We are proud to announce that we have received a 2017 Certificate of Excellence from the worldwide travel website TripAdvisor.   The Centre has been making a great effort to attract visitors from outside the Maidenhead area, especially some of the huge number of tourists who already come to Windsor, so the reviews that visitors post on TripAdvisor are really valuable to us.  At the same time, figures released by Tourism South East show that Maidenhead Heritage Centre attracted 8% more visitors  in 2016 than in 2015 figure, against an average for other museums and venues in the region of just 2%.  The TripAdvisor award is a tribute to our wonderful volunteer team who make people so welcome and help them get the most from their visit.

Please come and see for yourself!

 

 

A special 60th anniversary talk at the Heritage Centre

Thursday July 13th 2017 at 7.30pm

Did you know that Maidenhead was home to the Vanwall racing team, started by Tony Vandervell who was fed up with “those bloody red cars” (Ferrari) always winning Grand Prix races.  60 years ago, at the height of Vanwall’s success, local boy Stirling Moss became the first British driver to win the British Grand Prix driving a British car.  Vanwall enthusiast Robert Cooper tells the Vanwall story of triumph and tragedy in this special anniversary lecture.  Tickets £8 in aid of Heritage Centre funds.  Advance booking recommended 01628 780555.

From June 16th to July 20th we have a display in the temporary Friends of Maidenhead shop opposite H&M in the Nicholson Shopping Centre.  The display includes around 30 photos of “Maidenhead Past” as well as information leaflets about the Heritage Centre and all our activities.  The Friends of Maidenhead shop is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm.  See you there!

On Thursday 6th April, a superb 1:12 scale model of one of the first railway engines on Brunel’s Great Western Railway was installed as part of the railway display in our Baylis Gallery.  The highly detailed model has been loaned by the Friends of Swindon Railway Museum and will greatly enhance our display about the railway.  In the proposed new Heritage Centre, transport will be the major theme.  Within that theme, Brunel’s work (including the Sounding Arch railway bridge) will start the story, which will be brought right up to date with the Crossrail project, due to open in 2019.  In the meantime railway enthusiasts are invited to come and admire our Iron Duke model.

Photos show Curator Nick Forder admiring the model of Iron Duke. The second shot shows the excellent detail on the model.  Our 1:72 scale model of Brunel’s Sounding Arch railway bridge is visible in the background.  Any volunteers for polishing the brass?