HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Seaside Museum Herne Bay is a local museum in
Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was established in 1932 (as the Herne Bay Museum) and is notable for being a seaside tourist attraction featuring local archaeological and social history, for featuring the history of the town as a tourist resort, for its local art exhibitions, and for its
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
bouncing bomb A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-deter ...
. The management of the Museum was awarded by Canterbury City Council to the Herne Bay Museum Trust, who reopened it in July 2015 as The Seaside Museum Herne Bay.


History

The museum was originally established in 1932 as Herne Bay Records Society (known as Herne Bay Historical Records Society from 1988). From 1936 to 1939 the exhibits were in the hall at 53 Mortimer Street, Herne Bay, and from 1939 the museum was sited in the High Street above the Public Library. It moved to its present no. 12 William Street site in 1996.Herne Bay Historical Records Society The William Street premises is a Georgian building now in a
Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
, and William Street was the main shopping street until at least 1883. It was run for years by local historian, Harold Gough, and is funded and administered by
Canterbury City Council Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of th ...
. The exhibits are owned by Herne Bay Historical Records Society, and loaned to Canterbury City Council museums service. The museum was a Canterbury City Council Mystery Shopper Awards 2009 silver award winner. The gallery hosts local art exhibitions, and there is a free events programme.


Dr Tom Bowes

Dr Thomas Armstrong Bowes MA MD FSA (1869–1954) was a local medical doctor, local historian,
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
and collector. He rescued stone tools, pottery and artefacts turned up by workmen and builders in the area, benefiting greatly from the constant excavations of F.W.J. Palmer who was Surveyor to the Council between 1891 and 1915. He photographed local historical artefacts to make lantern slides for his lectures. He retired in 1930 and founded the Herne Bay Records Society and Museum in 1932, and donated much of his collection in 1936 to the museum, where it was housed in the hall at 53 Mortimer Street.Herne Bay Museum exhibit label He was president of the HBRS from 1949 to 1951.


Harold Gough

Harold Gough was a successor to Dr Tom Bowes in that he was a local writer, historian and honorary curator of the Herne Bay Records Society who helped to run the museum for many years. He was responsible, for example, for the museum's exhibits on
Herne Bay clock tower Herne may refer to: Places Australia * Herne Hill, Victoria * Herne Hill, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Riverwood, New South Wales Riverwood is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Riverwood is ...
, the first of its kind, and for researching the clock tower and other local landmarks, such as
Herne Bay Pier Herne Bay Pier was the third pier to be built at Herne Bay, Kent for passenger paddle steamer, steamers. It was notable for its length of and for appearing in the opening sequence of Ken Russell's first feature film French Dressing (1964 film) ...
. He was president of the Herne Bay Historical Records Society from 1992 to 2008.


Ken Reedie

Ken Reedie was curator of the Canterbury museums from the early 1970s until 2011.


Exhibits

The collections illustrate 60 million years of living history in the area, from
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s through
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
artefacts, the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
fort and
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
church at
Reculver Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...
, smuggling at Herne, the town's development as a Victorian
seaside resort A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...
, the two world wars and social history. Themes include the surrounding area, holidays,
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
, the clock tower,
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
,
palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
and
local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...
. Thus the museum provides material for education about
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
as well as preserving a sense of local identity, as
oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...
would have done in previous cultures. Most of the museum's collections are owned by the Herne Bay Historical Trust, which inherited them from Dr Tom Bowes.


Bouncing bomb

The main attraction for tourists is a prototype of the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Barnes Wallis Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attack ...
Highball
bouncing bomb A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-deter ...
that was tested in the sea off
Reculver Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...
between 6 April and 13 May 1943. The location was chosen because the shallow water allowed easy recovery at low tide, and it was secure and close to
RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpor ...
. To imitate the weight of explosive, the designers filled the Highball with ''checol'': concrete and chalk. The Army found this exhibit on the seabed in 1997, and it has been conserved for display. The Upkeep bouncing bomb, a later development of this prototype, was used in the 1943 Dambuster raids. Really a
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
and not a bomb, it worked by skimming like a pebble over water to jump over
torpedo net Torpedo nets were a passive ship defensive device against torpedoes. They were in common use from the 1890s until the World War II, Second World War. They were superseded by the anti-torpedo bulge and torpedo belts. Origins With the introduction ...
s. It was then designed to hit the dam and roll down to 30 feet where the water pressure caused detonation.


Archaeology and palaeontology

Archaeological exhibits include
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
finds from the Saxon church at
Reculver Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...
and
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
archaeology from the Roman
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
nearby. Palaeontological exhibits include mammoth tusks and an educational search exercise for children to find sharks' teeth: first in trays at the museum, where there are five ''Stratolamia macrota'', and then in the sand and small stones at low tide. There is an exhibit of numbered and named fossils found in 1939 at Bishopstone by beachcomber J. E. Cooper. It consists of the following 50–60 million-years-old items: sharks' teeth ''Stratolamia striata'' and ''Odotus obliquus''; green
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
from the
Thanet Sands The Thanet Formation is a Formation (geology), geological formation found in the London Basin of southeastern England.bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
shell fossils ''Corbula regulbiensis''; fossil wood and pine cones; Thanet Sand containing the bivalve shell ''Cucullaea decusata''; fossil oyster shells ''Ostrea bellovacina''; the large bivalve ''Arctica scutellaria''; ''Arctica morrisi'' bivalve casts, one with shell; brown sandstone from the Oldhaven Beds layer with shark's tooth; ''Arctica morrisi'' and other bivalves in Oldhaven Beds sandstone; stems of the
sea lily Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which are ...
, which is related to the
sea urchin Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
; fossil fish backbones;
Ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...
tooth; sea-worn mammoth tooth;
selenite Selenite may refer to: Substances containing selenium *A selenium-containing anion or ionic compound with the SeO32− anion: **Selenite (ion), anion is a selenium oxoanion with the chemical formula SeO32− ***Selenous acid, the conjugate acid, w ...
sand roses (not fossils); selenite crystals from
London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...
layer. These were gathered in a single day and had been washed out of the cliffs by the sea.


