Two historic museums in the town centre are under threat of closure due to funding cuts facing Hampshire County Council.

The Andover Museum, which tells the story of the town and surrounding area, and the Museum of the Iron Age employ two part-time staff and rely on 24 volunteers to assist visitors.

In 2014, Hampshire County Council transferred the management and operation of its arts and museum services to Hampshire Cultural Trust, an independent organisation. The Council is set to cut the funding it gives to Hampshire Cultural Trust by £600,000 from April 2027 as part of a raft of measures to address a budget deficit of £175m for 2025/26.

A statement from the Council said: "The consequential impact of this grant reduction might be the closure of a small number of venues. Depending on how much income can be raised through other trust activities, the trust has identified venues at risk in the longer term could be Andover Museum and Museum of the Iron Age, and the Curtis Museum (in Alton).”

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Chief Executive of Hampshire Cultural Trust, Paul Sapwell said they would be taking some tough decisions: “We have to look at the deficit at the Andover Museum as well as the actual building and whether it’s fit for purpose, The standard of the building and the exhibition is not the standard we would attain to, it looks tired, so we’d need to invest in its future.”

Mr Sapwell also pointed the finger at Test Valley Borough Council for a lack of financial support. He said: “We get funding support from Basingstoke (Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council) and Winchester, but we don’t receive arts funding from Test Valley.”

However, a spokesperson for Test Valley Borough Council said they were open to working with HCT to explore options and secure the long-term future of the Andover Museum:

“It is a valuable local asset and while historically this has been funded by Hampshire County Council, we remain committed to identifying a solution to ensure it can continue to prosper. We have discussed various options with HCT, some of which would help to bolster their financial position.”

HCC has confirmed that: ‘Any proposals received by the trust to close venues as a result of a grant funding reduction will be subject to a separate decision-making exercise.”