The Museum receives a commissioning grant in order to be able to fund its two full time positions from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. As an accredited Museum, the organisation prides itself on recruiting highly qualified professional staff.
The Museum also has a Board of volunteer Trustees. The Board gives strategic leadership as well as supporting the Curator and Learning Officer.
Curator and Executive Officer: Gary A Enstone (he/him)
Gary joined the Museum team in January 2024. He has an under-graduate in “International Relations” from Kingston University and a post-graduate degree in “Global Governance & International Security” at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Throughout his career, Gary has worked at numerous National Trust properties including Osterley Park and Lyme Park in Cheshire. For the past 16 years he has been the House Manager of Bateman’s in East Sussex, the former home of Rudyard Kipling, as well as working at Alfriston Clergy House, Bodiam Castle and Virgina and Leonard Woolf’s Monks House.
At present, Gary is getting to grips with how the Museum works, along with its collections and displays. He is looking forward to continuing the success of the museum as we strive to achieve and produce ever more for our visitors.
Learning and Audience Development Officer: Victoria McGrath, BA Hons, MA, AMA (she/her)
Vicky joined the Museum in October 2016, bringing over 15 years of experience of working in Museums and Heritage Education. Before taking up her current role, Vicky was the Learning Manager at Bucks County Museum and the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery.
Vicky has a BA Hons in History from the University of Sheffield and a Masters in Heritage, Education and Interpretation from the University of Newcastle. She has an Enhanced DBS Check and in December 2017 was awarded the Associateship of the Museums Association (AMA). Since 2022, Vicky has been working as a Mentor with the charity, Arts Emergency.
Since joining the Museum, Vicky has developed a popular programme of hands on and craft workshops for schools and home school group, hands on craft workshops for families in the school holiday, FREE get crafty activities for families all year around, and the Coffee and Crafting workshops for adults. Vicky has also written and given numerous talks about the history of the area, including talks on the Museum’s exhibitions, the story of Richmond Palace, and the Richmond Murderess.
If you have any suggestions about what else we can offer, for school families or adult workshops please email her: learning@museumofrichmond.com
Chair of Trustees - Dr Nicola Mann
Nicola joined the Museum of Richmond as a Trustee in June 2022. Currently the Head of the Department of Communications & The Arts at Richmond, the American University in London, she has a diverse background working across the arts, culture, charity, and academic sectors. Nicola started her career with an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, before moving on to a PhD in Visual & Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester, New York. Supported by her experience working with the Happy Museum Project, she firmly believes in the value of local museums and looks forward to helping to explore audience engagement and community outreach initiatives at the Museum.
Deputy Chair: Lord Lee of Trafford DL
Lord Lee was appointed to the House of Lords as a Lib Dem Peer in 2006, having been a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1992. He was Minister of Tourism from 1987 to 1989. Over the years he has held a number of roles in the Tourism and Heritage sector – he has been chair of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) since its formation in 1990 and chaired the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester for 9 years.
Lord Lee sits on the Development Committee of The Poppy Factory. Many years ago he was instrumental in creating and administering a family charity – The Lee Bakirgian Family Trust – which supports a range of youth and community related charities and causes.
Having recently become a Richmond resident, Lord Lee was delighted to join the Board in 2016. Richmond has a significant place in our nation’s history and he looks forward to playing a part in the onward development and expansion of the Museum, with its fascinating collection.
Vice Chair of Board of Trustees, Educational Advisor, Chair of Fund-Raising and Marketing group: Rose Barling
Rose has an MA in History in Education from the Institute of Education and taught History in Richmond Secondary Schools for over 35 years. She has a keen interest in local history, heritage, museum education and learning outside the classroom. She co-authored a school text-book with former museum chair Valerie Boyes. A former Deputy Head at Waldegrave School, Rose also has extensive experience of issues including safeguarding and marketing
Since joining the Board in November 2016, Rose has enjoyed working with our Learning and Development Officer to help to develop the Museum’s school and community offer to appeal to a wider and more diverse audience. As Chair of the Fund Raising and Marketing group she is always keen to explore new ways of raising money to help the museum continue with its work.
Treasurer: Clive Preston
Clive joined the board in April 2015 following over 30 years in the City working in diverse roles within the IT function, where he was responsible for technical design and support and project management as well as holding responsibility for substantial departmental budgets. He is also Treasurer and principal trombone of the Barnes Concert Band, which has performed at the Museum’s Garden Party since 2017. He volunteers regularly as a tour guide at the Musical Museum in Brentford.
Clive has had a life-long interest in history and museums and is delighted to be able to apply his financial and IT skills within this fascinating and challenging environment.
