Grosvenor Museum

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The Grosvenor Museum holds Chester's biggest collection of local and international history. It covers 2,000 years of Cestrian life spread over three floors of a classic 19th century building. And best of all – it's completely free!

Contents 1 History 2 Collections 2.1 Webster Roman Stones Gallery 2.2 Newstead Gallery 2.3 Art Gallery 2.4 Ridgway Silver Gallery 2.5 Kingsley Natural History Gallery 2.6 Kings Arms Kitchen 3 Exhibitions and Lectures 3.1 20 Castle Street 3.2 Exhibition Galleries 1 and 2 3.3 Lectures 4 Sources and links

[edit] History

The Museums Act of 1845 authorised borough councils to collect a 1/2d rate for the purpose of establishing and running a Museum (provided that the population in the vicinity was over 10,000), for the instruction and amusement of the public. The Grosvenor Museum was founded in 1885, and its origins are linked to those of the Chester Society for Natural Science, Literature and Art, founded by Charles Kingsley(1819-1875). Charles Kingsley was a Canon of Chester Cathedral from 1871 to 1874, but is better known for his didactic moral fable The Water Babies. Kingsley enrolled as founder members in the Chester Society such eminent scientists as:

• Thomas Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895), known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of "natural selection";
• Joseph Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911), who had joined renowned polar explorer Captain James Clark Ross's Antarctic expedition to the South Magnetic Pole;
• John Tyndall (2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893), a prominent 19th century physicist; and,
• Charles Lyell (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875), the foremost geologist of his day, who had been an influence on the young Charles Darwin and was a major protagonist of Uniformitarianism

It is worth noting that many of these eminent scientists did not share the Creationist views of those opposed to Darwinism - Kingsley could evidently separate, or perhaps harmonise, science and religion, or secular and sacramental, quite well. Kingsley also brought together many local naturalists, and the Society built up large and important natural history collections. The building of a local museum was first suggested in 1871, to house the collections and use them for teaching. Kingsley himself wrote an interesting "Town Geology" book. In 1873, the Natural Science Society joined forces with the Chester Archaeological Society and the Schools of Science and Art to raise money for the museum. The plan was to build a museum with lecture rooms, and to house the collections and libraries from all three groups. A plot of land was bought in Grosvenor Street and £11,000 was raised, including a donation of £4,000 from the first Duke of Westminster. The architect was Thomas Meakin Lockwood of Chester. The museum, which is a listed building, is built of red brick with sandstone dressings in a free Renaissance style. On the façade, the reclining spandrels of the portal represent science and art, whilst the Dutch gables are carved with peacocks flanked by the talbot supporters of the Grosvenor arms. In the entrance hall, the mosaic decoration featuring the city arms, was made by Italian craftsmen from the Manchester firm of Ludwig Oppenheimer, and each of the four Shap granite columns was turned from a single piece of stone. The foundation stone was laid by the Duke on 3 February 1885, and he officially opened the museum on 9 August 1886. Named after the Duke's family, the building's full title was "The Grosvenor Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, with Schools of Science and Art, for Chester, Cheshire and North Wales".

Robert Newstead held the post of curator from 1886-1913 and then from 1922 to 1947. Newstead was supported in this work by his brother Alfred. Robert Newstead later became Professor Emeritus of Entomology at Liverpool University. He was also a scholar of considerable distinction in the field of archaeology, and was made a freeman of the city in 1936. The City of Chester officially took over the administration of the museum in 1915, and total control of the collections and displays in 1938. Graham Webster was appointed curator after Robert Newstead died in 1947. The Society of Antiquaries hints at the somewhat eclectic nature of the collection in a report from 1950 that they were "much impressed by the remarkable progress of the Curator since his appointment. Though the work of rearrangement is far from complete, sufficient has already been accomplished to justify the belief that, when the present plans have been carried out, the Museum will rank with the most modern and attractive displays of archaeological material in the country."

