Auction raises £18k for Florence Nightingale Museum

About £160,000 is needed to save the Florence Nightingale Museum, its director says

An online auction has raised more than £18,000 for the Florence Nightingale Museum.

Derbyshire-based auctioneer Charles Hanson announced the sale last month after hearing the museum needed £160,000 to stay open.

The London-based attraction had intended to celebrate the nurse's 200th birthday, but the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to their plans.

Director David Green said the museum "is battling for survival".

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Lots that were sold from Mr Hanson's auction rooms included a weekend stay at Nightingale's family home in Derbyshire for £820, and a guide to 10 Downing Street signed by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for £490.

In total, £18,125 was raised on Friday, organisers said.

Mr Green said: "The museum is battling for survival at the moment and [the] auction has really helped to raise awareness of our campaign, as well as significant funds."

Auctioneer Charles Hanson said the possible closure of the museum was "unthinkable"

In May, it emerged the museum only had four months of operating costs left and little income due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Green said the museum had "invested in an exhibition and events to mark Nightingale's bicentenary", but that "backfired dramatically".

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