Grosvenor Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Grosvenor Museum |
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Grosvenor Museum
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| Location | Grosvenor Street, Chester, Cheshire, UK |
| OS grid reference | SJ 404 659 |
| Built | 1886 |
| Built for | Chester Society for Natural Science, Literature and Art |
| Architect | Thomas Lockwood |
| Architectural style(s) | Free Renaissance |
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Listed Building – Grade II
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| Designated | 6 August 1998 |
| Reference no. | 1376261 |
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The Grosvenor Museum is a fascinating museum located in Chester, Cheshire, in the United Kingdom. It's a very important building, listed as Grade II on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a special historic building that needs to be protected.
The museum's full name is quite long: "The Grosvenor Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, with Schools of Science and Art, for Chester, Cheshire and North Wales." It gets its name from the Grosvenor family, who are the Dukes of Westminster and own a lot of land in Cheshire. The museum first opened its doors in 1886. It has been made bigger and updated several times over the years. Inside, you can explore amazing archaeological finds from the Roman times, beautiful paintings, old musical instruments, and even a room set up like a Victorian living room.
Contents
How the Museum Started
The Grosvenor Museum was created in 1885. A group called the Chester Society for Natural Science, Literature and Art played a big part in making it happen. This society was started in 1871 by Charles Kingsley, who was a priest at Chester Cathedral.
In 1873, the society teamed up with the Chester Archaeological Society and the Schools of Science and Art. Together, they worked to raise money for the new museum. They managed to collect £11,000. A large part of this, £4,000, came from the First Duke of Westminster. The Duke also gave them the land on Grosvenor Street where the museum now stands.
Thomas Lockwood was chosen as the architect to design the building. The foundation stone was laid by the Duke on 3 February 1885. The museum officially opened on 9 August 1886. A big extension was added in 1894, making the museum even larger.
The first person in charge of the museum was Robert Newstead. He worked as the curator from 1886 to 1913, and again from 1922 to 1947. Newstead later became a Professor of Entomology (the study of insects) at Liverpool University. He was also given the special honour of being a freeman of Chester. In 1915, the City of Chester started helping to run the museum. By 1938, the city took full control of all the collections and exhibits.
The Museum's Building Style
The Grosvenor Museum is built with Ruabon red brick and has sandstone decorations. Its roof is made of red tiles. The building's style is called "free Renaissance," which means it takes ideas from the Renaissance period but uses them in a new, creative way.
Above the main door, you can see special carvings called spandrels. These carvings represent Science and Art. The Dutch gables (the upper parts of the walls that form a stepped shape) are carved with peacocks. These peacocks are next to the symbols that support the Grosvenor family's coat of arms.
Inside the entrance hall, there are four tall columns made from Shap granite. You can also see a beautiful mosaic on the floor. This mosaic shows the city's coat of arms and was made by a company called Ludwig Oppenheimer.
Recent Changes and Updates
In 1947, Graham Webster became the new curator. He created the Newstead Gallery, named after the first curator, which opened in 1953. Webster also saved a building at 20 Castle Street from being torn down. He turned one of its rooms into the museum's first period room, called the Victorian Parlour, which opened in 1955. This room shows what a Victorian living room would have looked like.
A new art gallery was added in 1989. In 1990, the museum went through a big renovation project. All the public galleries were updated and improved. The museum was officially re-opened in 1992 by the Prince of Wales (who is now King Charles III).
The museum has also won awards. In 1993, the Webster Roman Stones Gallery won the North West Museum of the Year award. In 1999, the museum received £300,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This money was used to make the museum easier for everyone to access and to create a new shop. These improvements were finished in 2000, making sure all visitors could easily explore the ground floor.
What You Can See Today
The Grosvenor Museum is very popular, with over 100,000 visitors every year! The museum has an Education Service on its top floor. This service offers great chances for children to learn about Chester's long history.
Inside the museum, you'll find a large collection of Roman tombstones. These stones give us clues about people who lived in Chester during Roman times. The museum also owns 23 paintings by an artist named Louise Rayner. This is the biggest collection of her work in any public museum.
The museum also has a special collection of six recorders made by Peter Bressan. Four of these recorders form the only complete set of Bressan recorders in the entire country! The museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions, so there's always something new to see. The Grosvenor Museum is open most days of the year, and the best part is that admission is free!
See also
- Grade II listed buildings in Chester (central)
- List of museums in Cheshire
