ARTS NEWSStrawberry Hill, Horace Walpole's magnificent Georgian Gothic Revivalmansion at Twickenham, has reopened after a £9m, two-year restoration.Built between 1747 and 1792 by the writer son of the Prime Minister, SirRobert Walpole, the house had fallen into serious disrepair and had beenon the English Heritage At Risk List since 1991. Its rescue began afterthe creation of the Strawberry Hill Trust, whose Chairman, MichaelSnodin, said: "Strawberry Hill is an important part of Britain's architecturalhistory because it is a physical manifestation of Horace Walpole's culturallegacy which was to pioneer an imaginative self-expression in building,collecting and decorating which still inspires us today." Strawberry Hill comesback to lifeWedgwood hearing postponedA court hearing to establish whether the collections of the WedgwoodMuseum in Stoke would be available to creditors of the WedgwoodGroup, the museum's former parent company, has been postponed untilJanuary. The group is seeking to use the assets of the museum, whichwas the 2009 winner of the Museum of the Year Awardand which is inadministration, to help meet a £134m shortfall in its pension fund. SteveCurry, of the administrators Begbies Traynor, said: "The question for thehearing is whether the collections should be available as an asset, orwhether collections are held on a charitable basis."12NADFAS REVIEW / WINTER 2010www.nadfas.org.uk'Do-it-yourself' museum revampThe Yorkshire Museum, opened in1830 to house the collections ofthe Yorkshire Philosophical Society,has emerged from a £2m 'do-it-yourself' revamp, with galleriescreated by staff rather thanconsultant designers, which wouldhave cost twice as much. The move was not merely acost-saving response to adisappointing appeal for publicfunding. "We wanted to know thebuilding properly again, and thebest way was to do an awful lot ofthe job ourselves," said CuratorAndrew Morrison. During the 10-month closure, archaeologistsbecame wood carvers, curatorswere plasterers, and Morrisonhimself got up at 5am to takeatmospheric photographs of theNorth Yorkshire moors for thedisplay boards. Right and below:The YorkshireMuseum post-revamp

www.nadfas.org.ukNADFAS REVIEW / WINTER 2010 13ARTS NEWSMary Rosebuild startsWork has begun on the £35m newMary Rose Museum in PortsmouthHarbour. Construction began 28years to the day after the MaryRose, Henry VIII's favouritewarship, was raised by marinearchaeologists led by Dr MargaretRule and watched by a worldwidetelevision audience of 60 million.Themuseum, scheduled forcompletion in autumn 2012, willreunite the Mary Rosewith most ofthe 19,000 beautifully preservedartefacts recovered with her. "Thesignificance of the Mary Rosecollection cannot beunderestimated," said Rear AdmiralJohn Lippiett, Chief Executive ofthe Mary Rose Trust, "and we stillhave a £4 million fundraising targetto meet before the museum canbe opened to the public in theUK's Olympic year." Historic portarea couldboostSunderlandSunderland's historic East Endport area is the subject of a majorrevival plan following an EnglishHeritage report, which said thatthe old town area of the city wasat risk. Sunderland Heritage Forumhas outlined plans to use historicbuildings and landscapes as a"positive force" for regeneration. "The East End is the birthplaceof Sunderland," said city councilmember Denny Wilson, "and weneed to realise its potential forthe city as a cultural and heritagequarter." GeffryeMuseumenhancesofferingLondon's Geffrye Museum aimsto boost its reputation as aresource for studies of the homeby building additional facilitiesand galleries to house its libraryand archive, to show moreobjects in open storage, and tocreate enhanced learning andexhibition spaces.The museum, which aims tomake these improvements by2015 (its 100th anniversary year),will encourage visitors to getcloser to original artefacts andthe sources of history in archives,books and research files. TheGeffrye Museum's flagshipeducation and learningprogrammes attract visitors fromthe UK and overseas.. You can read our article onthe museum's Christmasexhibition on page 34New museumprize fromCloreMuseums are to have a newaward, tacked on to theprestigious £100,000 Arts FundPrize. Accompanying thepresentation of the 2011 Museumof the Yearaccolade, whosejudges are being chaired byMichael Portillo, will be a £10,000education prize, funded by theClore Duffield Foundation.Cockpit Arts, the London-based incubator for designer-makers, has beenawarded the Social Enterprise Mark by the Department of Trade andIndustry. The award, given through the Social Enterprise Mark Company,gives the centre an official identity as a social and environmental tradingconcern. Cockpit has gained a reputation as a creative hotbed since itsinception 15 years ago. "We are delighted," said its Director, VanessaSwann. "We have already nurtured 500 talented designer-makers and our aim is to now become completely self-sustainable, creating a surplusincome in order to expand our reach to those that are mostdisadvantaged."  Below:Shoemaker Jim Ducker is just one of 500 designer-makers tohave benefited from the resources available at Cockpit ArtsCockpit wins Enterprise MarkA report has called for sweepingchanges to the National Trust forScotland, including cutting boardmembers from 87 to 15. Thereport, by former ScottishParliament Speaker George Reid,said the Trust had no single assetinventory and did not know thecost of maintaining its estate. Ithas already cut staff by 88, sold itsEdinburgh headquarters andclosedsome properties to visitors.Scottish National Trust 'needs shake-up'