The trustees of Honiton Museum are celebrating after receiving a generous donation from the Honiton Forward community group.

A total of £365 was handed over following a fundraising drive to purchase a historic town boundary sign for the museum.

The group had tried to buy the historic artefact during a sale at Chilcotts Auctioneers and Valuers in Silver Street, Honiton but were outbid.

Luckily, the person who purchased the sign donated it back to the museum anyway, leaving the cash Honiton Forward had raised still in the kitty!

Duncan Sheridan-Shaw, from the group, said: “We contacted the people who had donated to the fund and they agreed the money should still go to the museum to help them get through this rotten pandemic.”

Explaining the ambitions of Honiton Forward, Duncan said: “We are a community initiative and movement that is seeking a new and vibrant way to promote our community, its shops, businesses and all the groups and people that call Honiton home.

He added: “As a Honiton chap through and through, I keep an eye on what’s going on in town and think of new ways of connecting groups and people. So when I saw a piece on Facebook about Chilcott’s auctioning off a historic town boundary sign, I thought that this would and should remain in the community and the museum would be a great place to house it.

“With the aid of my friends at Honiton Forward we put out a plea for donations on social media and raised a good few quid.”

Margaret Lewis of Honiton Museum said: “We haven’t discussed what to do with the donation yet, but rest assured it will be put to good use.

“We have only been able to open the museum five times this season, so the income has drastically reduced and all the events and booked visits had to be cancelled.

“November 2021 is the 75th anniversary of the museum opening in Honiton and our mission is to preserve the past for the future.

“The Trustees of Allhallows Museum would like to thank the members of Honiton Forward for their kind donation. Their generosity is much appreciated.”

The museum gift shop will open on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm