About us

Milestones is managed by Hampshire County Council in partnership with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

It was built to house more than 21,000 objects either made or used in Hampshire. Many of these objects had been in store for many years at the Museums and Archives Services headquarters in Winchester. After twenty years of searching for a suitable location to display the collections, the Leisure Park was chosen.

A grant of £6 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund was matched by local finance and fundraising. Milestones was opened in November 2000 by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.

Milestones acknowledges the support of the following former and current sponsors and supporters:

Visit Test Valley - part of the Visit Hampshire Partnership Gales Brewery Agfa-Gaevart Barclays Asset Finance Penningtons Solicitors Dulux Automobile Association Cadbury Sony Johnson's Wax South East Water Southern Co-operatives Limited Tenon Winterthur Life Wella Centrica Motorola Royal Mail Scats Transco Basingstoke Gazette Webbers Kestrel FM

Ericsson Hasbro A S Fire and Rescue Safeway Fyffes British Telecom Eli Lilly Dreweatt & Neate Ellis Campbell Foundation Fulton Boilers Arts & Business Robert Kiln Charitable Trust The Charlotte Bonham Charter Trust Lloyds TSB Foundation Air Products The Mercers Company European Heritage Award Grosvenor Foundation Sport & Arts Lansing Linde Test Valley Borough Council