Heritage museum rekindles link with cereal giant

Burton Latimer Heritage Society first formed in 2000. A gift of £2000 provided by Weetabix Ltd to Burton Latimer Town Council enabled the Council to refurbish a room at the old council offices at The Poplars in the High Street for a museum. It was felt that the museum would best be managed by volunteers: after a successful meeting the Heritage Society was formed, and the museum was opened in October of that year. In 2010 it then moved to a more suitable premises at The Harold Mason centre in Burton Latimer where it remains today.

Alan Whiteman, a trustee of the Heritage Society previously worked at Weetabix for 23 years before retiring in 2024. Since then, he has spent more time volunteering at the Heritage Museum. When he started he thought that Weetabix should have a larger presence in the museum as it is such an important part of Burton’s history so approached them to see if they would donate any memorabilia. Not only have they donated some items and loaned others, they have also provided a glass illuminated display cabinet along with a personalised Weetabix carton for which we are very grateful. We spent the summer making some alterations to the museum to enable the cabinet to fit, then moved it into place and created a display. Lots of visitors - adults and children alike – have been delighted to see it. We plan to change the display around from time to time and hope to have an ongoing connection with Weetabix with a view to obtaining some new memorabilia.

The photograph is taken in front of the new Weetabix cabinet in the museum and shows Alan Whiteman with Jo Atkins, Front Desk Executive at Weetabix, who has been key to the whole process.

Burton Latimer Heritage Museum is open on Thursdays and Saturdays from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm. The current exhibition: “Who Cares for Your Past? Burton Latimer Heritage Society’s First 25 Years” runs until 6th December and entry is free.