The Vale & Downland Museum (Wantage) is a charity, registration number 1126995, and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England, number 067600294. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The directors, as charity trustees, have responsibility for controlling and safeguarding the museum and its property and funds. Directors are either nominated or co-opted to the Museum Board.
As a charity, we are fully committed to transparency in our decision-making processes, how we work and the programmes and services we provide.
We publish edited minutes of the meetings of the Board of Trustees. Here is a link to our Minutes.
Responsible for office management, museum staff and volunteers.
Responsible for the museum’s collection, main gallery exhibitions and historical changing exhibitions.
curator@valeanddownlandmuseum.org.uk
Responsible for the museum’s collection, main gallery exhibitions and historical changing exhibitions, alongside the Museum Curator.
assistantcurator@valeanddownlandmuseum.org.uk
Responsible for the educational programme.
Iain has lived in Wantage since 1992 and recently retired after a career as research scientist and senior manager with the UK Research Councils. Iain was nominated as a trustee by Wantage Town Council to which he was elected in 2019. He has two grown up children who were mostly educated in Wantage and he is a past parent governor at King Alfred’s Academy. Iain is a regular volunteer worker at Didcot Railway Centre and participates regularly in Wantage Café Scientifique.
Iain has a BSc in Biological Sciences and a PhD in Virology.
He is interested in railways and transport, science and the environment, and current affairs and history. His hobbies include Scottish country dancing, railway modelling, gardening, DIY and golf.
Geoffrey was co-opted to the Board in October 2015. He has had a long interest in and involvement with museums. He was a founder Trustee of the Ragged School Museum in the East End of London, and its Honorary Treasurer for some 13 years. He was also active in the Friends of the Museum of London and part of an advisory panel to the Museum. History in general and museums in particular are great interests of his.
Graham Parker joined the Board in August 2015. He has lived in Wantage since 1974 and on retirement in 2003 from the insurance industry joined the museum as a part time technician. Has since been an active volunteer in the backroom running of the museum. He is currently the Membership Secretary for the Friends of the Vale and Downland Museum, Chairman of the German Twinning Association and Treasurer of East Challow PCC, and an active member of the Letcombe Brook Project. He was nominated to the Board by the Friends.
Jenny joined the board in 2019 and she is a Vale of White Horse District Councillor.
Julia joined the board in 2015 and was Chairman until May 2019. She was a Wantage Town councillor for 14 years and a Vale District Councillor for 8 years, and from 2004 to 2007 she held the office of Wantage Town Mayor. She has lived in Wantage since 1985 and worked at the Harwell Campus for almost 32 years. She ran the Wantage Summer for 14 years, has been a Museum volunteer and in June 2019 was co-opted as a Trustee onto the Letcombe Brook Project. Her hobbies include classical singing, gardening, cooking and exploring the diversity of the British countryside.
Ron is the Grove Parish Council representative on the museum board.
