Cater Museum facts for kids
The Cater Museum in Billericay High Street
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| Established | 7 May 1960 |
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| Location | 74 High Street, Billericay, England |
| Type | Local museum |
The Cater Museum is a cool little museum located in Billericay, a town in Essex county, England. It's a place where you can discover lots of interesting things about the local area! A lady named Alice May Cater started the museum. She wanted to honor her husband, William Alexander Cater, who loved old things and history. The museum first opened its doors to visitors on May 7, 1960.
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Discovering the Museum's Past
The Cater Museum is a special place that helps people learn about local history. It's located at 74 High Street in Billericay. The building itself is very old, dating back to the 1700s! It has a front made of red bricks and is considered a "Grade II listed" building. This means it's an important historical structure. Before it became a museum, it was a shop and home for someone who made saddles and harnesses for horses.
Garden Discoveries
In 2002, a special Victorian-style kitchen garden was opened behind the museum. They even planted some old-fashioned Elizabethan herbs there! Later, in 2008, the museum received money from the National Lottery. This money helped them fix up the back of the building. They wanted to make it look like it did in the 1700s.
While they were working on the renovations, they found some amazing things in the garden! These items were from around the 1860s. They found old Victorian pipes, ginger beer jars, and even medicine bottles. Many of these cool discoveries were added to the museum's collection for everyone to see.
What You Can See: Museum Collections
The museum has many interesting items that tell the story of Billericay. These collections came from the Cater family, the museum's first curator Harry Richman, Anthony Nicholls, and A. Basil Brooks.
The museum has lots of local artifacts spread across three floors. You can find information about old families who lived in the area and learn about historic buildings.
Unique Artifacts
Some of the most unique things you can see include:
- Reports about a Zeppelin (a type of airship) that crashed nearby during World War I.
- The remains of a two-headed lamb that was born in the area.
- The actual door from the house of Christopher Martin. He was a passenger on the famous ship, the Mayflower, which sailed to America!
