Royal Pavilion boss announces departure

Hedley Swain said on Wednesday that he will leave Brighton & Hove Museums at the end of October, ending a six-year run leading the charity that operates the Royal Pavilion and the city’s museum service. Brighton & Hove Museums said Swain, who joined in October 2020, is moving to Sweden with his wife, who has taken a senior museum post in Stockholm. The announcement was made on September 2 and confirmed by the charity on its website. Abigail Thomas, the current deputy chief executive, is due to take over as interim chief executive while trustees recruit a permanent successor. ### Who is leaving, and when does he go? Hedley Swain said he will step down at the end of October 2026, according to a statement published by Brighton & Hove Museums on Wednesday. The charity said he had led the organization for six years and would leave after overseeing its first years as an independent trust. (brightonmuseums.org.uk) Swain told staff he was leaving because of “a new exciting opportunity” in his personal life and said he and his wife would move to Sweden, where they already have a home. Brighton and Hove News, which reported the staff email, said Swain wrote that his wife had secured a senior post at a Stockholm museum. (brightonmuseums.org.uk) ### Which sites does Brighton & Hove Museums run? The Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust, which trades as Brighton & Hove Museums, took over management of the service from Brighton & Hove City Council on October 1, 2020. The trust runs five main sites: the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Preston Manor & Gardens, the Booth Museum of Natural History and Hove Museum of Creativity. (brightonandhovenews.org) Brighton & Hove City Council remains the freeholder of the museum sites, according to the council. The transfer to a charitable trust was approved for 25 years and was designed to let the service seek funding streams not open to the council, including charitable grants and Gift Aid-linked income. ### Who takes over after October? (brightonmuseums.org.uk) Abigail Thomas will become interim chief executive when Swain leaves, Brighton & Hove Museums said. The charity said the arrangement is intended to provide continuity while the board of trustees carries out a search for a permanent successor. Michael Bedingfield, identified by the charity as chair of trustees in its statement, thanked Swain for his leadership and said he had guided the organization through “significant challenges and opportunities.” Brighton and Hove News separately reported that Bedingfield stepped down as chair last month but remains a trustee. (brighton-hove.gov.uk) (brightonmuseums.org.uk) ### What has the trust been dealing with this year? Staff at the trust went on strike for two days in April after a dispute over pay, Brighton and Hove News reported. The same report said planned strike action in early June was later called off. The Museums Association reported in June that opening hours at four sites were disrupted during industrial action over pay and conditions. (brightonmuseums.org.uk) The affected venues included the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Preston Manor and Hove Museum of Creativity. Amanda Grimshaw, a Labour councillor and former mayor of Brighton and Hove, resigned as a trustee in December and later said in a resignation letter that staff were “paralysed by fear,” according to Brighton and Hove News. (brightonandhovenews.org) The trust said at the time that it took staff welfare matters “extremely seriously.” (museumsassociation.org) ### What is the financial backdrop to the leadership change? Brighton & Hove City Council approved an annual fee of 1.9 million pounds for the trust for the 2026-31 period at a cabinet meeting on December 11, 2025. The council also agreed to defer loan repayments to 2031. The council said in June 2024 that it had agreed a support package including an interest-free loan facility of up to 4 million pounds to help the trust recover from the effects of the pandemic. (brightonandhovenews.org) At that point, the trust had drawn down 2 million pounds in two instalments, in March 2021 and March 2022. ### What happens next at the Royal Pavilion and museums? (democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk) Brighton & Hove Museums said operations and scheduled programming across its sites will continue as normal during the transition. Trustees said they will begin recruiting a permanent chief executive, with Thomas moving into the interim role at the end of October when Swain leaves for Sweden. (brightonmuseums.org.uk) (brighton-hove.gov.uk)