The Heart and Soul of Our Museum: Volunteers’ Week 2024 Spotlight on: Stephen Bennett

Beyond the historic buildings and the beautiful surroundings of the Weald & Downland Living Museum, it’s the team of passionate volunteers that breathe life into the Museum experience and help to make every visit memorable.
As part of our celebration of Volunteers’ Week 2024, we recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Stephen Bennett for a chat about his work at the Museum over the last 2 years.

What was your career background before you volunteered at the Weald & Downland Living Museum?
I worked for the Navy for 35 years in 4 different roles and then moved into working as a consultant in Maritime Safety, before fully retiring and starting work at the Museum.
What is your role as a volunteer here at the Museum?
I spend most of my time welcoming guests and I absolutely love it! I do one full day a week, a Wednesday.
What interested you in becoming a volunteer at the Museum and why are you so passionate about your role here?
I retired two years ago, and I had a day to fill in my week. I’ve always loved the Weald & Downland Living Museum, so I applied as a volunteer, and they said yes! You can feel the breadth of history on the back of your neck in a place like this. And I love it! It’s just a really nice place to work and to volunteer at.
I particularly like the interaction with the people of all ages, and the school children are really lovely to chat to. All the team work together and are always so charming. Taking people around the Museum is a real highlight, showing them things that they haven’t seen before and the hidden gems that aren’t necessarily on the map! Some people love being shown around, and some people would rather just take themselves around, and that’s absolutely fine of course.
What’s been your most memorable moment volunteering here?
A couple of years ago when it was very quiet one winter, we only had a few visitors one day and I was able to give a lovely couple a personalised tour of the whole of the whole place and they really enjoyed that… they got a lot out of it, and I remember that very well. Although there wasn’t a lot of people that day, the atmosphere was still lovely. It was a grey, drizzly day and even though the place was so quiet, the fires had been lit and it was just atmospheric.
My other stand-out memories include interacting with the children. I’m a school governor and when the kids come and rush around and get excited about things, I just really enjoy hearing them. In the summer, we put the May-poles up, and last summer I got them all dancing around the poles. Those are my two most vivid and enjoyable memories… the laughter of children and the everyday atmosphere of this place, whether it’s empty or full.
Is there anything else that you’d like to tell us about volunteering?
Well, firstly, I think the service that we are given as volunteers is first class. I feel supported and welcomed, and if there was ever a problem, I know that one of the team would step in. I also love that if there aren’t enough volunteers available, we just step in for each other. It’s the teamwork and community feel that’s important to me.
If you’re feeling inspired by our volunteers’ stories and think you, too, would enjoy spending time as a volunteer here, we invite you to join our family of volunteers. You can find out more here.