Graham Webster devised the Newstead Gallery, which was opened in 1953 and named after Robert Newstead. In 1955 the first period room, the Victorian Parlour, was opened to the public in the Period House at number 20 Castle Street, which Webster had saved from demolition. In 1989, the new Art Gallery was created, and the museum came under the new Leisure Services section of the City Council. Major structural work in 1990 was the perfect opportunity to refurbish all the public areas, including the entrance hall and main galleries. The Roman Stones and Natural History Galleries were redisplayed and a new Silver Gallery created. In 1992, the Prince of Wales (Earl of Chester) reopened the museum after refurbishment. In 1993, the Webster Roman Stones Gallery won the North West Museum of the Year Award. In 1999, the Museum was awarded a £300,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to undertake a scheme of access improvements to the ground floor, which included installing a disabled toilet and stair lifts, and building a new conservatory to house the shop. The museum now has over 100,000 visitors each year.

Newstead and Lockwood are both buried in Overleigh Cemetery.

In April 2007, there was a public outcry when Chester City Council mooted the idea of moving the Grosvenor Museum to a new site outside the city centre, possibly to the Greyhound Park trading estate development at Sealand. The reason given was that the current premises are too small now. It remains to be seen what the future holds.

[edit] Collections

[edit] Webster Roman Stones Gallery

The Webster Gallery houses the largest collection of Roman tombstones from a single site in Britain. With a few exceptions, all the stones in the gallery had been reused at some time to repair the City Walls. The tombstones on display tell you something about the lives of the soldiers, slaves, women and children who lived in Chester during the Roman Empire. The gallery takes you on a walk through a Roman cemetery. Four altars to Roman gods include one to Nemesis, the goddess of fate or destiny. Thirty five tombstones are on display. One of the finest pieces of Roman sculpture in the museum shows a fragment of a scene with a wounded barbarian lying defiantly under the legs of his opponent's horse. His spear is broken but he still clings onto his shield. The complete stone commemorated a Roman cavalryman whose name and likeness are now lost.

The first few tombstones were found in 1883. More were found in 1887, buried inside the lower part of the City Walls near the King Charles Tower. Between 1883 and 1892, over 150 tombstones were found in the north wall. This is still one of the most spectacular archaeological finds made in Chester. The walls were probably repaired later in the Roman period between 300 and 400 CE and why the tombstones were used is a mystery (see Dark Age Chester). However, they were well preserved inside the wall and survived unharmed for 1500 years. The gallery also contains a reconstruction of an optio's quarters complete with the figure of an optio. The optio was second in command to the centurion and was responsible for book keeping and listing the pay, sickness and personal details of each soldier. Finally, the gallery contains an excellent cast of Chester's "Minerva shrine". Comparing the cast with the actual shrine it is easy to see how the shrine has decayed through vandalism and weathering since the cast was made.

And here is ChesterTourist's video and commentary:

[edit] Newstead Gallery

The Newstead Gallery tells the story of the Romans in Chester including the Roman legion and its fortress, coinage, pottery, glass, religion, trade and everyday life. Guarding the entrance to the gallery is a lifesize model of a Roman legionary of about 60 CE which shows how they dressed.

Two highlights of the gallery are the military diplomas and the collection of lead waterpipes and ingots found in or near Chester. Military diplomas were given to auxillary soldiers who had served in the army for 25 years. The diplomas were inscribed on bronze tablets. They gave Roman citizenship to the men and their children and made their marriages legal. Only 13 diplomas have been found in Britain. The most complete was found in Malpas, Cheshire in 1821. It is dated 19 January 104 and was made out to horsemen and foot soldiers serving under Lucius Neratius Marcellus, Governor of Britain.

Lead ores were very important to the Romans not only for the lead itself, but also for the silver often found in the ore. The lead was extracted from Roman mines in the Clwyd Hills, particularly at Halkyn and probably refined at Flint. One of the lead pipes on display was made in 79 CE and there are several lead ingots (known as "pigs") on display that are marked with the name of the Deceangli tribe. The coinage of the Romans was frequently based on silver and the process of separation of lead and silver, (cupellation), was fairly simple. The ore (galena) was heated until the lead separated from the rock. The lead was removed, and heated up to 1100° Celsius using hand bellows. At this point, the silver separated from the lead. The process was hazardous as it released a considerable quantity of lead into the environment. Lead again became a major industry in Chester in 1750-1900 following the development of mines near Minera and there was a major leadworks at Boughton. Other legacies of the Roman mining efforts were the Chester Mint and the Assay Office - see below for more on silver.

