As part of the national Heritage Open Days, and to celebrate Isle of Wight Day, the Museum of Ryde is opening its doors on Saturday 11th September for only £2 per adult, with under 16s free.
The museum, housed in the basement of the Royal Victoria Arcade, in Union Street, has only recently reopened following lockdown. During that time, volunteers took the opportunity to replace some of the display cabinets, and open up a new Household and Emergency Services area. Many items that were stored away now have space in which they can be displayed.
Donald McGill ‘Saucy Seaside’ Postcard Museum
Apart from hundreds of artefacts and thousands of pictures relating to Ryde and its people, the museum also houses the Donald McGill ‘Saucy Seaside’ Postcard Museum (see below), which attracts people from around the world.
McGill’s cards achieved notoriety in the early 1950s, when around 5,000 were seized by police in Ryde, during a fervorous nationwide clampdown on such ‘obscene’ items. Today, reprints of those same cards can be purchased, and they barely raise an eyebrow!
Support from National Lottery
Trustees of Historic Ryde Society, which runs the two museums, would like to thank the players of the National Lottery for their help in keeping the society solvent through the pandemic.
Without the Lottery’s emergency support, HRS and many other small charities would have gone to the wall.
Opening times
Currently, the Museum is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from 11am to 4pm, as some of the more vulnerable volunteers are not yet feeling ready to return.
Please note: In the interests of everyone’s safety, face coverings are preferred, and visitor numbers may be restricted – this is due to limited natural ventilation.
News shared by Brian on behalf of Historic Ryde Society. Ed
