Malton Museum Trustees

Malton Museum Trustees

The museum is governed by a board of trustees.

Our Board of Trustees are:

Mr Phil Crabtree BA (Hons )

Chairman
Phil became Chair in 2022 following his retirement from Leeds City Council. A qualified Town and Country Planner with over 40 years’ experience, Phil worked in Co Durham, Birmingham, and was Chief Planning Officer in Leeds for 8 years. His expertise includes planning, regeneration, economic development, local planning, development management, conservation and design, landscape, ecology and sustainable development. Previously, Phil was a Trustee and Chair of Helmsley Walled Garden.

Phil is committed to securing a new home and further investment in the Museum and its nationally significant collection. By promoting the Museum’s relationship to the original Roman Fort at Orchard Fields, and its fantastic collections he hopes to make a greater contribution to Malton and Norton as visitor destinations and as an important community facility.

Mrs Margaret Shaw

Vice-chairman

Born in Liverpool, Margaret moved to Norton in 1981 to establish The Bakery Norton. She later set up Dickens of a Deli in Malton Market Place, finally retiring from the family business in 2016.

Margaret studied teacher training at Bretton Hall and later established a peripatetic French training course, teaching in many local primary schools for thirteen years. She draws upon this experience in her work with Malton Museum’s education team. Since becoming a trustee in 2000, Margaret has worked with local teachers to establish a number of loan boxes linked to curriculum topics and also developed a team of volunteers to deliver outreach and lifelong learning sessions.

The range of topics covered by the learning team continues to increase, but all sessions reflect the museum’s collections and Malton and Norton’s heritage. As Vice Chair of the Trustees, Margaret has a very active and hands-on role in Malton Museum’s day to day running.

Margaret is an active member of the local community and established The Derwent Diggers gardening club, which she has run for 20 years.

Mr John Gill LLB (Hons)

Treasurer
John became a trustee and Treasurer in 2009 following his retirement from the Land Registry where he had worked as a solicitor for over 30 years. The museum was an entirely new venture for John but he has continued to manage the museum’s finances throughout a period of considerable change.

Additionally, John’s legal knowledge has been invaluable to the museum and he has been primarily responsible for all matters of governance which included the move to the charity becoming a CIO in 2018. 
With exciting times ahead for the museum, John is keen to develop new initiatives for income generation.

Mrs Maurag Carmichael

Secretary

Maurag joined Malton Museum in 2016 and was appointed a Trustee in 2018. This followed her retirement from 25 years in visitor administration, first for 15 years as Visitor Administrator at Castle Howard and subsequently for 10 years in the same role at Castle Howard Arboretum Trust with a brief to recruit a team of volunteers and open the venue to the public.
The museum was a new venture but with a lifelong love of history this multi-tasking role of Volunteer with the responsibility for Admin, and Management of the Front of House volunteer team, the role is both a challenge and a pleasure as we look to the future and follow the development of Malton Museum to exciting new targets and a new location.

Mr Clive Alcock

Clive Alcock is a retired solicitor and criminal advocate whose career included establishing and running the legal services department for a Midlands police force. Later chief executive to Cumbria Police Authority, his responsibilities there included governance of policing and recruiting chief officers, plus strategic oversight of the constabulary’s real estate. 

All this was predated by an early enthusiasm for Roman Britain, and post-retirement Clive has published three historical novels set in the Roman period – much of the action in his first occurring within Malton’s Roman cavalry fort.
After Clive’s involvement in Malton’s annual Roman festivals, he’s keen to support the museum’s ambitious new plans to showcase this and succeeding historical eras of the town and its hinterland.

Ms Rebecca Bowe BA (Hons)

Rebecca joins us as a Trustee from the University of York. Her area of expertise is communications, focusing primarily on social media engagement. Rebecca’s role sits within a communications team at the University which specialises in developing philanthropic partnerships with trusts, foundations and individual donors.

Rebecca is keen to help the local community connect with the history of their town and local area through engaging storytelling. She’s looking forward to working with the museum on creating a communications strategy that will help increase audience engagement with the museum.

Mr Andrew Eastwood

Andrew joined the trustees in 2021, soon after he had moved into the Malton area following retirement. He had spent his working life in schools, starting as a primary teacher and ending as Head of Learning for Leeds Local Authority. He brings a wealth of experience of the education sector and working for, and with, large organisations.  

