Portsmouth Museums & Records Society

We are the 'Friends' group supporting Portsmouth Museums and Records Service.

Above: Friends assisting museum staff in the Searchroom

The Society plays an active and important role in supporting museums and archives in Portsmouth both practically and financially. We are a registered charity furthering the work of the:

City Museum
Portsmouth Archives (Records Office and Searchroom)
D–Day Museum
Eastney Beam Engine House
Southsea Castle
Charles Dickens’ Birthplace
Cumberland House Natural History Museum
Square and Round Towers

These sites house outstanding historical collections located in the heart of the city. They are looked after by people who are passionate and dedicated to their work. These people want to share the very best of local art, culture and history but to do this we need your help.

With our members’ help we have achieved:
 

• Professional cataloguing to enable greater access to collections such as the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection Lancelyn Green Bequest.
• Purchased video microscopes to enrich the learning experience at Cumberland House.
• Provided display screens for award winning exhibitions.
• Given five years assistance to the Service's Oral History project enabling the professional preservation of irreplaceable Portsmouth voices.
• Continued backing for ‘Discovering D-Day’, an innovative project encouraging young people aged 8–18 to explore the WWII collections through the use of modern technology.
• Providing part funding for the ‘In Stitches’ project which enabled an artist in residence to explore and increase access to the magnificent Overlord Embroidery.
• Paid for the much needed preservation of vulnerable, unique objects and documents.

Above: Members of the Friends help at events such as Square Tower open days.

Benefits of membership of the Society:
 

• Free entry to all the museums in the Museums & Records Service.
• Active programme of activities including monthly talks (click here for more information. These meetings take place at the D-Day Museum).
• A free newsletter issued three times per year.
• 10% discount in the museum shops.
• Opportunities to volunteer in many ways to support the services.
• Opportunities to meet like minded people.
• The chance to play your part in the preservation of Portsmouth’s heritage.

Membership rates:

Family £18
Individual £9
Senior Citizen £8
Full time student £8

Click here for an application form to join the Friends.
 

Other ways of support:

Volunteering – Members are always welcome as volunteers to assist with a variety of activities in the museums and archives.

Legacies - You may feel that you would like to support us but have other priorities at the moment, in which case a legacy gift is an opportunity to make a lasting contribution with no immediate financial outlay.

Donations – monetary donations are always welcome and help enormously to further the work of the Society.

To find out more

Click here to see a copy of our leaflet.

Contact us by email:
Secretary: pmrssec [ at ] yahoo.co.uk
Membership Secretary: membership [ at ] pmrs.org.uk