The latest GLIAS newsletter draws attention to the closure of the Livesey Museum in Southwark. This is housed in a library given to what was then Camberwell Council by Sir George Livesey. Livesey is, of course, of great interest to Greenwich historians since he built the great East Greenwich gasworks - his dream of a totally efficient gas works which would embody his ideas of partnership between management, customers and workforce. His ghost has even been said to haunt the Millennium Dome. In the back of the Livesey Museum is a wonderful statue of Sir George - by Pomfrey, who sculpted the statue of Victoria in Woolwich Town Hall. Does anyone know what will become of it?
photo R.J.M.Carr
4 comments:
...or for that matter, what will become of all the other material. Is it still open now, or has it already closed? I've never been, and I feel I ought to make the effort...
I'm one of the Friends of the Livesey Museum for Children. We were constituted last month to propose to manage the Museum independently. The Council voted to close it on 20th Feb and by 29th Feb its doors were already locked, so you have missed that boat. However, Southwark have just admitted that they don't own the building outright (as they were planning to sell it) and that they did breach the conditions of their trust as outlined in Livesey's 1890indentures. So they are working with the Charity Commission to develop a scheme for it. We are forming a business plan to run it. For more see http://liveseyfriends.wordpress.com
George Livesey was an interesting complex man -bit of a maverick. He changed much of the way public utilities were(and are) managed, changed the gas industry, put forward revolutionary ideas about property- and was a major player in temperence movement.He deserves to be better known.
'To aid the publication of...'
'To hold a watching brief...'
'Issues which might arise...'
Any chance you could speak more plain - know wot I mean?
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