Salisbury Museum is pleased to announce Michael Wade OBE as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees

Michael joins the museum at an exciting time. Over recent years we have been implementing a masterplan to transform The King’s House. Central to this has been the need to update our displays, improve our facilities and put the museum on a firm financial footing. On the 13 July 2024 the museum was successfully re-opened with new galleries dedicated to local history, ceramics and natural history. Past Forward was predominantly supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and its completion paves the way for future projects to begin.

Michael says:

‘I am most honoured to be invited to take the chair of The Salisbury Museum and immediately thank my predecessors for their hard work and commitment to enable the successful conclusion of the refurbishment and rebuilding programmes these past few years. The Museum acts as a catalyst to understanding and learning about English history on many different levels, and to appreciating what is so special and significant about this landscape, and the lives of the people who have shaped it.’

With our new Chair in place, the Board and Salisbury Museum team now look beyond the new galleries, to build on the successes of both the masterplan and our programming to develop it further for the future. The museum’s temporary exhibition programme has enabled the museum to punch above its weight drawing in new audiences and publicity on a national scale. As we look ahead, the new chair will lead the trustees in taking an active role in reviewing the museum’s business plan and help to fundraise for further capital redevelopment and new exhibitions.

Adrian Green, Director of Salisbury Museum says:

‘Michael Wade has joined the museum at the perfect moment. His extensive knowledge of the Salisbury area, as well as his professional career, will be of huge value to the museum as we review our recent successes and plan for delivering the next stage of our masterplan.’

We welcome Michael Wade to The Salisbury Museum.

Note on Michael Wade OBE:

Michael Wade has lived in and near Salisbury for 30 years, first at Trafalgar Park and more recently at The Walton Canonry neighbouring the Salisbury Museum in The Close which, itself also has associations with Rex Whistler. He is President of Wiltshire Victoria County History and a Trustee of Salisbury Cathedral Girls Choristers Fund.

Michael has spent over 45 years at the Lloyd’s insurance market in the City of London, is a Freeman of the City, and Liveryman. He was made an OBE in the late Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2018. Michael also served at the Cabinet Office as the Crown Representative for Insurance. Currently, he is chairman of Helios Underwriting plc and a Senior Advisor to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in Tokyo.