ARTS
Crafts
Victims of the Bill
The abolition of ILEA threatens the survival of two important London museums, Tanya Harrod
reports
Frederick Horniman: what will happen to the museum he gave to Londoners? Frederick Horniman, the founder of the Horniman Museum, built up his ex- traordinary collection throughout Queen Victoria's reign. Tea merchant, MP, pas- sionate amateur naturalist and ethnog- rapher, he seems an excellent exponent of that now hackneyed phrase 'Victorian values'. In 1901 he had a fine museum built to house his collection and gave it to the then LCC, dedicating it to the people of London as 'for ever a free museum for their recreation, instruction and enjoy- ment.'
The transfer of ILEA's educational func- tions to the inner London boroughs now looks certain to go ahead. Many first-rate facilities that serve all London face an uncertain future — none more so than the Horniman Museum and the Geffrye Museum, which share a history of succes- sive administration and funding by the LCC, the GLC and ILEA. The Education Reform Bill, which is going through its report stage this week, makes no mention of these two important museums, both entirely funded by ILEA. At present one may only assume that the Government would like responsibility to be handed over to Hackney in the case of the Geffrye Museum and to Lewisham in the case of the Horniman — a heavy burden for both authorities. There is no statutory obliga- tion on local authorities to provide a museum service, so in theory they could both be closed.
As with so much of this hasty legislation it is up to other concerned parties to make constructive suggestions. It would, of course, be too much to expect the best- informed body — ILEA itself — to work out a plan to disembarrass the Government (if indeed they are embarrassed). The last time round — when these museunis were threatened because of the abolition of the GLC — it was suggested that the V & A take over the Geffrye Museum and that the Horniman become an outpost of the Brit- ish Museum. These ideas proved unaccept- able to all parties. ILEA emerged as the ideal organisation principally because both museums have always been committed to an unusual degree to education. Even so, the transfer to ILEA from the GLC meant a far smaller and poorer geographical area funding the museums — which both serve boroughs outside and beyond inner Lon- don.
Concerned with the lack of provision in the Bill, the London Museums Service has commissioned, and received this week, a report by Fred Dunning, the curator of the Geological Museum. Dunning has put forward a number of elegant suggestions of which the Government would do well to take heed. He sees the prospect of these two museums being run by Hackney and Lewisham as untenable. His favoured op- tion for the Geffrye is that it be paid for by the Government and administered by the Museum of London, which has much the same approach to teaching and a shared interest in social history. For the Geffrye Museum is justly famous for its period room settings, which are used for talks and demonstrations, and for its temporary ex- hibitions, often rooted in the history of the area. Of course educational devices like period rooms are taken for granted today, but they were pioneered at the Geffrye in the 1930s by Marjorie Quennell, the co- author of The History of Everyday Things in England. All in all the Geffrye Museum approach would fit in well with the educa- tional policies of the Museum of London, if it could be ensured that the Geffrye retains its relatively large staff of teachers.
The Horniman is a different matter. It is, of course, far larger. It has major holdings, including one of world-class importance. This is the collection of musical instru- ments, and Kenneth Baker is just begin- ning to receive letters from anxious musi- cologists around the world querying its future. The ethnographical collections are impressive and bear comparison with those at the Museum of Mankind and at Oxford and Cambridge. There is an excellent Natural History section with an historic early aquarium and vivarium in desperate need of refurbishment. There is a fine library open to all. There is an adjoining park with a nature trail. In contrast, at the Natural History Museum there are no such outdoor facilities, less open access to the library and, as a final rebuff, admission charges.
All the collections at the Horniman are documented and displayed in a fashion which, if at times a little old-fashioned, gives priority to the educational needs of the museum's visitors — particularly chil- dren. To this end the curators, the librarian and the teachers in the Education Depart- ment work as a team. For instance, the collection of musical instruments, includ- ing many non-European and ethnic instru- ments, is backed up by a sound archive and regular concerts: this spring a series of free concerts of music from South India, Korea and Morocco is planned.
No one who cares about the crafts or design could fail to see the importance of the Horniman approach, which puts each object in the collection into its technical and social context. This use of artefacts to look at materials, manufacture and func- tion in many ways recalls the early great days of the V & A as administered by Henry Cole with Prince Albert's enthusias- tic support.
Fred Dunning sees a future for the Horniman as a major 'city' museum south of the river. He envisages a dual funding base — the day-to-day running costs, salaries etc. being paid for by the Govern- ment, perhaps via the London Boroughs Grants Scheme. But the badly needed capital development should, in his view, be paid for by all the former GLC boroughs south of the river. It could be argued that this involves setting up a mini-GLC to run one institution. But Dunning argues that the administrative base should be located in the museum, and the conglomeration of boroughs, including the rich outer boroughs, would partially fund, not admi- nister. The solution favoured by many, including the founder's descendant Michael Horniman, is national status under the Office of Arts and Libraries. But with the present policy of cash limits and with the possibility of powerful political appointees as trustees this option could pose its own problems.
Currently the Horniman, like the Gef- frye , continues to face a whole series of cuts as the Government squeezes ILEA over the next two years. As one member of staff put it: 'What kind of a museum will we have to hand over in 1990?' When Mrs Thatcher retires to Dulwich, the Horniman will be her local museum. I leave it to others to ponder the likely 'recreation, instruction and enjoyment' of her twilight years. In the meantime the Horniman's funding .base deserves serious debate. It must be saved and, more than saved, allowed to flourish. In the present climate how will this be done?
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