The University Museums aim to help answer the big questions of our time and respond to global challenges, as well as to teach future generations and to widen access to the opportunities that higher education and cultural engagement can offer. 

In fact, our Museums and Botanic Garden represent the UK’s highest concentration of internationally important collections outside of London. Consisting of more than five million works of art, artefacts, and specimens, these collections have supported nearly 300 years of investigation into the world around us.   

In parallel, the Museums also have a deeply personal relationship with every visitor who walks through their doors, and Newnham alumna Jane Shears (1954) was no exception: she was passionate about the Museums’ collective mission and compelled to share her love of art. 

Jane studied modern languages and pursued a career in publishing and as a French teacher before returning to Cambridge to be closer to her mother, leading to work as personal assistant to Professors Oxburgh and Onions in the Department of Earth Sciences. 

Throughout her childhood, Jane’s mother, an artist, had instilled in her a deep appreciation of art. This was evident during Jane’s time in Cambridge, when she was a regular visitor to the local museums and galleries. She went on to ‘pay it forward’: not only does her daughter Helen fondly remember frequent childhood visits to museums and galleries, but Jane also decided to express her commitment to and love of art by generously leaving £10,000 in her Will to each of the Cambridge places she devoted so much time and interest to - the Fitzwilliam Museum, Kettle’s Yard, and the Botanic Garden.  

Her gift to the Fitzwilliam Museum has supported a range of initiatives, including ‘Museum Lates’, a free, quarterly, after-hours programme of events that aims to attract new visitors, specifically those who cannot visit during regular opening hours.  

Adrian Shaw, the Public Programme Manager at the Fitzwilliam, describes how these events “invite new and more diverse audiences to experience the collection in unexpected ways. By blending art, music, conversation, and performance, these evenings reframe the Museum through a contemporary lens, creating moments of connection, curiosity, and discovery. They are about activating the collection, deepening engagement, and making the Museum feel open, relevant, and responsive to the world outside its walls.”  

Helen explains that part of her mother’s work in the Department of Earth Sciences was organising events, including support to the regular international conference in Strasbourg. Jane’s ears always pricked up at the mention of events, museums, or exhibitions others were seeing: “She never stopped attending events put on by the Cambridge art scene and would have been very interested in these new barrier-breaking programmes.” 

Emily Webb, from the Fitzwilliam Museum team, describes Museum Lates as an opportunity for people to “see behind the scenes, to catch up with friends and family, or maybe spend time with their grandchildren.” As someone who nurtured the love of art in her own family, Jane would no doubt have wholeheartedly approved!  

As Helen concludes: “She would be proud to see such a change bringing more people into the Museum and spreading the deep appreciation for art that meant so much to her.”  

Find out more about leaving a legacy gift

Are you thinking about your legacy and the causes, dreams, and ideas that mean the most to you? Find out more about different types of legacies, and always consult with your trusted legal adviser.