The Friends were formed in January 2015. We are a registered charity (No 1171398)
The aims and objectives of the Friends are to;
support the Council in its aim to conserve, research, interpret and display the Mansion
House and its contents for all sections of the community and for future generations
open up the Mansion House to the Public
increase opportunities for children to visit the Mansion House
promote the use of the Mansion House as an educational resource for all sections of
the community
provide practical support for the work of the Mansion House staff and the Mansion
House volunteers
raise funds for the above activities and for future projects
provide a forum for the views of all sections of the community on the future of the
Mansion House
promote the work of James Paine, the architect who designed the Mansion House
If we are to achieve our objectives, we need to recruit more volunteers. We want to increase the number of public open days from the present 3 per month to 4 per month and then eventually to 8 per month. For each extra open day, we need to recruit 6 more volunteers who will give 4 hours of their time every month. We need tour guides, front of house and behind the scenes volunteers.
We want to develop the Mansion House as an educational resource for all sections of the community. We want to encourage more schools to visit the Mansion House during term time and in the school holidays.
To do this, we need volunteers to research and interpret the history of the Mansion House in order to develop interesting and enjoyable tours and activities which will meet the demands of the national curriculum.
We also need volunteers to fundraise and promote all the above activities and to spread the word about the Mansion House.