Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery facts for kids
entrance side of the museum
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| Established | 1874 |
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| Location | Blackburn |
| Collections | Japanese Print, Cotton Town the Manuscript, Numismatic |
| Owner | Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council |
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Listed Building – Grade II
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| Official name: Blackburn Museum | |
| Designated: | 1 August 1995 |
| Reference #: | 1223411 |
The Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery is a cool place in Blackburn where you can explore history and art! It's the main museum for the area of Blackburn with Darwen. Inside, you'll find amazing collections, including ancient Christian icons, mysterious Egyptian hieroglyphs, and lots of items about local history. It also has special displays from the old Lewis Textile Museum.
Contents
The Museum Building
The museum is located in a very special building. It's on the corner of Museum Street and Richmond Terrace. This building is so important that it's called a Grade II listed building. This means it has historical or architectural value and is protected.
History of the Building
The building first opened its doors in 1874. Back then, it was an art gallery and a library. The library was on the ground floor, and the art gallery was upstairs. The building was made even bigger in 1893 to hold more amazing things.
In the 1970s, the library moved to a new spot. This gave the museum much more room! It allowed them to show off more of their local and social history collections. A big project to fix the roof started in July 2023 and was finished by March 2024.
Lewis Textile Museum Collection
The Blackburn Museum also looks after the items from the old Lewis Textile Museum. That museum used to be a separate place, but it closed down. Now, all its cool stuff has been moved into the main Blackburn Museum building.
What is the Cottontown Gallery?
The area in the museum that holds these items is now called Cottontown. It has a collection of looms, which are machines used to weave fabric. This collection was given to the museum by Thomas Boys Lewis. He was a local person who worked in the cotton industry.
Amazing Collections to See
The museum has many interesting collections. Some of the most famous ones include the Japanese Print Collection. This was also put together by Thomas Boys Lewis. There are also the Manuscript and Numismatic Collections. These were given to the museum by Edward Hart. The museum also has a wonderful Icon Collection.
Ancient Egypt and War Heroes
You can also find an Egyptology collection at the museum. This collection has items gathered by John Garstang, who was an archaeologist. The museum also proudly displays the Victoria Cross medal. This medal belonged to Marcus Ervine-Andrews. He was the last Irish person to receive this very brave award. He went to school at Stonyhurst College.
Special Exhibitions
The Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery sometimes hosts special exhibitions. For example, in 2006, the museum was part of a traveling exhibition called C21. This exhibition was part of the Fukuoka Asian Art Trinennale, which is a big art event. News about this exhibition was even shared by places like the BBC.
See also
- Listed buildings in Blackburn