Andrew has a keen interest in developing the museum as a centre of learning excellence, where the life story of Malton and Norton can come alive for residents and visitors alike. He is fascinated by the advancement in technologies that will enable people to really engage with their history and understand their sense of place, well into the future.  

Ms Danielle Hardman MA (Hons) 

Danielle joined the Trustees in 2024. She comes from a background in Visitor Operations having worked for Continuum Attractions, National Trust, English Heritage, Harewood House and currently Castle Howard. Danielle has managed Admissions, Volunteers, Visitor Assistants, Memberships, Retail, Events, Group and Education bookings and everything in between. Danielle hopes to bring her strong operational experience to the Museum to help them thrive day to day and deliver great customer experience.

Mrs Anne-Marie Heuck MA (Hons)

Anne-Marie’s involvement with Malton Museum began through a student placement in 2016 whilst studying for an MA in Cultural Heritage Management at York University.

Anne-Marie continued to volunteer with the Museum after completing her studies, and now co-manages the Collections Team, representing them on the Board of Trustees. The collection is at the heart of the Museum and Anne-Marie is keen to help develop it over all periods of history, discovering and sharing more of Malton and Norton’s stories with both visitors and our local communities.

Dr Peter Halkon MA FSA
Formerly Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Hull, Peter has over forty years’ experience as a landscape archaeologist and is now Emeritus Fellow at the University of Hull and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at the University of
York. He is chair of the East Riding Archaeological Society, a Trustee of Pocklington District Heritage Trust, and Vice Chair and Programme Secretary of the Roman Antiquities Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society.

Peter has a particular interest in the Iron Age and Roman Archaeology of Eastern Yorkshire and is author of a number of books on those subjects. As one of the Trustees of the Kirk Settlement he is keen to promote Malton Museum’s nationally important Roman collections.

Ms Emily North MA (Hons)

Emily joined Malton Museum as a Trustee in 2024. She is an Associate Collections Curator at York Museums Trust, and has been part of the Yorkshire Museum curatorial team for eight years. Emily has also worked for the Portable Antiquities Scheme in North and East Yorkshire. She has a degree in Classics from Durham University and a masters degree in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester.

Emily is excited to support Malton Museum in protecting and promoting its outstanding collections. She is committed to helping Malton’s communities connect with their heritage, and to making the museum an inclusive, welcoming space for everyone to enjoy.

Mrs Rebecca Wilkin BA (Hons)

In 2021 Rebecca was appointed as a Trustee of Malton Museum and Trustee of the Kirk Settlement (a collection of Roman and pre-Norman objects
being the nucleus of a permanent collection originally known as ‘Roman Malton & District Museum’ currently on long-term loan to Malton Museum).

Rebecca is Head of Estate for the Fitzwilliam Estate, which has an extensive property portfolio in the town and have held a vested interest in the success of
Malton for over 300 years. With a Business Management degree from Leeds University and a Diploma in Estate Management, Rebecca is a Chartered Surveyor
(MRICS).
Rebecca is keen to support and assist Malton Museum to elevate greater awareness of its important collection and to facilitate the museum as a destination that brings visitors to Malton.

Dr Pete Wilson

Pete Wilson is a professional archaeologist with over 40 years’ experience. His main interests are: ‘The Roman North’ (of England), the Roman army and Roman and native interaction. He has published widely, including on Roman Malton and Norton. He was Honorary Secretary of the Royal Archaeological Institute for 6 years and is Fellow of  the Societies of Antiquaries of London and Scotland.

He is Chair of Trustees at the Senhouse Roman Museum, Maryport and a Trustee of both the Vindolanda Trust and the Woodhams Stone Collection.  He is one of the representatives of the Kirk Settlement on the Museum Board.


Ex Officio Members of the Board

Representative of the Malton Town Council

Representative of the Norton Town Council

Chairman of the Friends of Malton Museum


Museum Mentor

Christine McDonnell

York Archaeological Trust

Museum Coordinator

Rachael Bowers provides support and coordination to the museum. She has worked in museums and heritage sites in York and Lancaster for 14 years, combining curatorial expertise with management of staff, volunteers and projects. Rachael studied History and Social Anthropology at St Andrews before completing a Masters in Heritage Interpretation at Newcastle University. She previously managed Lancaster City Museum and York Cold War Bunker, and worked as Assistant Curator at York Castle Museum.

Rachael is excited to be working with the volunteers of Malton Museum at this crucial point in the museum’s development.