A project to make the history of Eel Pie Island’s boatyards more accessible and engaging has been awarded a £4,400 grant from Richmond Council’s Civic Pride Fund.

Eel Pie Island Museum, located on Richmond Road in Twickenham, brings the Island’s well-known musical heritage to life. This project will see audio-visual material added to the exhibition to make it more accessible and free up space to include more images of the history of the island.

The Council’s Civic Pride Fund is available to individuals or groups who want to organise a project or event to improve their local area and deliver more for their local communities. Grants of up to £5,000 are available to organisations and £1,000 for individuals.

Cllr John Coombs, Richmond Council spokesperson for Culture said:

“Eel Pie Island is an icon of British musical heritage with many of our most well-known musicians getting their start on the Island. Eel Pie Island museum celebrates this heritage and I am delighted the Civic Pride Fund is able to support the museum in making the wider story of the Island accessible to more people.”

Michele Whitby, Curator at Eel Pie Island Museum said:

“We are delighted to receive the funding from Civic Pride to update and improve the boatyard section of the Eel Pie Island Museum. It will enable us to make this area so much more exciting and engaging helping both locals and visitors from further afield learn about this important, often overlooked, part of our borough’s history.”

Find out more about the Council’s Civic Pride Fund by visiting www.richmond.gov.uk/civic_pride_fund

– from a Richmond Council press release - 19 July 2019