In February, Fiona MacCarthy highlighted the plight of Walthamstow's William Morris Gallery, which is threatened with closure. In order to save money, Waltham Forest Borough Council has approved a decision to limit access and cut staff, and proposed to take the museum's artefacts to schools rather than promote school visits to this completely unique gallery. The news caused alarm among Morris fans who fear that this is the first step towards the museum's inevitable closure and the dispersal of the treasured collection.
Supporters now have just two weeks to reverse the decision before it is finalised and the planned cuts take effect later in the year. One Walthamstow-based supporter, Katharine Green, has taken the issue into her own hands, launching an online campaign to save the museum. Almost 4,000 people have signed the petition so far and hundreds turned up for a protest held at the museum in March. It seems Morris's remarkable collection is not the only one for the chop either - across the country, councils are turning their backs on local museums with London's Wandsworth museum next in line and Oldham Art Gallery facing a similar fate. If you would like to get involved to save William Morris's historic collection, you can sign the petition here.
