult to get anything debated in Parliament, so this was quite an achievement.

[Frank]

I saw the debate but it has been left as a local issue. Do Dudley own it or the nation? Clearly they have no interest in it if they do not want to display it especially with the much more interesting propspect of all the usual pocket lining with the disposal of property. Reports of decay in the proposed site and poor traffic facilities, the only reason for moving it there is to show it is of no major public interest (never mind the public cannot get to it) and then they can sell off that property too. If the state of repair is as bad as some of the reports getting the buildings condemned would be a straightforward tactic repeatedly used to clear 'historic' sites. If you look at the situation from the council and their financial well-being then the best thing is to pack the glass into a warehouse and level the properties.

With a collection and archive of such importance it needs to be handled by someone else if it is ever to be displayed properly as clearly from what is being said Broadfield House will close.

[Janet H]

Dear All,

The adjournment debate that was led by Linda Waltho MP for Stourbridge was indeed an achievement.

Everyday Broadfield House Glass Museum is open is an achievement - lets not kid ourselves the precious glass and priceless archives could easily have been boxed up by now, had it not have been for the success of the campaign mounted against the closure of the glass museum.

I would urge everyone to remain strong and tall as all the glass community, the many glass experts and our friends all over the world - stand together against any closure of Broadfield House Glass Museum or moving its contents to an unsuitable site.

JH

[Janet H]

We have the support of Euro MP Liz Lynne.

http://www.lizlynne.org.uk/news/001273/euro_mp_welcomes_choice_of_leading_glass_heritage_campaigner_for_council_battle.html

[Frank]

To all except visitors here, the message going out is that Broadfield Glass Museum has been saved. This is being circulated via all the major glass news bulletins and glass societies.

If the protest is not managing a cohesive organisation it cannot succeed, clearly the council has more effective PR.

[flyboy90]

We know that stop banging on, give us some help rather than been crittical,otherwise we will lose it.
flyboy90

[Frank]

Suggestions do not seem to be discussed. Why not publish a public agenda signed by all glass. museum and other interest groups.

[nigel benson]

Frank,

Please think on

Because then, DMBC will know exactly was is being organised and it will negate any negotiations that are likely to happen with them. Why would you want to tell DMBC what is going on, either as a campaign, or an agenda, before you might wish to?

Technology can be used in a far more useful way, so lets be a bit more positive. If DMBC have managed to successfully 'spin' an announcement perhaps our job is to ensure everyone knows the truth of the matter? 

So, just in case, let's all do something small, and make sure we mention this to any and all folks that we know. We know the voice we raised before and it's just there waiting to be asked again. There's more of us than them, so get talking folks..........

Thanks to all out there, Nigel

[Frank]

Working behind closed doors with a carefully spun public campaign may be the deceitful way that these particular council officials work. But if most of the glass world are being informed that the campaign has been successful when it has not, then more airing in public will at least give an opportunity to debunk the spin being put out by a council.

This does not mean that the full details of the campaign need to be made public. Just enough to ensure that all interest groups are properly informed. Further if you can show publicly that there is solidarity in a campaign then you are more likely to achieve a common voice. The very fact that contradictory stories are being published is in itself sufficient for the council to be feeling comfortable that they will achieve whatever they wish too.

Had I not been visiting the gmb I would by now be feeling quite happy that the museum has been saved. The latest Glass Cone makes no mention of the situation, I was disappointed by this!

[aa]

Anybody who posts on this subject should be aware that anything they say here will be read by the executive and members of Dudley Council as well as their PR department. This is an open forum.

[Frank]

Hopefully it will be read by their website managers too, all the links on this page are broken:

http://www.dudley.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/museums--galleries/glass-museum/reference

In general it is a poor website for the museum. As to the glass cone page:

http://www.dudley.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/museums--galleries/red-house-glass-cone

They proudly announce "Since this time the site has remained virtually unaltered and therefore provides a fascinating insight into the history and tradition of glassmaking"   accompanied by a picture where the glass cone is mostly obscured by a dreary shop-like entrance building.

But I guess the protest does not want any public duiscussion, sorry to have intruded. Why not get the threads deleted. Then we can hear about it in the press http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/7334.aspx