Carpet museum closure ‘like a bereavement’

This article as first published by BBC News.

The Museum of Carpet, in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, has operated for 13 years and houses an extensive collection of objects, archives, books and photographs relating to 300 years of carpet history.

Geoffrey Gilbert, chair of the Carpet Museum Trust announced the closure on Tuesday and said revenue could no longer match the museum’s running costs.

“Certainly, in the last four or five years we have really struggled and we’re about £30,000 to £50,000 short,” he said.

“Basically, the business model we have for keeping the museum going produces a demand on us in terms of what would be staff, utilities and general running costs for the building.

“It comes to about £100,000 for the year but generating income to match that has been very difficult over the years.”