The Stoke on Trent Spitfire now has a permanent home in a beautiful new gallery that was officially unveiled a week ago.
The exhibit was officially opened on September 15th, a day that marks the RAF’s victory in the Battle of Britain.
This brand new expansion to the museum rejuvenates an ever-expanding area of Stoke on Trent and it looks absolutely stunning.
A VIP launch event will be held at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery’s new glass-fronted extension, with guests including Armed Forces dignitaries, veterans, air cadets, local historians, faith leaders and Operation Spitfire members.
On Saturday, September 18th the gallery was officially open to the public and two days later we were invited down for a guided tour of this wonderful new addition to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery.
After a three year long restoration, the plane is now back in its brand new home with this beautiful glass-fronted building oozing natural light around this historic plane.
Lovingly restored in Kent the plane is surrounded by artefacts from Reginald Mitchell, interactive touch screen 4D scans of numerous war artefacts and there are plans in place to bring a flying simulator to the museum in 2022.
This flying simulator will consist of a Spitfire cockpit replica with pedals and stick in front of a virtual screen where guests will learn how to fly a Spitfire for themselves!
Among those who attended the private launch on Wednesday, September 15 was plane engineer Reginald Mitchell’s great-nephew Julian Mitchell, who spoke about the history of the aircraft and the amazing efforts to preserve and restore Spitfire RW388.
The city’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Dr Chandra Kanneganti, and Mr Mitchell officially opened the new gallery.
The 3,800 square foot extension is a sight to behold and with a lighting package, coupled with the huge glass walls will look absolutely stunning at night time.
Next to the exhibit is the museum cafe which has been updated and given a new lease of life.
The exhibition has been funded through a successful bid for £210,000 from a joint funding pot run by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation.
Further funding totalling £47,000 was also raised with help from Operation Spitfire, The Friends of the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, and through visitors’ donations.
Councillor Daniel Jellyman, cabinet member for regeneration, infrastructure and heritage, said:
This world-class attraction is a stunning example of the regeneration happening across Stoke-on-Trent. It celebrates our past, but is also a huge part of our future as we power up Stoke-on-Trent and build back better from the pandemic.
Our heritage-led regeneration is creating a quality environment where visitors, residents and people working here can come and spend time in amazing spaces.
It’s changing the landscape of Stoke-on-Trent and the city centre for the better, providing a massive lift for the area and putting our city right on the international map where it belongs.
Councillor Lorraine Beardmore, cabinet member for culture, leisure and public health, said:
We’re so excited for the opening of the new gallery and we can’t wait for visitors to come and see how special it is. The space has such a wow factor when you walk in and the incredible Spitfire RW388 and its story are truly inspiring.
The restoration experts, designers, construction team, partners including Operation Spitfire and museum staff have all done such an amazing job making this incredible vision a reality.
It’s going to be a first class visitor attraction that can bring so many people to the area, inspire a new generation of engineers and spark immense pride in our local history.
Explore this brand new Stoke on Trent spitfire space with the help of Curator Joseph Perry as he was kind enough to give me (and us) a full in-depth tour of the brand new exhibit.
