OVER a hundred people enjoyed an evening at Kew Bridge Steam Museum to raise funds for the steam locomotive railway and a new gallery.
The night - part of a Europe-wide 'Museums at Night' series - included actors performing monologues dressed as Charles Dickens and the Scottish engineer James Watt, as well as live music and workshops.
The steam museum managed to raise £1,500 on the night, which went to paying for the entertainment as well as being ploughed back in to renovating the museum.
Penny Jenkins, director of the museum, said: "We were thrilled with how the evening went, it was great! We did the event as a kind of tester and are hoping to have monthly evening events next year."
Over 150 guests of all ages attended the event which saw Tankus the Henge, - a band who describes itself as playing apocalyptic, carnival, rock and roll - performing a gig in the Steam Hall with a water-pumping engine running in the background.
Alison McIntyre, education officer at the museum, said: "It was certainly a unique experience!"
Resident artists Jason Bowyer and wife Claire Ireland ran drawing and ceramics workshops, and a blacksmiths’ forge was in fire.
Part of the money raised will go towards a new gallery in the museum telling the story of London’s water supply from Roman times through to today.
There are plans afoot to put on live music in the future, and Ms McIntyre hopes the events will fuel interest in the museum.
She said: “Its such an exciting part of our national heritage and an important part of the history of our technological development.”
