A performer who appeared in the BBC’s Doctor Who has been included in a fresh exhibition following the reopening of a museum in an Oxfordshire town.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, known for her roles in the enduring science fiction programme and in features such as Belle and Beyond the Lights, returned to her place of birth, Witney, to champion the local museum.
During a break from promoting her recent Sky action thriller Fuze, she recounted memories of growing up in the town for the Voices of Witney exhibition and was photographed outside her former school Henry Box.
The display, which features stories from individuals associated with the Oxfordshire town—including Mbatha-Raw and television personality Steve Fletcher from Repair Shop—serves as a listening station within the recently refurbished Witney and District Museum on the High Street.
Accounts of other notable residents are also featured, including Isabelle Spencer, who helped establish Witney Dramatic Society, and Arthur Titherington, a local photographer who spent time as a Japanese prisoner of war and led calls for compensation.
The three-decade-old cultural venue welcomed visitors again on Wednesday, April 8, following its seasonal closure during which the upper-floor Bartlett-Taylor Gallery underwent improvements featuring wooden display cabinets modelled on the traditional tenter frames used in Witney’s historic blanket-making industry.
Approximately two years previously, the institution received a £198,096 award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support its transformation and guarantee appropriate long-term preservation of its collections.
The independent establishment holds full accreditation and charitable status, operating entirely through volunteer efforts while seeking to educate guests about the people and trades that have shaped the community.
Volunteer collections manager Beverley Sherwood noted that the National Lottery funding is enabling Witney and District Museum to carry out vital cataloguing, conservation and inventory tasks.
The initiative has received backing from dedicated collections volunteers who play a significant role in safeguarding the town’s historical heritage.
The blanket industry collection takes prominence in the reopened venue, alongside new exhibitions highlighting notable local campaigns such as the push to close Hillgrove Cat Farm in the late 1990s.
Healthcare evolution in Witney is explored across various periods, covering everything from traditional street-level chemists to the modern Abbott facility, where more than 1,000 people work in diabetes care.
The management committee chair expressed deep gratitude for the lottery’s support.
David How stated that the team is delighted to reveal fresh, engaging new presentations of Witney’s heritage treasures.
The museum has expanded its volunteer base and been touched by the dedication everyone has shown.
The institution anticipates a bright future for the town’s historical legacy.
Witney and District Museum invites visitors Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm, until October.