Chichester’s Novium Museum confirms reopening date

The award-winning museum, which has been closed since March in response to the coronavirus pandemic, will be opening its doors again with the revised opening hours of Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-4pm.

A number of social distancing and safety measures have been introduced to keep visitors and staff safe while in the museum. These include:

· Free, pre-booked visitor slots to manage numbers in the museum galleries;

· One-way circulation through the museum, with clear floor signage;

· The availability of hand sanitiser at the entrance and throughout the museum; and,

· Regular deep cleaning of the building.

The museum has also announced that the current headline exhibition, Mystery Warrior: The North Bersted Man, which was due to end on September 26 2020, has been extended and will run until April 17 2021.

Arguably the most elaborately equipped warrior grave ever found in England, archaeologists believe the Mystery Warrior was a refugee French Gallic fighter who fled Julius Caesar's Roman army as it swept across continental Europe around 50BC. The museum has received fantastic reviews from visitors who were able to view the exhibition prior to lockdown.

Councillor Roy Briscoe, Cabinet Member for Community Services and Culture at Chichester District Council, said: “We are really excited to welcome visitors back to The Novium Museum.

“The team have been working really hard to ensure that our visitor experience is a safe and enjoyable one, and we are delighted to be able to extend the run of our Mystery Warrior exhibition to enable as many people as possible to visit.

“Cultural venues play a vital part in a thriving city or town centre and can be tremendously beneficial to our wellbeing during these challenging times. The team have done a brilliant job connecting us virtually with our heritage over the last few months, but it will be great to be able to visit the museum in person once again.”