Gosport Museum
Hampshire Cultural Trust, 2022

The new museum is a key component of the redevelopment of the Grade II listed building. Alongside a new café, courtyard and community gallery, refurbished learning spaces and updated art gallery, the museum makes Gosport’s rich history and heritage more visible for residents and visitors alike.

The design evolved out of an extensive consultation period and with diverse community groups. The workshops allowed the groups access to the museum’s collections and each group settled on a theme which they developed into an object display.

The themes covered the history of Gosport through the lenses of: transport, sport, healthcare, shopping, national events and entertainment. An introduction of 6 key objects tells the history of the development of Gosport from Roman times through the Napoleonic wars and up to recent motorbike and Osmiroid fountain pen manufacturing.

Each cluster has a related touchable object and a video display giving a short introduction to the theme.  Focussed audio and rumble seat in the original bay window provides an atmospheric audio guide to Gosport produced by local school children.

The clusters use a modular system of acrylic showcases and metal support frames which will allow for future change of displays. They are mounted on a series of low plinths which surround the central tower display and can me moved to allow for access.

The tower display has each wall representing a part of the collection: sail and boat making tools, bottles and jars, including many from Mumby’s, a wall of posters, the oldest dating back to 1801, and two shelves of objects illustrating Gosport’s diverse heritage.