About UsThe Musgrave Collection’s first incarnation was is in Heathfield, Sussex. It opened in 1983 and was housed in a single room. In 1989, the collection moved to Patcham Windmill, on the outskirts of Brighton. Then, in 1995, the collection was housed in a building in Royal Parade, on Eastbourne’s seafront, finally moving to its current Seaside Road location in 2003. Further information about the evolution of the museum can be found in the booklet The Musgrave Collection; a Guide to the Collection available at the museum.
George Musgrave took a prominent part in the 2007 BBC documentary What Did You Do In The Great War, Daddy? This film was awarded a four-star rating, and has been repeated six times. It was nominated for the Grierson Award 2008 and came close to winning. Some scenes were shot in the museum. Further information is available at http://griersontrust.org/sl_historical.htm and http://testimonyfilms.com (the production company which made the film.)
George Musgrave has been the subject of TV and radio programmes and has featured in national newspapers. Last year the museum was featured in a four-page spread in international art magazine Artworld.
A central feature of the museum is a series of forty paintings depicting the life of St. Paul. These are the result of thirty years of research and took twenty years to paint.
A display cabinet titled From the Caveman to the Computer illustrates the evolution of written communications from stone-age times to the present.
In 1949 George Musgrave shot a film, The Patient Years, using a clockwork 16mm cine-camera. The film lasted one hour and had a cast of twenty.