A model of the principia shows the headquarters building inside the fortress. It contained a large courtyard surrounded by offices and stores. You can only see a few traces of this great Roman building today. St. Peter's Church at the City Cross now stands on the site of the entrance to the principia. The model of the Roman amphitheatre at Chester shows a reconstruction of the largest stone amphitheatre in Britain. It could hold over 6,000 spectators. Its main purpose was for training the legionaries in fighting techniques. A model of the whole Roman fortress at Chester shows a bird's-eye view of the fortress around 220 CE.

A particularly ghoulish display comprises a skeleton recovered from the bottom of a Roman well near the site of the castle. Whoever he was, he had broken his leg earlier in life and it had been badly set, so he would have walked with a limp. It appears that the well was near the site of a fire which happened at around the time that the body ended up in the well. See the article on Dark Age Chester for a possible explanation of how he got there.

The skeleton (thanks to Chestertourist):

[edit] Art Gallery

Most of the Museum's finest paintings are shown in the Art Gallery, hung two deep against gold moire and enhanced by sculpture and furniture. A remarkable triple portrait of Mary Done, painted around 1635-38 by John Dobson, shows her contemplating her own bust, which has closed eyes like a death mask. Her son Sir John Crewe, Chief Forester of Delamere, was painted in 1682 by John Michael Wright, one of the most cosmopolitan figures in 17th century British art. A subsequent Chief Forester of Delamere, John Arderne, was painted about 1746 by Arthur Devis in his characteristically neat and genteel style.

Sculpture plays a prominent role in the gallery, and includes a low-relief plaster medallion of about 1852 by the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Alexander Munro depicting Constance, Countess Grosvenor, later Duchess of Westminster. In 1879 her brother, Lord Ronald Gower, made a bronze statuette of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, who lived at Hawarden Castle near Chester. The collection extends into the 20th century with two pairs of Wedgwood basaltes ware vases, originally made for Winnington Hall at Northwich in 1921, and a brilliant likeness of Canon Maurice Ridgway, the great expert on Chester silver, painted by Paul Brason in 1994.

The museum houses over 700 pictures of Chester. A painting by the Flemish artist Pieter Tillemans, dating between 1710 and 1734, shows horse racing on the Roodee in front of the City Walls. A mid-19th century view shows the Cathedral before the major restoration in 1868-76, when much of its soft red sandstone exterior was refaced. Another mid-19th century painting by W. White shows the King Charles Tower, on which Charles I stood in 1645 while his army was being defeated by the Parliamentarians at Rowton Moor. One special collection includes over twenty of Louise Rayner's watercolours of Chester, the largest number in any public collection.

The gallery also contains furniture and includes a card table, veneered with rosewood and inlaid with brass, which is signed and dated 1824 by the Chester cabinetmaker John Crewe McKay. Chester's greatest sporting artist was William Tasker, noted for his portraits of winners at the Chester races, and the gallery includes his painting of Millipede from 1843.

As well as local artists and subjects, the history of art collecting in Chester is represented in the gallery, with works such as Feeding the Ducks, a highly-finished painting of the mid-19th century by John Frederick Herring Senior, which came from Hoole Hall.

[edit] Ridgway Silver Gallery

The museum has a superb permanent collection of silver in the Ridgway Silver Gallery. A number of important additional loans make this the largest display of Chester-related silver in the world, and the first half of the gallery tells the story of Chester-assayed silver. Early Chester silver begins with communion cups from the 1570s, but mainly covers the work of the 1680s and 1690s including tankards, a jug and an elegant two-handled cup. The Richardson family dominated the production of silver in 18th century Chester, and their work is celebrated in three cases. The greatest Chester silversmith was Richard Richardson II. His table basket of 1765 typifies the delicacy, lightness and elegance of the Rococo style.

