Most SPAG members have visited the Whitaker since its refurbishment but probably none of us expected to learn so much from an organised tour.

Initially, 21 of our members were introduced to a handful of artefacts from the museum collection by curator Teri with plenty of opportunity to discuss, admire and ponder about their use.  Some were obvious like the sword (believed to be Scottish) but several were not.  Wearing nitrile gloves we were allowed to touch and use some of the objects whilst we tried to understand their purpose.  This alone would have made the visit worthwhile but then we were led on a tour of the building by volunteer Ann.

As we moved from room to room, Ann gave us a fascinating insight into individual exhibits in addition to the easily missed but important details of the building itself.  The little human stories provided by previous visitors brought many items to life.

Built by George Hardman in the 1840s and named Oak Hill, the house was in a perfect position overlooking his mill at Newhall Hey, which is now an office complex with a superb chimney.  In 1900 the property was purchased by philanthropic industrialist Richard Whitaker and given by him for use by the children of Rawtenstall.  Two years later the gardens had been extended and it was opened to the public as a museum in 1902.

Having won a £1.7m grant in 2019 the Whitaker is exactly what Rawtenstall now needs – a museum, an arts centre, an activity and learning centre and a restaurant where people can eat, meet and talk.  All credit to Carl Bell, his team and the many volunteers for not only creating a superb venue but also on winning the Cultural Venue / Organisation of the Year in the Lancashire Tourism Awards.  As for SPAG, yes we’d certainly like to repeat the experience in a few months time to get close to some more amazing exhibits.