A star of BBC show Doctor Who has joined a new exhibit as a museum in an Oxfordshire town reopens.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who is well known for her roles in the long-running sci-fi show and for movies such as Belle and Beyond the Lights, appeared in her hometown Witney to support the local museum.
She was there – taking time out from promoting new Sky action thriller Fuze – to talk about her childhood in the town for the ‘Voices of Witney’ display and was photographed in front of her old school Henry Box.
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Featuring the words of people connected to the Oxfordshire town, including Ms Mbatha-Raw and TV ‘Repair Shop’ regular Steve Fletcher, the display will be a listening post in the newly refurbished Witney and District Museum in the High Street.
The stories of other notable people are also shared, including Isabelle Spencer, founding member of Witney Dramatic Society, and local photographer Arthur Titherington, a former Japanese prisoner of war who headed up a campaign for compensation.
The 30-year-old cultural hub reopened on Wednesday, April 8, after its winter closure which saw the first-floor Bartlett-Taylor Gallery revamped with the installation of wooden display units inspired by the traditional tenter racks of Witney’s historic blanket industry.
Around two years ago, the museum was awarded a £198,096 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support its redevelopment and the long-term care of the collection.
The independent, fully accredited museum is a registered charity entirely run by volunteers and seeks to inform about the people and industries that have shaped the town.
Beverley Sherwood, volunteer collections manager, said: “National Lottery Funding is enabling Witney and District Museum to carry out essential cataloguing, conservation and inventory work.
“This work has been supported by our dedicated collections volunteers who play a vital role in preserving the town’s heritage.”
Prominent in the reopened museum is the blanket industry collection as well as new displays focusing on headline events such as the campaign to shut Hillgrove Cat Farm at the end of the 1990s.
Witney’s healthcare history is highlighted across the decades, from a look at traditional high street chemists to high-tech Abbott, where more than 1,000 people are employed in the diabetes care industry.
The chair of the management committee said they were “really grateful” for the support of the lottery.
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David How said: “We’re proud to be launching our fresh, exciting, new showcases for Witney’s treasures.
“We’ve expanded our volunteer team, and we’ve been bowled over by the enthusiasm everyone has shown.
“We see a bright future for Witney’s heritage.”
Witney & District Museum is open Wednesday-Saturday 10am-4pm until October.
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