Blake Museum facts for kids
The Blake Museum at
5 Blake Street, Bridgwater |
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| Location | Bridgwater, Somerset |
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The Blake Museum is a cool place in Bridgwater, Somerset, England. It's thought to be the house where Robert Blake was born. He was a famous naval leader from a long time ago!
Since 2009, the Bridgwater Town Council has run the museum. They get help from a group called the Friends of Blake Museum. It's been an "Accredited Museum" since 2006. This means it meets high standards for museums. The museum is right next to the Bridgwater Town Mill. There are plans to make the mill part of the museum too!
Contents
The Museum Building: A Historic Home
This old building is believed to be the birthplace of Robert Blake. He was a very important naval leader. It was built a long, long time ago, around the late 1400s or early 1500s.
The building is considered a special historic place. It's a "Grade II* listed building" by English Heritage. This means it's a very important building that needs to be protected. It has three floors and is made from limestone and hamstone. Some parts are made of English-bond and Flemish bond brickwork.
Inside, some of the ceilings are still original. One ceiling has six panels with special designs. There's also an old fireplace with a wooden top from the Tudor period. In the mid-1800s, a Customs Officer named George Parker lived here. He was also a historian and author.
What Can You See at the Blake Museum?
The Blake Museum was started in 1926 by the Bridgwater Borough Council. It collected items from a wide area around Bridgwater. This area included places like East and West Huntspill and Thurloxton. It also covered areas from Ashcott to Nether Stowey.
In 1974, the Sedgemoor District Council took over the museum. They ran it until 2009. Then, the museum went back to being owned by the town council.
The museum has many items about Robert Blake's life. He was a "General at Sea" in the Parliamentarian navy. This rank was like being both an admiral and a navy commissioner. A cool item you can see is Blake's actual sea chest!
The museum also shows Bridgwater's history as a trading and shipping town. You can learn about important local events. One big event was the Battle of Sedgemoor.
Exploring Local Conflicts and History
There's a special Battle gallery at the museum. It has a diorama (a 3D model scene) of the Battle of Sedgemoor. This gallery covers many conflicts from history. It includes battles from the time of King Alfred. It also covers the English Civil War and even events from the 1900s.
The museum has a huge collection of old newspaper clippings. These are from the local newspaper, the Bridgwater Mercury. They have clippings for every week of World War I, from 1914 to 1918.
Other Interesting Collections
You can also see old farm tools and dairy equipment. There's a group of coins found in the bank of King's Sedgemoor Drain. In 2012, the museum fixed up and displayed the Spaxton Mosaic. This is a very old and beautiful mosaic.
The museum also has old women's clothes from the 1800s. There's a large collection of old photographs. You can find items about ships and transport. There are also old bricks, tiles, and textiles. The museum also keeps a special collection about the Monmouth rebellion. It even has the artwork of a local artist named John Chubb (1746–1818).
The Blake Museum even worked with the TV show Time Team!
Bridgwater Heritage Group: Learning About the Past
The museum works closely with the Bridgwater Heritage Group. This group started in 2012. Their goal is to share detailed stories and pictures online. These stories are about old buildings in Bridgwater that are no longer there.
The group also shares old historical texts about the town. These are from books and articles. They have been put online as PDF documents. This means you can download and print them to study more. The group also adds new historical research. Their main goal is to create a learning resource for the town. It's helpful for local historians, students, and anyone interested in Bridgwater's past.
In 2016, the museum celebrated its 90th birthday. They had a special exhibition to mark the occasion!
Visiting the Museum
The Blake Museum had to close for a while because of the Coronavirus. But on March 31, they started a Facebook Group. It's called "Bridgwater History." This group was created to help people learn about history while the museum was closed. By the end of October, it had over 3,400 members! It's a private group just for Bridgwater's history.
Images for kids
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The Blake Museum building
