We are fortunate in south west London to have many museums covering both local heritage and the area’s association with Arts & Crafts pioneers William Morris and William De Morgan. However, while one museum in Fulham has been handsomely restored, another in Wandsworth, was recently under threat of closure and its collection due to be dispersed around the borough.

This is the tale of both.

Magnificently restored Fulham Palace was, until 1973, a home of the Bishops of London. Originally a Tudor manor house surrounded by the longest moat in England, Fulham Palace was, until just over one hundred years ago, a secluded country estate with its own parklands, orchards, farmyards and fields. The surviving building dates from 1495 and is Grade I listed. Late last year, the first phase of the restoration of the palace was completed and this included the refurbishment of the Georgian East Quadrangle’s public rooms to be re-opened as a museum, café and gallery.

The museum, founded in 1992, tells the story of Fulham Palace; its exhibits range from a Neolithic axe head to a mummified rat. The museum itself consists of three rooms: Bishop Howley’s Dining Room, The Porteus Library and Bishop Sherlock’s Room.

The beautifully proportioned Bishops Howley’s Dining Room was designed in 1814 by the architect S.P. Cockerell and the restoration sees the walls painted a shade of green close to its original colour. One of the highlights of the room is a beautifully embroidered "cope" worn by the Bishops, loaned to the museum by St. Paul’s Cathedral. Portraits of bishops wearing examples of this ceremonial dress, which were previously held in store, are also displayed. There is a display of archaeological artefacts found during excavations, and also a display about the gardens which will be renovated and sympathetically planted during the next phase of the restoration.

The Porteus Library now houses a mixture of books and museum displays. Demonstrating that the palace was also a family home, a Silver Cross pram dating from the 1920s, found in a disused room in the palace , is also featured here. Interactive displays include smells to identify, and a mirror where children may try on a Bishops hats.

Built around 1753, Bishop Sherlock’s Room has been referred to both as a drawing room and a dining room in the past. The reconstruction was based upon archaeological evidence, paint analysis, comparison with similar rooms and principles of classical architecture. The magnificently restored Rococo ceiling is a revelation and portraits of Henry VII and George II, previously displayed together in the Great Hall of the palace, hang either side of the entrance door. Henry VII arranged for Katherine of Aragon, whilst she was the widow of his eldest son, to stay at the palace before her marriage to Henry VIII. She apparently found it very cold in comparison with her home, Spain.

Funding for the restoration of Fulham Palace has come from the Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in partnership with the Fulham Palace Trust with a grant of £3 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Fulham Palace Trust, a registered charity, is responsible for the operation of the Museum and Education Service. Consultation with local stakeholders provided a detailed vision for the future. It makes interesting reading and illustrates that the protection of our heritage and culture needs to be planned carefully.

In contrast, the report must have made uncomfortable reading for Wandsworth councillors contemplating closure of Wandsworth |Museum, one of the borough’s most popular landmarks, housed in a Grade II listed Court House in Garratt Lane.

The council’s proposed closure of the museum in September this year, followed by both Alvering and West Hill Libraries (because of budget cutbacks forced upon them by government) was not a popular move. The councils’s suggestion was to site a new Town Centre Library in the home of the Museum, and to move a few of the displays from the old museum into five town centre libraries where there would be no experts on hand to explain their significance to visitors, most of which are children.. The bulk of the 10,000+ collection, much of it donated by Wandsworth residents, was to be left in storage.

The proposals caused uproar within the community which launched a public campaign supported by the newly-formed Wandsworth Museum Campaign Group comprising the Wandsworth Historical Society and all the borough’s amenity societies. They collected over 20,000 signatures in petitions and presented them to the Mayor of Wandsworth at the council meeting on 28 March. To the astonishment of almost everyone there, Malcolm Grimston, Executive Member for Environment and Leisure and architect of the earlier plans, then announced to his councillor colleagues and a packed public gallery in the council chamber that the museum had been saved, after all, and that the new Wandsworth Town Centre Library plans can still proceed..

This is all thanks to the intervention and generosity of the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation, a major international sponsor of the arts. The foundation will commit an initial sum of £1m followed by five annual payments of £200,000. Local resident and philanthropist Michael Hintze said: "My wife, my children and I believe Wandsworth Museum to be a vital part of our local community. We feel it is crucial to maintain our local cultural heritage and are therefore committed to ensuring this excellent resource remains available to all who wish to use it."

Residents of Wandsworth can only offer Mr Hintze and his family their heartfelt thanks for their generosity in helping to preserve our heritage for the education and enjoyment of future generations. Meanwhile the search for funding carries on, to ensure that the museum will continue to flourish.

Fulham Palace Museum. Tel: 020 7736 8140 www.lbhf.gov.uk/externalsite/Fulhampalace

Wandsworth Museum. Tel: 020 8871 7074

www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/LeisureandTourism/Museum