Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois recently paid a visit to the soon to open Rayleigh Town Museum, during which he donated a 100 year old Ordnance Survey Map of Essex to add to its collection.
The museum, which is located above Pizza Express in Rayleigh High Street, is due to open in early April. As a strong supporter of the project and Patron of the 600 strong Friends of the Museum, Mark was taken around the site by Chairman of the Friends, Mike Davies, who explained the layout and the numerous articles on display.
Rayleigh was mentioned in the Norman Domesday Book and the museum helps bring to life its rich history with a wide variety of exhibits, some of them dating back hundreds of years.
The map was a 1915 Ordnance Survey Map of Essex, which Mark had discovered in good condition in a second-hand bookshop in the West Country and which he then purchased, with a view to donating it to the museum in due course.
Speaking about his visit and the forthcoming opening, Mark said:
"Mike Davies and his team of Friends have done a super job in creating a museum which the whole town can be really proud of. Rayleigh has a rich history and this fantastic new facility, which will open shortly, will now record that for generations to come."