Museum reopens after winter shutdown

Leicester's Newarke Houses museum is reopening after its first winter closure, following the introduction of reduced opening hours last year.

The social history and regimental museum will operate on Saturdays until the end of August and Wednesdays during school holidays.

Audience development manager Mark Simmons said staff had been working behind the scenes to present a new room, looking at the first owner of the building, John Whatton.

"He is a really interesting guy. He refused allegiance to the king, which was a serious deal in those days and luckily they fined him, he refused to pay and then gave the money away to some of the alms houses in the city," said Simmons.

"One of the things we've done is set out the panelled room to recreate what it would have looked like when the house was lived in by John Whatton.

"He was on the side of the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War and Leicester was a radical Parliamentarian city and he was in charge of defending Leicester when the king's army came and captured the town."

The changes to opening hours were brought in last year as part of a shake-up that also affected Belgrave Hall and the Abbey Pumping Station.

The council said it was investing in other areas, including Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, the new museum at Jewry Wall, the King Richard III Visitor Centre and Guildhall.

There will be several themed days at Newarke Houses throughout the summer and visitors can still see some of the old favourite displays such as the cobbled street, military display and huge clothes and chair of Daniel Lambert, renowned for being one of the heaviest men ever recorded.

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