Market Hall Museum, Warwick facts for kids
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| Established | 1836 |
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| Location | Warwick, England |
The Market Hall Museum is a cool historical museum in Warwick, England. It's part of the Warwickshire Museum, which is run by Heritage and Culture Warwickshire. This museum shows off amazing collections about archaeology, geology, and natural history. Many of the items you'll see are from the local area of Warwickshire.
History of the Building
Building the Market Hall
The Market Hall was built a long time ago, in the late 1600s. Its main purpose was to give market sellers and their stalls a safe, dry place to work. Before this, the old market area wasn't big enough. The new building had a large, open ground floor with wide arches. This made it easy for people to walk through and buy things. Upstairs, there were rooms that groups could rent for meetings after 1694.
For many years, from the early 1700s until 1848, a small room in the Hall was used as a "lock-up." This was a tiny space where prisoners were held before they went to court. It was a very small room, only about 8 feet by 3 feet. Imagine, sometimes thirteen people were squeezed into it at once!
The First Museum: A Society's Collection
In the early 1800s, many people became very interested in learning about science, nature, and history. In 1836, a group of local men who shared this interest formed the Warwickshire Natural History and Archaeological Society. They started meeting in the Market Hall.
One of their main goals was to collect items related to animals, plants, and minerals. They put these items on display in the Market Hall for everyone to see. At first, you had to pay a shilling to get in, which was a lot of money back then. If you paid a guinea each year, you could become a member. Members got to attend free talks about nature and history.
In 1847, the Society held a special free event where anyone could visit the museum without paying. It was so popular that hundreds of people came! Later, around 1879, the open arches on the ground floor were filled in with windows and doors. Even so, the ground floor was still used for market activities until about 1900. By then, the museum's collection had grown so much that it needed the whole building. In 1905, the building was updated to be a proper museum. They even added a new front door with the word "MUSEUM" carved above it.
Becoming a Public Museum
As time went on, fewer people joined the Society, and it became harder to get money to run the museum. So, in 1932, the Society gave their entire museum collection to the Warwickshire County Council. This was a big deal because Warwickshire was the first county council in the UK to directly manage a museum!
To protect the building, it was officially made an Ancient Monument in 1936. Then, in 1938, work began to fix and restore it. In the same year, the museum became free for everyone to visit.
During Second World War, the building was used to store Civil Defence supplies. After the war, in 1953, it was given a special Grade II* listing, meaning it's a very important historic building. More work was done, including adding a copy of the original dome-like structure on the roof called a cupola. New windows were also put in to light up the attic, which is now used as offices. Since then, the museum has been run by the Warwickshire Museum Service.
What You Can See at the Museum
The Market Hall Museum still has amazing archaeological, geological, and natural history items. While the museum used to collect things from all over the country, today it mostly shows off objects found right here in Warwickshire.
Here are some cool things you might see:
- The Warwickshire Bear
Near the entrance on the ground floor, you'll find a full-sized, stuffed bear! It stands on its back legs next to a large wooden trunk. This pose looks just like the "Bear and Ragged Staff," which is a special symbol. This symbol has been linked to the Earls of Warwick for hundreds of years. You can still see this symbol today on the shield of Warwickshire County Council, the University of Warwick, and the badge of the Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
- Oisin the Deer
Among the geology exhibits, there's a complete skeleton of a Giant Irish Deer. This huge animal was given to the museum in the 1800s. These deer were enormous, with antlers that could spread up to four meters wide! They also stood two meters tall. This deer has become a very important part of the museum. In fact, Heritage and Culture Warwickshire's official Twitter account is even named after him!
- The Spicer Family
The Spicer family, from Warwick and Leamington, were famous taxidermists in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Taxidermy is the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals to make them look alive. The Spicer family's work was special because of its high quality. They often painted backgrounds and made realistic bases using real dried plants. The Warwickshire Museum has a special display about the Spicer family. You can also see some of their actual preserved animals.
- The Sheldon Tapestry
The Sheldon Tapestry Map of Warwickshire was made in the 1580s for Ralph Sheldon's home. There were many tapestries made, but only four showed maps of counties. These included maps of Worcester, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. Besides showing towns and roads, these maps are unique because they also show forests and hills. They even have small drawings of major towns and church towers. The Warwickshire map hangs on an entire wall in the Market Hall Museum. It was added to the museum's collection in the 1960s.
The museum is free to visit and open to everyone. It's easy to get to, located about half a mile from Warwick Railway Station and a short walk from Warwick Central Bus station.
See also
