Eynsham Parish Council was delighted to sign a lease with the organisation behind the Eynsham Museum and Heritage Centre for the Bartholomew Room this week.
The group intend to establish a museum in the building to educate visitors of the history of our village and inspire future generations. This has been a long-term project and the team hope to have the new museum open and fully operational by autumn 2023.
The historic property was formerly the base for the Parish Council. It has been under our ownership since 1983 when it was purchased “for the people of Eynsham” (as it reads on the plaque outside the building).
The Parish Council relocated to the Village Hall when refurbishment work started on the Bartholomew Room and we have decided to remain there, as it is more accessible for those with mobility issues.
To ensure the historic property remained a community asset, we invited expressions of interest from local groups to lease the property once it was fully refurbished. The Eynsham Museum and Heritage Centre group was successful and have now signed a 25-year lease on the Bartholomew Room, as of March 2023.
As a registered charity, the museum is always in need of support, whether financial or via volunteers donating their time. To find out more about supporting this new local museum, contact Steve Parrinder via email on eynsham.museum.hc@gmail.com.
The Parish Council is pleased that the Bartholomew Room will now be used to celebrate the interesting history of our area and will soon be open to local people and visitors again. We wish the new museum well as they start to create this exciting new community asset.