Captain Cook Birthplace Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 28 October 1978 |
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| Location | Stewart Park, Middlesbrough |
| Nearest car park | Use Stewart Park car park |
Captain Cook Birthplace Museum is a public museum located in Stewart Park in Marton, Middlesbrough within the borough of Middlesbrough and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is one of two institutions managed by Middlesbrough Council along with the Dorman Museum.
The museum opened on 28 October 1978, the 250th anniversary of the birth in the same spot of British naval explorer and circumnavigator Captain James Cook. A biographical museum, it champions and surveys his life, times and subsequent journeys.
Prior to its existence, visitors to the Park had long already been enlightened as to the location's historical significance by the erection by local industrialist and mayor Henry Bolckow of a granite urn in the 1850s bearing Cook's name, within what were then the grounds of his own residence, Marton Hall. Marton Hall was destroyed by fire in 1960 during demolition, with only a surviving stone loggia a telltale sign as to its former existence.
The museum itself comprises some of the modest Cook-related collections outside of the ownership of the major national and international collections; including household items and a speculative reconstruction of the birthplace cottage that was swept away amid the landscaping process for the Marton Lodge, home to the Rudd family, which stood here until 1793. Also on call to the visitor are a series of interactive displays and temporary travelling exhibitions as well as a cafe, gift shop, education suite and resources and archive room.
A second major refurbishment was undertaken in 1998, which included the commission of two modern works of art by Turner Prize nominee Simon Patterson. The museum was reopened to the public by Sir David Attenborough. External to the museum can be found an information board in deference to Marton's position as the starting point for the Captain Cook Country Tour, a product of the Cleveland-wide Captain Cook Tourism Association.
