Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery facts for kids
The Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery is a super interesting place in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. It's where you can discover amazing historical items and beautiful artworks from the city. Think of it as a treasure chest filled with stories from the past! This museum is looked after by an organization called Vivacity, working with the city council.
History of the Museum Building
The building where the museum is today has a long and exciting history. It started as a large private house built in 1816. Some parts of its cellar are even older, going back to a house from the 1500s!
In 1931, a kind person named Sir Percy Malcolm Stewart bought the building. He then gave it to the Peterborough Natural History, Scientific and Archaeological Society. This is how it became a museum! A few years later, in 1939, an art gallery was added to the building.
Before it was a museum, this big house was used as Peterborough's first hospital. From 1857 until 1928, it helped sick people in the city. It was known as a public dispensary and infirmary. In 1968, the Peterborough Museum Society gave the building to the city.
Since 2010, the museum has been managed by Vivacity. This is a special non-profit group that also runs other cool places in the city, like the Key Theatre and the local libraries.
Exploring the Collections
The Peterborough Museum has a huge collection of about 227,000 objects! These items tell the story of the local area, from ancient times to more recent history.
You can see things like pottery made by the Romans. They had a big pottery industry here a long, long time ago! There are also incredible marine fossils from the Jurassic period. These are super old remains of sea creatures that lived millions of years ago.
The museum also keeps the original writings of John Clare. He was a famous poet known as the "Northamptonshire Peasant Poet." Another unique part of the collection is from the Norman Cross Prison. These are items made by French prisoners of war.
These prisoners were held at Norman Cross, near Peterborough, from 1797 to 1814. This place is thought to be the world's first prison built just for prisoners of war! The art collection at the museum features many paintings, prints, and drawings. They range from the 1600s all the way to today.
