please empty your brain below

You "update" a museum by virtually erasing it from existence? Building housing on the old building site is not the answer to the question given. I'd appeal the mark if I were you.
This is a lamentable situation for such a historic city as St. Albans. Further, the loss of tourist information centres around the country, using the excuse that 'it's all on the web', is another misguided trend that undermines access to our heritage. I doubt we will throw off the corrosive effects of the so-called austerity agenda for a long, long time.
I'm left wondering about the chances of a response to Question 4 scraping an A-
The sad reality is that many people aren't that bothered (unless it has a value that people can relate to in the modern world, like gold), perhaps like you, many visited as a child, but how often would a local population of x need to visit to make it viable, and why would they keep coming back to look at the same stuff? As for tourists, other areas outside London offer more.

However, as we have seen with WWI and family heritage, there is an interest in history if people literally have a relationship with it, otherwise it's just just some blocks of stone in the ground and old pots, its not a pyramid, the Colosseum, Terracotta Army or ruins in a nice/romantic setting.
When I visited a few months back I did consider asking the local trading standards people whether the Trades Description Act (or similar) covered such misrepresentation because as you state, it may be beautifully done but it is neither a museum nor a gallery in any recognisable sense. I left disappointed and am highly unlikely to ever return.
If I'd walked in and been confronted with (potentially) only a gift shop and a cafe, I'd have turned around and walked right back out again!

Sadly I would have missed the excellent idea of using the courtroom as the seating area and everything else.

First impressions make or break a venue, and sadly for most these days a cafe and/or gift shop are the impression they are looking for!
A bit off topic I know, but on the subject of National Trust gift shops, I am irritated by... <snip>
"Still Anon"

You appear to suggest that if something is not understood by Mr/Ms Average person in the street then it has no value and should not be preserved.

Are you Michael Gove?
Dumbing down seems to be universal these days.

I was very disappointed by COMM, the so-called telecomms museum in The Hague. Much of it is quite literally a waste of space, while lots of the interesting stuff is squashed into a basement (extra charge), and even there most items can't be seen properly. Sadly, the spin doctors and marketeers have turned it into an expensive, museum-flavoured café.
My local museum. I visited soon after it reopened and didn't see any reason to go back. As you say, lots of empty space with little in it. Perhaps the board games might tempt me, but £5?

That said, I never visited the old one, meant to many times but never did, and I won't get the chance now of course, but Verulamium Museum is very good, and the Abbey should be great once the new visitor centre is finished.
Lived in St Albans for a dozen years at the start of this century. Sorry to hear that they have made a mess of this.
Londonist's review: https://londonist.com/london/outside-london/seen-st-albans-the-closest-city-to-london-is-a-magnificent-day-out
The feedback seems rather negative in relation to the mark. Have you asked to see the markscheme?
"original museum was sold off for housing"

Housing for whom? Is there a webpage that tells anything useful?
For sale on the open market. Ten townhouses shoehorned in, at approaching a million pounds each.
They had the Salmond collection of hand tools in the old museum, a major if not national collection.

Now it's all in storage, at least I hope it is!

dg writes: It is.










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