Bewdley Museum is a museum in the town of
Bewdley in Worcestershire, England. It is managed by the
Wyre Forest District Council.
History
The Bewdley Museum Trust was founded in 1969, prior to Bewdley Museum opening in 1972.
It was founded by Stephen Quayle who stated that the aims of the museum were, "to show people, who have only known Bewdley as a sleepy backwater, what a busy and important centre it was. It will become the focal point of the town and we hope it will attract visitors and stimulate trade."
Collections
The collections include local social history, geology, archaeology, fine art and numismatics.
The fine art collection has a focus on landscapes and portraits from Bewdley and the surrounding area, but also includes other works. Significant artists featured in the collection include Cyril Lavenstein,
Frank Brangwyn
Sir Frank William Brangwyn (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator, and designer.
Brangwyn was an artistic jack-of-all-trades. As well as paintings and drawings, he produced des ...
,
George Willis-Pryce
George Willis-Pryce (1866–1949) was an English landscape painter who worked in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Several of his paintings are exhibited in galleries and museums, such as the Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery and ...
and
Lord Frederic Leighton
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...
.
[ The museum also contains a local history reference library and archives.]
Buildings and gardens
Bewdley Museum is housed within several buildings and gardens, including:
*19th-century slaughterhouse, known as the Butchers Shambles
*250-year-old brass foundry
*Town Jails built in 1802
*Second World War air raid shelter built in 1940
*walled herb garden and pond
Exhibitions
Exhibitions include the story of Bewdley, traditional crafts and temporary exhibits. The museum also hosts resident craftspeople who work from the museum.
References
{{Reflist
Museums in the West Midlands (county)
Museums in Worcestershire
Museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...