It was a labour of love which brought Diss Museum into existence …. and its birth was a protracted affair.

 

The project began simply enough when a local jeweller, George Moss, left £1,000 in his will for the setting up of a town museum.

 

This generous bequest, worth about £30,000 these days, was not enough to buy a museum building, staff and equip it.  But it was seed funding, and the challenge was taken up by the town’s Antiquarian Society and the local community.

 

A location was found in the centre of the marketplace, in an old butcher's shop. The address, ‘The Shambles’, identified the location as part of the town's former meat market.  (The butchers’ hooks can still be seen through a glass panel in the museum ceiling).

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At first the old butchers shop was too shabby to be opened to the public, and also full of the exhibits: there was nowhere else to store them. Window displays reminded locals that the tiny single room museum would open its doors one day.

Occasional exhibitions were set up in other local venues. (Diss Museum still goes beyond its walls with walks, parades and dramas involving local acting groups).

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Finally, in 1975, it was able to let the public through its doors.

The Diss Express paid for the renovation and redecoration.  In those early days the newspaper provided a receptionist to deal with obituaries as the paper had no front office of its own.  Her other task was to keep an eye on the exhibits.

The collection continued to grow and in 1993 the museum took over the florist’s shop next door. 

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The museum's first curator, Tim Holt-Wilson later wrote in the Diss Express: "The tiny Shambles building became a place where the town was especially aware of its past. It contained old things to do with Diss: objects on shelves and under glass, snapshots of past life - things to marvel at, to rouse one's curiosity, things loaned or given to the museum to start a collection with, precious as part of the lives of the people who put them there."

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The museum survived in its difficult early years thanks to the efforts of local volunteers: these days it is run by a keen new generation of volunteer stewards and trustees.

It is still only two rooms: small but beautiful. Diss Museum is a registered charity which relies on donations, providing free entry for tourists and visitors alike. Do come and visit us.

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