A charity celebrated its first decade with an event at a Basingstoke museum.

Winchester-based Hampshire Cultural Trust (HCT) marked 10 years of operation at Milestones Museum in Basingstoke.

The event was attended by a range of guests, including staff, volunteers, trustees, local and national politicians, funders, donors, and partners.

In addition to celebrating a decade of operation, the event also saw the launch of HCT 2030, the charity's strategy for the next five years.

HCT, founded in 2014 by Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council, manages major visitor attractions, museums, art galleries, and arts centres in the region.

This includes Winchester’s Great Hall and Basingstoke’s Milestones Museum.

In 2023, the organisation became part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio and receives long-term support from local councils in Basingstoke, Gosport, the New Forest, Rushmoor, and Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole.

Paul Sapwell, chief executive at the trust, said: "We were honoured to welcome so many of our funders, partners and friends to Milestones Museum to help us celebrate our 10th birthday. Our first decade has certainly had its challenges – the COVID pandemic and current cost-of-living crisis to name but two – however, we can look back with pride over the last 10 years at what we have achieved.

"Every year, we welcome over 700,000 visitors through our doors, run more than 740 classes and workshops and host over 340 live music, comedy and theatre shows. Our first 10 years have seen 314 exhibitions that have brought huge names from the art world to Hampshire, such as J.M.W. Turner and John Constable, and more than 130,000 children have been on a school trip with us. It’s been an incredible decade, and with our new HCT 2030 strategy now in place, we are looking forward to an exciting future for culture in our region."

Beyond operating venues, HCT manages a large museum collection in the UK outside London, comprising 2.5 million objects including steam engines, rare ceramics, and ancient artefacts.

The trust also runs targeted programmes to support the mental health and wellbeing of vulnerable groups in the region’s communities, including young people not in mainstream education and those living with dementia and their carers.