Diss Museum hunts for history hounds to join the team
Diss Museum is calling on more volunteers to help it give its increase in visitors a taste of the town’s history.
The Market Place museum is looking to add at least another six people to its team.
Ann Kent, museum volunteer, committee member and the site’s publicist, said the need for more help came after the museum doubled its opening times since March.
“Before Covid, we were open from Monday to Saturday but, after the pandemic, everything was in a state of recovery, so we limited our opening times,” she said.
“Now, though, we are getting back to pre-pandemic opening times and that is putting extra demands on our existing volunteers, so we could definitely do with more help.”
Mrs Kent said the museum was also seeing an increase of people visiting from further afield and, with Diss not having a tourism office, the museum was having to provide information on the town.
What they find is a museum with an eclectic mix of items, including the death mask of revolutionary author Thomas Paine, who lived and worked as a staymaker in the town, and a homemade 1912 wedding dress, made for a servant girl who married a railway clerk.
The early 19th century building also has tales of its own past, having been used as a butcher’s shop until the 1960s, then a flower and vegetable store, before opening as a museum in 1993.
“We still have some of the butcher’s hooks, which can be seen through a skylight in the museum, so it really is a charming building,” she said. “The building may only have two rooms but it really is a tardis of artefacts.
“Our main display is about Diss cinema, which closed 50 years ago. This draws a lot of people into the town as you do not have to live in Diss to reminisce about the old cinemas.”
Mrs Kent said a current initiative was aimed at trying to attract more children into the museum.
Potential volunteers should have a love of history and be able to interact with people of all ages. Anyone interested should leave their contact details with a steward.