NEW hope has emerged to save a mothballed museum and keep the memory of Worcester's past alive.

The Museum of Local Life was closed in April and all its exhibits left to gather dust because of budget cuts at Worcester City Council.

But now, local philanthropists have proposed setting up a trust to re-open and revamp the museum, formerly called Tudor House, Friar Street, and build a new lecture theatre.

John Bennett, one of those behind the Worcester Heritage and Amenity Trust (WHAT), said the trust would have access to grants and funding unavailable to the city council as a statutory authority.

Mr Bennett, Worcester businessman and farmer, said it was vital for civic pride to preserve the museum.

"Worcester has a great industrial past. Once one of the country's most important clothmakers it has evolved, through manufacturing, to become the modern commercial success we know," he said.

"Clocks, cans, Cadbury and the camshaft all form a rich part of our past and we want to preserve Tudor House for the benefit of the city and use it to show off our industrial heritage."

The fate of the plan lies in the number of people who come forward to help.

Mr Bennett estimates 100 volunteers will be needed to set up the museum and keep it running.

WHAT hopes to revamp the museum including a lecture theatre behind Tudor House, initially in temporary cabins but later in a new building.

"Together with my colleagues I have met with the WHAT group to discuss their ideas for the Tudor House museum," said council leader, Stephen Inman.

"We have agreed that they can present their final proposals to a formal meeting of the cabinet next month."

WHAT now has until the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, November 25, to prepare a business plan.

"I would welcome any development which would keep Tudor House as a publicly accessible building which benefits the building," said David Thorpe, chairman of the Friends of Worcester Museums and Art Gallery.

"However, I am disappointed it will shut as a city operated museum."

Anyone who wants to volunteer to help save the Museum of Local Life should contact 01905 726311.

The Museum of Local Life is housed in Tudor House, a Grade II listed, 16th Century, timber framed building.

It was originally built as three separate buildings and, during its lifetime, it has been the Cross Keys pub, a wealthy merchant's house and a fish and chip shop.

The Museum of Local Life houses 1,000 objects from the 19th and 20th Centuries, covering 2,400ft of shelf space.

Its layout includes:

An old fashioned pub complete with tables.

A kitchen with equipment from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

A late 19th Century school room featuring teacher and pupil desks and Victorian posters.

An early 20th Century office complete with mannequins, typewriters, books and ledgers.

An exhibition of toys.

A Worcester at War exhibition.

A history of bathrooms.

The museum also has a vast number of items from the second half of the 20th Century, donated by Worcester people, in storage.

1921 - Worcester City Council buys Tudor House which is being used as a clinic for school children.

November 1967 - Planning approval is granted to transform Tudor House into a museum dedicated to Worcester's folk life and social history.

February 1969 - Lack of money in the council's budget delays setting up the museum.

January 1970 - An £8,250 scheme to convert Tudor House into a museum is approved by the city council.

August 1971 - The Tudor House Folk Museum opens.

April 1984 - cracks appear in the building.

February 1993 - entrance fees are introduced and visitor figures suffer.

May 1995 - Tudor House is officially re-named as the Museum of Local Life

n April 1998 - entrance fees to the museum are scrapped and visitor numbers increase.

Christmas 2001 - Museum closes for extensive refurbishments.

November 2002 - Museum is threatened with closure and its artefacts planned to be moved to The Commandery as part of city council budget cuts.

The council decides not to sell the building but to "mothball" the museum for a year.

December 2002 - A 1,000 signature petition is presented to the then Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Robert Rowden, calling for the museum to be spared.

March 2003 - The museum is closed and faces an uncertain future.