Museum & Libraries Reopen
Hastings Museum & Art Gallery will reopen next Thursday 20th May but with limited hours, advance booking only, and strict controls on visitor numbers aimed at combating Covid-19 infection.
Visits, from Thursday to Sunday each week from 10am to 12.30pm and from 2pm until 5pm, remain free but must be pre-booked through the museum website or by phone (see below). The rooms are said to have undergone a “deep clean”. There will be a one-way route for walking around the building. Hand-sanitiser stations have been placed throughout. Reusable and washable facemasks will be available to purchase on entry.
The main visiting attraction for the summer will be “Ingenious Contraptions”, an exhibition of automata from Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. Old favourites, such as the Seaside Gallery, the Durbar Hall and the Before Hastings Gallery will still be there to view. A press release from Hastings Borough Council, which manages the museum, states that “the shop has also been refreshed and restocked with a great selection of souvenirs, many from local suppliers”.
In the meantime, Hastings Central Library and all other libraries managed by East Sussex County Council are already open again for browsing and borrowing of books and for computer use, with slightly reduced opening hours and a range of health measures in place.
Users of the facilities are required to wear masks unless exempt, and to socially distance. Computers are being cleaned and keyboard covers replaced between sessions. Borrowed books are “quarantined” for 72 hours on return.
A wide range of eBooks, eAudiobooks, eNewspapers eMagazines and other digital services are said to be available but physical newspapers and magazines are not.
Symptom-free Covid-19 test kits (lateral flow) can be collected from a number of libraries including Battle, Bexhill and Rye.
• Timed tickets for the museum should be booked in advance through www.hmag.org.uk or by phone to 01424 451052
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply