Becconsall Logo. Tall orange capital letters read BECCONSALL. The O takes up only 2/3rd of the height of the line with an underline underneath. The last L is inside/ on top of the previous L. Underneath this, also in orange capitals, but smaller, reads LANCASHIRE'S LIVING MUSEUM & HERITAGE PARK'. The logo is within a rectangle of the same orange.
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Get Involved

and aid our mission.

Our volunteers are at the heart of what we do; it simply wouldn’t be possible without them.

Whatever your interest or requirements, we want everyone to have a chance to get involved. Therefore, if you have a passion for history, rural crafts, industrial heritage, nature conservation, gardening, or just enjoy being with like-minded people, come and help us develop and nurture our beautiful site.

 

Why Volunteer?

So we get your brilliant help and support but what’s in it for you?

  • Meeting new people.
  • Learning new skills and trying something new.
  • Gaining work experience.
  • Sharing your own experience and knowledge.
  • Exercising your mind and body.
  • Subscription to an exclusive volunteers newsletter

But let’s see what the volunteers themselves say:

We’re currently in the last push to be ready to throw open our doors which means its all hands on deck! This involves clearing vegetation, improving and creating paths with signage, establishing picnic sites, as well as small-scale construction and refurbishment work. Volunteers are also stuck into organising activities and planning events to welcome our new visitors.

As Becconsall continues to develop, we’ll find new roles and ways for you to get involved. Why not let us know what you fancy now anyway then you get first dibs when we’re ready for you? You could even help design and develop the role itself.

Two volunteers in hi-vis yellow jackets have their back to the camera. They face a brown bush taller than then with chain saws.

Park Maintenance & Caretaking

Ever thought of yourself as the next Monty Don? We love all things green spaces and mother nature but it means we get a lot of weeds and paths to refind! Help us turn our green space into a green haven – creating wildlife habitats, paths, picnic sites, tree-planting and more. We’re also going to need some builders and joiners willing to help get more buildings started and those who know how to help nurse our old machinery back to life!

Front of House & Visitor Services

As the site opens, volunteers will be central to helping to welcome and inspire our visitors as they explore.

  • Helping out in Becconsall’s shop and café.
  • Guiding, which could include providing tours of the site based on different themes such as wildlife and the natural environment or the industrial heritage.
  • Demonstrations and re-enactments, which could include demonstrating a particular exhibit or taking part in a re-enactment activity.
  • Events delivery, which could involve planning and setting up exhibits, marshalling, answering visitor enquiries or providing refreshments to exhibitors.

Learning & Education

We’re really excited about our current work developing school workshops, school visits and family activities. Help us work out what works best! To be involved in delivery when we’re ready will require a DBS check.

Contribute Your Specialist Skills

We would love to hear from you if you have particular skills linked to our themes and site! We want to learn from your knowledge, be that sharing your experiences, your research into our topics or showcase your skills in a traditional craft. These aspects will likely reflect who signs up to help but we have dreams of looking after animals, farming, fishing, engineering, transport (including boats, rail and road vehicles – horse-drawn and motor vehicles and bicycles), trades such as joinery, plumbing and printing, old shops and public services including education, health care, water supply, energy and communications.

How do I get involved?

We would love you to volunteer! You can give as much time as you like – this could be a few hours, a day per month or more. We want to make it as easy as possible to get you involved, so we’ve simplified our process.

  1. Fill in the form with just some key details
  2. Have a chat! You’ll have an informal discussion with one of our team (on the phone or video call) so we can find out more about what you want to do, what you’d love to learn and anything we can do to make it easier (such as access needs).
  3. The staff member will help you fill out our longer form. This one needs a reference, emergency contracts and any health concerns we should know about to ensure all our volunteers are safe as houses. We’ll send you a copy to check so don’t worry!
  4.  We’ll organise your first visit to site and someone’s there to show you around and welcome you to the volunteering team!

Anyone over the age of 16 can apply to volunteer. If you are under 18, you will need permission from a parent or guardian.

If you want to support us in other ways, why not join our Friends of Becconsall?

Which areas would you like to get involved in? Select all that apply.
For example, the best time to get in touch, any access needs, previous experience, specific skills etc.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Friends of Becconsall

We will be starting a Friends of Becconsall organisation to enable people to support the living museum’s activities and be connected to the cultural heritage of the area. This group will take a more organisational role – booking trips to see other sites and partners, organising history talks, and playing a large role in fundraising. Due to this there will be a small donation required to sign up for this of £5 – you have to give a bit to convince others to do so too after all!

You’re welcome to volunteer too but only if you fancy!

If you think you would be interested in joining the Friends,  let us know by using our Contact Form!

Image of over a dozen people sat watching a folk musician singing acapella with a guitar at his side.

Donations

In common with many other living museums and heritage parks, Becconsall is independently operated, which means we receive no regular funding from government or local authorities. We derive most of our income from our supporters – people like you.

To enable us to safeguard the site, develop the heritage features and operate, we need to continue to generate income. A large proportion of this income will come from admission charges and some from subscriptions to our Friends organisation, but we also rely heavily on donations.

By donating today, you can help Becconsall become a thriving, special place. Every Pound will help Becconsall safeguard heritage in a way that provides ongoing benefit for communities in Lancashire and the North West. Donating as much as you are able, even just a few pounds, is extremely important to us and is very generous of you.

DONATE NOW

Legacy Donations

Becconsall is characterised by the following themes:

  • Place, Heritage and Conservation – Core to Becconsall’s vision are conservation and good interpretation of:
  1. Industrial and social heritage of North West England.
  2. Biodiversity and the natural environment of our Biological Heritage Site.
  • The Future and People – For Becconsall, heritage is not solely about preservation and nostalgia. Our vision is also about using heritage to benefit people in the North West through pride in the area, learning, health and wellbeing. These benefits will be achieved through inclusion – especially through programmes with schools and young people, and with a ‘grassroots’ volunteering ethos.

We know that making Legacy Donations is a difficult topic for some people to think about. However, if you are struck by being able to help us secure heritage at Becconsall or to help the next generation experience our work, please consider making a legacy donation to help to develop and sustain Becconsall.

You are of course able to make a legacy gift to Becconsall without informing us.

If you would like to discuss such a gift with us, please use this and we will get back to you. A discussion will enable maximum benefit to be derived from your legacy donation and for us to realise your wishes well into the future.

Black and White historic photograph. Four women smile holding bunches of flowers (appear to be Daffodils). They are wearing work coats such as worn in factories. They stand in front of a row of full size glass greenhouses with wooden doors.