Belleville considering $1M renovation, $1M expansion of Glanmore museum

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by | Published , updated Oct 7, 2024

Glanmore House is a National Historic Site in Belleville, Ontario.

Background

Local architect Thomas Hanley designed Glanmore for wealthy banker J.P.C. Phillips (1842-1912) and his wife Harriet Dougall Phillips (1839-1915) and construction was completed in Glanmore was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1969 in recognition of its exceptional Second Empire architecture.

In 1971, Phillippa Faulkner, the last family member to own the house, sold Glanmore to the City of Belleville and the County of Hastings for use as a museum. The Hastings County Historical Society open Glanmore (Hastings County Museum) to the public in 1973. In 1998, the City assumed sole responsibility for Glanmore, which is now operated by Museum Services within the Community Services Department.

Museum Services has three collections, consisting of approximately 30,000+ artifacts.

Timeline

September 23, 2024 – Council directs staff to evaluate museum storage needs, a new fire suppression system at Glanmore, and potential expansion of Belleville Library to accommodate a future Belleville Museum

June 2024 – Belleville Museum Needs Feasibility Study recommends expanding storage space, expanding Belleville Library to create a second heritage museum and adding a fire suppression system to Glanmore House

The report recommends that Glanmore House should no longer attempt to function as both a historic house and a community museum. It also confirms that Glanmore has insufficient and inadequate visitor service, exhibition, programming, collection storage and staff space, and is unable to properly ensure the collection and preservation of heritage and historical materials for future generations.

Estimated project costs

September 2023 – Study project awarded to Lord Cultural Resources (Lord), an Ontario based and highly respected international consulting firm

April 6, 2023 – Council allocates $65,000 for a Feasibility Study for Addressing Museum Needs in the 2023 Operating Budget

Study to access current facilities, programs, and collections at Glanmore and to make recommendations to address the City of Belleville’s museum needs.

Sources

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