Nick Viner at the Jewish Museum in Camden Town

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IT is not a case of goodbye – more see you soon, the chairman of the Jewish Museum said this week amid plans to close the doors next month.

More than 30 years after its arrival in Albert Street, Camden Town, Nick Viner who heads the trustees, said the building was no longer sustainable.

It will now take its unique archives on tour – hosting one-off exhibitions in Camden libraries and elsewhere, as well as loaning out materials – while they search for a new, permanent home.

Mr Viner told the New Journal said that even before the Covid lockdowns, the museum had serious issues over income and maintenance.

He said: “The museum faced a financial crisis and as a consequence we had to restructure our museum. When we reopened, we had no financial reserves or the capacity for new exhibitions, as we had reduced staff numbers.”

The building has caused numerous headaches.

Based in a Georgian terrace, the museum expanded in 2010 to take on a piano factory at the rear of the site.

But it means the building has five different staircases and three different plant rooms. The ongoing maintenance bill has been extremely high, and with the valuable and delicate nature of many of the museums 42,000 items, it is vitally important the building is fit for purpose. This has led to the decision to seek a new venue.

Mr Viner said: “It has been very hard to maintain the building and raise funds. Like many heritage buildings and smaller museums, the building is very expensive to maintain and keep going. “

On top of the cost of looking after a historic building, the museum has been severely hit by rising bills, including energy costs.

Mr Viner said: “We came to the decision that the best way forward is to sell the building, run our programmes in a new way and find a new permanent home in the coming years. It is about our ability to meet our needs for the next 20 years.”

The museum has enjoyed great success and played a role in telling the story of Judaism in the UK and further afield, with around 60,000 visitors coming each year.

But it is not in a prominent spot and does not attract passing visitors. Finding a new home could help bring in extra income via a café and shop, allowing the museum to rely less on grants and the generosity of individual and corporate donors.

He said: “We don’t want to always be worrying about how we can afford to replace air conditioning or a boiler. This is about how we preserve the museum for the long term. The sale of the building will help cover the costs for an ongoing programme of events, including visiting schools and hosting temporary exhibitions, while they search for a new home.

Mr Viner added: “We very much want to stay in the borough. We have had a lot of support here and we feel we are part of the Camden cultural quarter.”