Friends of Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre

The Friends of Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre is a Registered Charity – number 1092339. It is an unincorporated association governed by a Constitution and managed by an annually elected Committee who are also the Charity Trustees.

The current Friends group was set up in 2001 and it’s purpose is to support and assist the Museum and to promote it’s use and enjoyment by the public in co-operation with it’s Trustees and Director.

The Friends support the Museum by making grants from fundraising, donations and legacies given to the Friends. The principal source of fundraising is from the sale of donated items in the Emporium formerly the Fairmile Cafe which was originally located on the A29 between Whiteways Lodge roundabout and Slindon and moved to the Museum in 2002.

We encourage Visitors, Members of the Museum, Volunteers, Staff and Museum Trustees to browse inside the Emporium for that special or unusual something they may not have found elsewhere. With every purchase you make from the Emporium you are helping support the Museum in maintaining it’s exhibits that our Visitors love to see. We welcome the receipt of good quality books and other saleable items that you are happy to donate.

In recent years the Friends have also been running the Pepper Lane Stop Catering Trailer to be found at the top end of the site, selling hot and cold drinks plus a good selection of snacks to temp your palate. Pepper Lane Stop is open between April to October, school holidays, Halloween evening and the three Christmas weekends too.

As an example of the financial support given by the Friends to the Museum, in 2024 we made 36 grants totalling £12,483.72, the largest of which was £4,080.00 to pay repair costs for the Fire Station roof to the smallest at £20 for paint requested by the Wheelwrights.

The different types of fundraising events put on by the Friends include twice yearly quiz nights, Christmas Wreath Making Workshop, talks by people with specialist knowledge such as other Museums and Commonwealth War Graves. We have established regular Spring and Autumn Book Fairs and are working on other upcoming events. We are always looking for other ways to bring the Amberley community together and for innovative ways to fundraise. If you have a specialist area of knowledge or skill and are willing to offer your time please do get in touch with me.

Members, staff and volunteers can join the Friends. There is no joining fee or subscription and all that is needed is to complete a form obtainable from the Emporium, Museum office or from myself. We are always happy to welcome new Friends. If you have any spare time we have availability for volunteering in the Emporium and also during the summer months in our Pepper Lane Stop catering trailer, so if this is something you are interested in please contact me.

Currently the Friends are looking to recruit an Hon. Secretary. There are also vacancies for two new Committee members and two Co-Opted Members so if you would like to become involved in the decision making process and get to know more about how we operate, becoming our Secretary, Committee member or a Co-Opted Member could be just right for you so please contact me to discuss further.

We are so grateful for all donations and legacy monies received from Friends and other followers. Wherever possible we will respect any wishes of the Donor with regard to a specific section/group of the Museum they wish to support. Please think of the Friends when drawing up your Will. Further information on this subject can be obtained from myself.

There are many Friends groups across the Country supporting their local Museums and we are proud to support Amberley Museum. We, as the Friends, feel proud to be the fundraiser, supporter and flag waver for our Museum.

Pauline Merritt – Chair of the Friends of Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre Email: pauline10merritt@yahoo.co.uk