The official Chester Assay Office was established in 1701, and silver in Georgian Chester was produced by a number of makers in addition to the Richardsons. A wide variety of domestic silver is on display, including a finely engraved two-handled cup, a cream boat and a wax taper box.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the Lowe family dominated the story of Chester silver. Their finest piece of work in the museum is a hot water jug of 1830 by George Lowe I. Also on display is the last piece of silver hallmarked at the Chester Assay Office before its closure in 1962, and a new bowl, commissioned by the present owners of Lowe & Sons to celebrate the opening of the gallery.

The second half of the gallery starts with the Delamere Horn and the Arderne Tankard. The tankard is a splendid piece from 1669, with lions forming the feet and thumbpiece and a dolphin handle. An impressive array of Chester race trophies illustrate the patronage of Chester City Council and the Grosvenor family. In addition to two large silver punch bowls and a solid gold tumbler cup, the display includes a pair of silver-gilt cups. These were presented by the second Earl Grosvenor in 1814 and 1815.

The gallery houses some exceptionally rare pieces of silver associated with the County Palatine of Chester. A pair of seal matrices made in 1706 for the Exchequer of the County Palatine by John Roos, Chief Engraver of the Royal seals of England, are the only surviving examples from Chester. A seal salver, made in 1759 for Sir John Willes, Chief Justice of the County Palatine, is elaborately engraved with his seal of office.

Three cases of local church plate begin with 18th century silver from the Nonconformist Matthew Henry's Chapel in Chester. The 18th century Cheshire church plate from Stoak and Tarvin includes a handsome ewer and cup. The Chester church plate purchased from four redundant churches is displayed in the context of a rich crimson and gold altar.

The gallery ends with a glittering array of the Marquess of Ormonde's silver. A dinner service and silver-gilt presentation pieces are displayed on a tiered buffet. The silver was given to the Museum after acceptance in lieu of taxation. It includes a beautiful pair of Rococo table candlesticks and pieces by the greatest Regency silversmith, Paul Storr.

[edit] Kingsley Natural History Gallery

The Kingsley Gallery has four themed areas: the history of the Victorian Chester naturalists; local species and projects; local environmental projects and a hands-on Activity Room. A highlight of the gallery is the mock Victorian naturalist's study. It contains the moth collection of Herbert Dobie, many of the moths collected from the first electric street lights in Chester. Historically important Cheshire collections include cited birds and hawkmoths. The Chirotherium fossil footprints are from Storeton Quarry on Wirral and include a computer animation of what Chirotherium supposedly looked like. Interactive displays include "A Look at Cheshire Wildlife" with animal calls and bird songs; a Micrarium to view microscope slides and a Videoscope. The Activity Room is open only at weekends. Visitors can explore the insect and fossil collections and handle objects.

[edit] Kings Arms Kitchen

One evening around the year 1770, a group of tradesmen met in a room at the "Kings Arms Kitchen" and decided to form a satirical imitation of the Corporation, with its own elected mayor, recorder, town clerk, sheriffs, aldermen and common councilmen. In the course of time the point of the King's Arms Kitchen was largely lost and it degenerated into a drinking and gambling club. The fittings of their meeting room were preserved when the pub closed in 1978, and transferred to the Grosvenor Museum, where they became the museum's teashop. A detailed history of the society can be found on the Virtual Stroll site.

[edit] Exhibitions and Lectures

[edit] 20 Castle Street

20 Castle Street, behind the museum, is a town house that takes you back to home life from the 17th century to the 1920s; including a Victorian kitchen, a Georgian drawing room, a nursery and even a fully fitted Edwardian bathroom.

[edit] Exhibition Galleries 1 and 2

These two galleries host visiting exhibitions. Details of current exhibitions can be found on the museum website:

• Exhibition Gallery One
• Exhibition Gallery Two

[edit] Lectures

Unlike many other museums the Grosvenor has maintained it's tradition of public lectures the current program is available online.

[edit] Sources and links

• The Grosvenor Museum
• More on Charles Kingsley