Secretary: Peter Stockdale
Peter joined the Board in December 2023 and has kindly taken on the role of Secretary.
Peter qualified as a Solicitor in 1980, initially practicing in Manchester and then Sydney where he has for the last 30 years been a partner in a large international legal firm. For the last 10 years he has been the Global Head of Risk for the firm working between London and Australia. He has played a number of roles in Senior Management of the firm as a Chair and Executive Partner. He also has experience as the Secretary and Treasurer of local heritage Trusts.
Peter has always seen his role as facilitating the taking of reasoned risk and not avoiding it where the mission is clear. He hopes that he can assist the Museum on the next critical stage of its journey with all the challenges that entails.
Chair of the Collections Trust: Robyn Christie
Robyn came to the Museum in 2016 following a successful career as a curator and heritage consultant in Sydney, Australia. She has worked for the National Trust of New South Wales for over 30 years, being a member of its elected Board of Directors for the final 13 years.
Robyn first undertook degrees in art history at the University of Sydney and the Courtauld Institute of Art, undertaking curatorial work at the S H Ervin Gallery, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum of Australian Childhood. She subsequently undertook degrees in heritage conservation and architecture and, in addition to the National Trust, has completed contract work for the Historic Houses Trust of NSW, the Heritage Group of the Public Works Department, as well as independent firms and commissions.
Robyn is currently undertaking a PhD in architecture at the University of Sydney. She is a professional member of ICOMOS, DOCOMOMO, AIA (Australian Institute of Architects), AMaGA (Australian Museums & Galleries Association), PHA (Professional Historians Association), with current other active roles on the Education &Training Committee of SPAB, Executive of CIVVIH (ICOMOS International Scientific Committee) and Vice-Chair of the HTVF (Historic Towns & Villages Forum).
Collections Trust: Peter Creegen
Peter has been a resident of Richmond for nearly 50 years. He worked as a producer and director of Television Drama at both the BBC and ITV, and was Head of Drama Series at the BBC for 5 years.
He has taught Screen Acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, East 15 Acting School, Arts Educational London School, Alra, Guildford School of Acting, and Directing at the National Film and Television School and Ravensbourne College.
Between 2005 and 2015, he was an examiner in Drama and Speech Subjects for Trinity College London, both in the UK and internationally. He was made a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1989. Peter has served on the Boards of numerous organisations, including the Council of the Directors Guild of Great Britain, the Royal Television Society, BAFTA, and BAFTA’s education committee.
He was Chairman of the Actors Centre for 15 years and Chairman of Jerusalem Productions for over a decade. He was also a Governor of Christ’s School, Richmond and is a former member of the Church Committee of St Mary Magdalene.
Though Peter officially came to the end of his tenure as a Trustee in 2020, he continues to work with The Collections Trust and represents the Museum at Arts Richmond meetings.
Trustee: Alexandra Attelsey MRICS
Alexandra joined the Board in November 2019. She is currently West Wing Lead at The Royal Household and has a MSc Sustainable Heritage from UCL. An experienced Project Sponsor, Project Manager and Chartered Building Surveyor, Alexandra has a history of working in the museums and heritage industry delivering large projects, from Major Conservation, Exhibitions, Refurbishment and New Build projects in sensitive and busy sites.
Trustee: Ann Chapman-Daniel
Ann is a Richmond local, specialised in international sales & marketing. Graduating in Business Studies & German and working subsequently for Thomson Reuters, Ziff Davies Publishing Inc and France Telecom Group, she travelled widely establishing offices and distribution. Ann and husband Ophir founded Minesoft, developing searchable online and competitive intelligence services in sci-tech/patent data. Minesoft won the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2009 and 2015 for outstanding growth in International Trade.
Ann and Ophir have won numerous company and personal awards for Innovation, Export, Legal-Tech, Best Business, Female Entrepreneur, Information Professional Germany & Gamechangers. Ann supports History of Art and Architectural Heritage projects in the UK & Commonwealth.
Trustee: Alice Everley
Alice is passionate about the arts, culture and heritage sector and has been involved with several national museums. As Legal Counsel of the Science Museum Group and previously at the British Museum, Alice provides advice on all aspects of museums’ activities to support their objectives, operations, governance and compliance. Prior to working in the museum sector, Alice was a solicitor in private practice in London at leading international law firms.
Alice is committed to finding ways to sustainably preserve our heritage for the future and inspire people, these aspects being at the core of her personal engagement with the Museum of Richmond. As a Richmond local, Alice is eager to promote the history of the borough and its cultural significance in the wider context, and communicate the same to our visitors, residents and broader audience.
