Pat Midgley, the amazingly dedicated founder of the museum, built up a large collection of photographs, family files, business records, oral history tapes and other material relating to Lynn and the North End.

To upgrade the Research Centre has been an urgent item for the trustees and this HLF grant will allow them to ensure records are properly stored and conserved as well as becoming more accessible to the public. Schools, students, local and family historians, general researchers and other will benefit as a result. The museum will also be able to improve its annual exhibition programme through using material still to be accessioned.

True’s Yard works with schools and students and adults to promote their learning which will be enhanced through easier access to the collections in the Research Centre. There will also be opportunities for more staff and volunteer training in archives and community engagement via oral history projects designed to boost and strengthen neighbourhoods.

Commenting on the award Dr Paul Richard, Trust Chairman said “To ensure our House of History will be preserved and accessible for the education and enjoyment of today’s and future generations is a major achievement thanks to the HLF grant. To discover the past is to enrich the future!”

Robyn Llewellyn, Head of HLF East of England, said: “Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we’re thrilled to support this project which promises a bright future for such an important collection of King’s Lynn’s heritage. Next year marks 25 years since Pat Midgley founded the museum and this project means her legacy will continue to grow and be enjoyed by even more people."

Notes to editors

True’s Yard is a social history Museum in King’s Lynn. It is an independent Museum run almost entirely by volunteers and depicts the story of the old North End fishing quarter of King’s Lynn. Most of the North End was knocked down in the Slum Clearances of the 1930s and 1960s but two fisherfolk cottages survived and founder Pat Midgley MBE campaigned to save them from the bulldozer and built the museum around them.

Further information

For further information, images and interviews, please contact Lindsey Bavin, Museum Manager at True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum on 01553 770 479 or at info@truesyard.co.uk.