# Norfolk Museums Service
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{{Short description|Council museums authority in Norfolk, UK}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Norfolk Museums Service
| formation = {{start date and age|1974}}
| logo = Norfolk Museums Service logo.jpg
| purpose = Heritage and conservation
| headquarters = [Shirehall, Norwich](/source/Shirehall%2C_Norwich)
| leader_title = Head of service
| leader_name = Steve Miller
| website = {{URL|https://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/}}
}}
'''Norfolk Museums Service''' ('''NMS'''), formerly '''Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service''' ('''NMAS'''),[{{Cite journal |last=Merriman |first=Nick |date=2008-03-01 |title=Museum collections and sustainability |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09548960801920278 |journal=Cultural Trends |language=en |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=3–21 |doi=10.1080/09548960801920278 |issn=0954-8963|url-access=subscription }}] is a county-wide [museum](/source/museum)s service that presides over ten museums in [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk), operated by [Norfolk County Council](/source/Norfolk_County_Council) and headed by the council's Director of Culture and Heritage, Steve Miller.[{{Cite news |date=2014-08-27 |title=Norfolk Museums Service defends security record despite continuing thefts |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-28956154 |access-date=2023-09-10}}] It notably runs [Norwich Castle Museum](/source/Norwich_Castle), [Strangers' Hall](/source/Strangers'_Hall), and the [Time and Tide Museum](/source/Time_and_Tide_Museum), and also operates a study centre at [Shirehall](/source/Shirehall%2C_Norwich).
== History ==
Norfolk Museums Service came into existence in 1974. Norfolk's [County Council](/source/Norfolk_County_Council) and its [district councils](/source/Non-metropolitan_district) agreed to delegate their authority for museums to a Joint Museums Committee and to establish a county-wide museums service.[{{Cite web |last= |date=2000-03-01 |title=Norfolk Museums Service |url=https://archaeology.co.uk/join-in/curators/norfolk-landscape-archaeology-norfolk-museums-a-arch-service.htm |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=[Current Archaeology](/source/Current_Archaeology) |language=en-US}}]
In 2011, it was proposed by [Conservatives](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) in the County Council that the service should be given to a [charitable trust](/source/charitable_trust) in order to save £160,000 from the council's budget, as the organisation was under pressure to save £650,000 in four years.[{{Cite news |date=2011-07-07 |title=Norfolk's museums could be funded by charitable trust |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-14051103 |access-date=2023-09-10}}][{{Cite web |last=Grimmer |first=Dan |date=2012-01-02 |title=Controversy over Norfolk museum shake-up plans |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/lifestyle/21125747.controversy-norfolk-museum-shake-up-plans/ |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=Eastern Daily Press |language=en}}] Councillors voted not to go ahead with the plan in January 2012, with leader of the [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) group George Nobbs particularly opposing the measure.[{{Cite news |date=2012-01-14 |title=Norfolk museums charitable trust plan rejected by councillors |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-16553450 |access-date=2023-09-10}}]
In June 2013, Steve Miller, chief executive of the [Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust](/source/Ironbridge_Gorge_Museum_Trust) and member of the European Cultural Parliament, became the new head of the NMS, after Vanessa Trevelyan retired from the position in March.[{{Cite web |last=Stephens |first=Simon |date=2013-03-19 |title=Steve Miller to head Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service |url=https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2013/03/19032013-steve-miller-to-head-norfolk-museums-and-archaeology-service/ |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=[Museums Association](/source/Museums_Association) |language=en-US}}] Robin Hanley controlled the service in the interim.[{{Cite web |last=Leggett |first=Victoria |date=2013-03-14 |title=New boss for Norfolk museums services appointed |url=https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/lifestyle/22532555.new-boss-norfolk-museums-services-appointed/ |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=Norwich Evening News |language=en}}]
Following the attempted theft of a [rhino](/source/Rhinoceros) horn from [Norwich Castle](/source/Norwich_Castle) in 2012 and a successful theft of items associated with [Admiral Lord Nelson](/source/Horatio_Nelson%2C_1st_Viscount_Nelson) valued at £36,800 five days later, as well as six more items stolen between March 2012 and December 2013, councillors criticised the NMS for a lack of security. A security review was held at the service's ten museums, leading to an extension of CCTV coverage and alarm systems in some of the museums.[{{Cite news |date=2018-04-26 |title=Norfolk museums celebrate record visitor numbers |work=[ITV News](/source/ITV_News) |url=https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2018-04-26/norfolk-museums-celebrate-record-visitor-numbers |access-date=2023-09-11}}]
In 2022, the decreased budget available to the NMS, which was cited to be a result of the impact of the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic), reduced public funding and the prospect of an [Arts Council](/source/Arts_Council_England) grant cut, led to expectations that the service would overspend by £850,000, 40% of its approved budget, that year, and that it would also reduce its opening hours.[{{Cite news |date=2022-11-03 |title=Norfolk Museums: Squeezed budgets threaten museums' opening hours |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-63492429 |access-date=2023-09-10}}] Two days later, the NMS was awarded £4.1 million from the Arts Council.[{{Cite web |date=2022-11-05 |title=Arts Council funding: Cultural groups in East of England get £71m |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0vly7e7lwvo |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}]
== Museums ==
The NMS operates 10 different museums around Norfolk, three of which are in [Norwich](/source/Norwich) and three in [Great Yarmouth](/source/Great_Yarmouth):