Guildford Museum
Guildford Museum | |
---|---|
Guildford Borough Council | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | Castle Arch |
Designated | 1 May 1953 |
Reference no. | 1189846 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | The Castle Gateway |
Designated | 1 May 1953 |
Reference no. | 1029253 |
Guildford Museum is the main museum in the town of
History
The Museum's collection originally grew from the collections of the Surrey Archaeological Society, founded in 1854. From the outset the Society collected objects from excavations and private donations, as well as accepting loans from private individuals. These artefacts were first stored with the society's various Honorary Secretaries in a number of locations in London. In 1871 it was suggested that the Society's collections be moved to a more permanent base in Croydon (then Surrey, now a part of Greater London) and housed by the Croydon Literary and Scientific Institute. Part of the attraction of the move was that the Institute offered free accommodation for the collection, provided glass cases for display and offered to produce a catalogue of the collection. These terms were described as "very advantageous" by the Society's committee.
However, the Institute failed to live up to its promise to provide adequate care for the collections, and when the Honorary Secretary,
In 1903 Fredrick H. Elsley was appointed joint Librarian and Curator of the Society's collection of books, manuscripts and artefacts. He was offered an annual honorarium of £5 per year, which by the time of his death in 1944 had risen to £25 per year.
In 1912 the Museum, now being funded jointly by the Society and Borough Council, became known as "The Guildford Borough and Surrey Archaeological Society Museum". Free public entry was now offered on three afternoons a week. In 1933 the Council took over the full running of the Museum, with the Society's collection on near-permanent loan.
In June 2009 the Museum and local publicly sponsored Art Gallery merged.
Collections
Guildford Museum cares for over 75,000 objects, dating from c.500,000 BC (the Lower
The collections can be sub-divided into four sections:
Archaeology The Museum's archaeology collection dates back to 1854, when the Surrey Archaeological Society was founded and began collecting objects, although few have in fact been in the collection for more than 100 years. Many of the objects in the collections remain on near-permanent loan from the Society. Highlights include sceptre handles and religious headdresses’ from the
A minority of the 6,705 coins of the
Local History The local history collection dates from 1905 when the Museum began to collect social history objects. In 1907 it accepted a donation from
Needlework The Museum also cares for a specialist needlework collection, highlights of which include 18th and 19th century samplers, a "lending quilt" from a local parish church and a wide selection of Surrey Smocks (smocks worn by farm labourers in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries).[1]
Art As a result of a merger between Guildford Museum and
Location and building
Guildford Museum is on two streets including Quarry Street, Guildford, almost opposite
Other sites managed by the Museum
The Museum's teams manage:
- Guildford Castle
- The Undercroft, a medieval undercroft on Guildford High Street
- The medieval Great Barn at Wanborough
- Victorian School Room adjacent to the Museum.
Exhibitions
The Museum hosts a programme of constantly changing temporary exhibitions on site. Recent exhibitions include "Hidden House Histories", detailing the history of objects hidden in houses as a form of superstition, and "The Women's Royal Army Corps in Guildford", which covered the time the WRAC was headquartered in Guildford (1949–1992).
A previous exhibition, entitled "A Few of My Favourite Things", featured objects chosen by local people from the Museum's reserve collections. Guest curators include
Public services
Entrance to the museum is free including its collections not on display (usually by appointment). The Museum offers a finds identification service to members of the public who bring in an object to be identified and a school loans box service for schools and other groups eager to use objects during lessons, meetings, etc. A Victorian
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Data Service search by Surrey Museum Archaeological Data Service, part of the Arts and Humanities Data Service. Retrieved 18 January 2014
- ^ The Reigate Hoard Archived 2014-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Whites Directory. Retrieved 2014-01-18
- ^ Castle Arch (Annex) Grade II* Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1189846)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ Castle Gateway Grade I Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1029253)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 January 2014.