A large piece of Swanage history has gone on public display in Swanage Museum, a year after being rescued following a hugely successful crowdfunding appeal.
More than £900 was raised by locals in September 2023 to buy a Victorian cast iron turnstile that was originally from Swanage Pier after it was spotted up for sale in a high street antique shop.
The turnstile is missing a brass counter to keep track of visitor numbers, but now looks once again like it did in Victorian times
Repainted in its original royal blue
Now the heritage artefact has gone on display at the town’s museum after restoration work, and everyone who contributed to the rescue fund is invited to see it over the next six weeks before the museum closes for winter on Thursday 31st October 2024.
The turnstile has gone through shot blasting at a Dorset foundry to remove the faded paint, rust and corrosion on the late Victorian turnstile, and was repainted in original royal blue by Swanage Museum collections manager Roger Patrick.
By spring 2025 when the museum reopens, it is hoped that lettering on the antique, giving information on the Manchester engineers which made the turnstile, can be picked out in gold paint and that it can be at the centre of a new pictorial display.
The hunt is still on for a brass counter mechanism to keep track of the number of visitors to the pier which should be set in the top, but which was missing.
The turnstile was in poor condition when it was spotted for sale in Sixtyone in autumn 2023
Happiest of endings
It is the happiest of endings for Swanage after collectors from Hereford were set to swoop on the turnstile after it went up for sale in Swanage shop Sixtyone, having been released by Swanage Pier.
Swanage Museum collections manager John Patrick said:
“There was huge indignation when it was spotted for sale by Rob Sutton, and Sarah Brookes then set up a crowdfunder appeal for £900 to buy the turnstile for Swanage Museum – and the target was beaten within three days.
“It was then placed in storage on the town’s industrial estate and stayed there for a while until I decided it was time to get something done and asked my son, Roger, to help.
“He took it to Poole to have it shot blasted, but unfortunately it would have been another three months before they could respray it, so he brought it back to Swanage and did the work himself.
“Three weeks ago the turnstile came down here to the museum courtesy of Swanage Disabled Club on the back of one of their minibuses with a tail lift.”
Museum collections manager John Patrick has installed the turnstile in pride of place
“Have a look at what you have achieved”
John added:
“Next year we hope to have the gold lettering restored and a proper pictorial display to go with it, but it was a bit close to the end of our season to get one done for this year.
“But we do stay open until the end of October, so anyone who helped pay for it will be very welcome to come and have a look at what you have all achieved.
“It is very nice to think that an important piece of local history is back in public ownership – it was amazing that so many people helped to crowdfund its purchase for the museum, and that they did it so quickly.
“We don’t have a purchase budget for something of this value, so it could easily have been lost to the town.”
The entrance to Swanage Pier now is not so different from in its heyday
Sale was part of essential match funding
It is understood that the turnstile was removed from Swanage Pier many years ago, when the kiosks were being refurbished to widen the entrance road for vehicles.
It was left in storage until during a fundraising push, the pier was offered a donation in return for the turnstile which was no longer in use.
The money went towards saving the pier from collapsing and was part of the essential match funding in order to secure the grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the renovation of the pier.
Swanage Pier entrance at the turn of the 20th Century shows a turnstile on the far left
History Centre is getting more visitors
It has been a good season for the museum despite the relatively poor summer weather – or perhaps because of it, with many families looking for entertainment under cover.
But with Swanage History Centre – the museum’s research and storage facility on the Victoria Avenue industrial estate – amassing an ever growing collection of photos and historical records, there is a growing desire by some to move Swanage Museum to larger premises.
More visitors than ever before are now turning up at the history centre as word spreads about it, including some recent tourists from New Zealand who were able to fill in all the gaps in their family history within half an hour thanks to the collections there.
Swanage Information Centre frequently sends people to the history centre to look at old photographs, or to find out more about the history of their houses.
Silver medals for Mowlem’s Shire horses
John Patrick said:
“We have a huge archive of old council documents and electoral registers and for houses up to about 130 years we can usually give a fairly comprehensive history. Older houses can be done too, they just tend to take longer.
“We have a massive collection of old, original deeds going back to the early 1700s, a really comprehensive collection, and yet we are still seeing new stuff every week.
“We were recently donated some early ledgers from the Mowlem company going back to 1839, in the early days of the company, which included a couple of silver medals for Mowlem’s Shire horses which they had won in a show.
“That was from someone who once worked for Mowlem and rescued the articles when the company was taken over by Carillion in 2006, and basically stopped them going into a skip.”
Swanage Museum on the seafront – but some of the volunteers would love to have more space
Further information
- Step back in time on the Swanage Museum and Heritage Centre website