Trustee: Daniel Feeney
Daniel is an experienced leader in the culture and heritage sector, who joined the Board in December 2019, bringing over 15 years of visitor engagement experience from his career in Museums and football. In his current role as Head of Investment and Visitor Economy for Rutland County Council he is responsible for the county’s museum and heritage services, including delivery of Levelling Up Fund projects around a recently discovered 4th century Roman villa and the most intact Ichthyosaur specimen found in Europe. Previously Dan was Director of Bristol’s five civic museums, including M Shed and Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, in his role as Head of Culture and Creative Industries, with a focus on building links between culture organisations in the city and promoting a co-production model across the museum service. Prior to this, he was Head of Visitor Experience at Chiswick House & Gardens Trust, Head of Visitor Services at Buckingham Palace for Royal Collection Trust, having been Head of Visitor Experience at the V&A, alongside roles at the National Portrait Gallery, The Hepworth Wakefield, Cornerhouse in Manchester and Manchester City Football Club.
Dan sits on the National Football Museum’s Creative Advisory Committee, supporting delivery of the museum’s National Portfolio Status projects.
Dan has an MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies and BA in History, both from the University of Manchester.
Trustee: Kathryn Isaksen
With 14 years volunteering at Ham House and an MSc History from the University of Edinburgh, Kathryn merges a profound appreciation for local historical narratives with 30 years of global technology expertise. She has led projects to improve the way Richmond history is shared digitally, to both attract and inform visitors.
Passionate about heritage, Kathryn aims to support the Museum of Richmond’s visitor experience, blending tradition and technology to celebrate cultural heritage for community enrichment and engagement. Her experience in IT, software applications and digital user experience can help improve Museum’s capabilities for visitors, benefactors, volunteers and employees.
Trustee: Caroline Lang
Caroline joined the Board of the Museum of Richmond in January 2024.
She has worked for many years in museums, large, small, local, national independent and overseas, mainly in public – facing roles. She has a BA in History and an MA in Medieval Studies. Caroline is also a qualified teacher and an author, with a PGCE and experience in Secondary schools and University teaching. She has lived in the Borough of Richmond for over 30 years and has a strong interest in local history.
Caroline is keen to share her skills and expertise and hopes to help make the Museum more visible to the public and especially to encourage local people from a wide range of backgrounds to visit and enjoy the Museum.
Trustee: Susanne Lap
Susanne became a trustee in January 2020. She has been a resident in the Richmond area since 1988, after she moved to the UK from the Netherlands. Over the past 30 years, Susanne has been a passionate supporter of the arts, as well as social inclusion causes. She served as a trustee of a social welfare charity, as a volunteer prison visitor, and as a volunteer for the Garden Museum, amongst other causes. She currently co-ordinates the organisation of charity events at Trumpeters’ House in Richmond and is researching the history of its prior residents.
Museum of Richmond Collection Trust
Robyn Christie (Chair)
Peter Cregeen
Sally Goodsir
Patrons
Royal Patron: Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra
Patrons
Anita Anand
Sir David Attenborough OM CH FRS CVO
Ann Chapman-Daniel
Greville Dare
Lady Annabel Goldsmith
Lord Fellowes of West Stafford
Petina Hauptfuhrer
Lord Watson of Richmond CBE
Volunteers
The Museum also has a team of around 30 volunteers who staff the front desk, work on projects like the digitisation of the collection and help run events.
OUR USUAL OPENING TIMES
FREE ENTRY!
Usual opening hours:
Tuesday to Fridays, 11am to 5pm
Saturdays, 10am to 4pm.
We are closed on Sundays and Mondays, including Bank Holidays
UPDATE: Apologies for the short notice, but we have to at 2pm today, Wednesday 27 November, as our volunteer is poorly so unable to come in.
Please note:
– Workshops often take place in our temporary exhibition space. Please check our public Google Calendar or call the Museum on 020 8332 1141 to see if a workshop is taking place when you plan to visit that may limit your access to the exhibition.
– We occasionally have to close at short notice due to volunteer illness. Please check here or our public Google Calendar for latest news and updates.
– At present there is no step free access from street level to the Ground Floor of the Old Town Hall whilst we wait for Richmond Council to repair the lift at the Disabled Entrance. We apologise for the inconvenience this causes whilst the Council carries out these repairs.
FAMILY WORKSHOPS: MAKE DO AND MEND
Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 August, 10am to 12noon
Make Do and Mend
Be inspired by the story of a World War Two era patchwork dress and create your own patchwork and visible mending inspired craft
Workshops are £6 per child, adults are FREE
(You can also book FREE places for children not doing the craft, like under 5s who may not be quite ready for it yet!)