Roman fort at Reculver

This was established soon after 43 CE, on land which was at that time a mile from the sea, at the north end of the Wantsum channel. The Wantsum once separated
Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College *Thanet Canal, ...
from mainland
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and the fort was probably there to defend the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
fleet anchored in the channel. It was rebuilt in the third century CE to protect the coast from
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
longship Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nors ...
raids. It was 170 by 180 metres, with three-metre-thick walls with gates, surrounded partly by an earth rampart, and partly by two ditches. The
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
contained roads, a headquarters building, stores, barracks and a
bath-house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
. It was associated with its own service village and a road to
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
.
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
exhibits found at the
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
or in the sea nearby include a
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
building block,
Belgic Belgic may refer to: * an adjective referring to the Belgae, an ancient confederation of tribes * a rarer adjective referring to the Low Countries or to Belgium * , several ships with the name * Belgic ware Aylesford-Swarling pottery is part of a ...
ware, redware, an iron clench pin, a barbed
arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...
, a funerary
urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
or poppy beaker, pipe clay figurines, a marble carving, a
ragstone Rag-stone is a name given by some architectural writers to work done with stones that are quarried in thin pieces, such as Horsham Stone, sandstone, Yorkshire stone, and the slate stones, but this is more properly flag or slab work. Near London, ...
lamp Lamp, Lamps or LAMP may refer to: Lighting * Oil lamp, using an oil-based fuel source * Kerosene lamp, using kerosene as a fuel * Electric lamp, or light bulb, a replaceable component that produces light from electricity * Light fixture, or ligh ...
,
stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...
es, bone pins, a
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...
whorl and wall plaster.


Anglo-Saxon Reculver

In 669 CE, long after the
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
was abandoned in the fourth century,
King Egbert Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlema ...
granted land to the priest Bassa to build
Reculver Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...
church. Most of the church was pulled down in 1809 leaving two towers as navigational aids, and sea erosion has removed half of the fort.
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
finds include a large glass beaker with tears found at Broomfield in 1830, a fifth or sixth century wheel-made pottery bowl known as the ''Marshside Bowl'' found by the son of farmer Jack Harbour, and a large blue glass bead found near Reculver.


Victorian seaside resort history


Penny licks

During the 19th century ice began to be shipped from the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
and ice-cream kiosk owners spotted the potential. The first ice-cream cones were glass, and held a penny-worth or "penn'orth" of ice cream. Barrow-men did not have the facilities to wash the glasses properly, so they just wiped them. This resulted in a ban on
penny lick A penny lick was a small glass for serving ice cream, used in London, England, and elsewhere in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Street vendors would sell the contents of the glass for one penny. The glass was usually mad ...
s in 1926 for reasons of hygiene.


What-the-butler-saw arcade machine

This
mutoscope The Mutoscope is an early motion picture device, invented by W. K. L. Dickson and Herman Casler and later patented by Herman Casler on November 21, 1894. Like Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope, it did not project on a screen and provided viewing to ...
or What the Butler Saw arcade machine is possibly
Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
. These tourist amusements used a set of flicking cards containing sequential photographs to simulate moving pictures; they were cheap attractions in the entrances to indoor
amusement arcades An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as cl ...
on piers or on the seafront. They tended to contain quaint and voyeuristic flicks: a typical one still in use at
Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
pier in 1963 had a butler peeping through a keyhole to see his lady employer showing her ankles and voluminous
bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...
.


Wall displays

Displays show early photographs of the town as a seaside resort, of local events and of the development of the museum. There is a story about a girl awarded a medal for saving her sister from drowning in the sea. Photographs show the history of the fire brigade, the old bathing station and the clock tower.


Local history

Exhibits include a model of a pumping engine made by the engineer-in-charge and dated 1884 from Ford waterworks, Herne Bay Waterworks Company. There is a decorative seal press used by Herne Bay Urban District Council until 1974, which was used to impress the official seal on documents; the accompanying die is dated 1880s. Some exhibits give coverage of Herne Bay's wartime history, and they include a baby's gas mask, dated 1939. Among social history exhibits there is a
spinning wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning f ...
for wool which is now in disrepair, but its previous repairs reflect the 1950s art-movement revival of spinning and weaving, and that revival features in an exhibit of woven items at
Bradford Industrial Museum Bradford Industrial Museum, established 1974 in Moorside Mills, Eccleshill, Bradford, United Kingdom, specializes in relics of local industry, especially printing and textile machinery, kept in working condition for regular demonstrations to the ...
. This Saxony wheel is accompanied by a
lazy kate In spinning, a lazy kate (also simply known as a kate) is a device used to hold one or more spools or bobbins in place while the yarn on them is wound off from the side of the bobbin. Typically, a kate consists of multiple rods, which allow the b ...
: a set of spools for hand-
plying In the textile arts, plying (from the French verb ''plier'', "to fold", from the Latin verb ''plico'', from the ancient Greek verb .) is a process of twisting one or more strings (called strands) of yarn together to create a stronger yarn. Strands ...
yarn.


Gallery

The museum holds paintings by local artists
Thomas Sidney Cooper Thomas Sidney Cooper (26 September 18037 February 1902) was an English landscape painter noted for his images of cattle and farm animals. Biography Thomas Sidney Cooper was born in St Peter's Street in Canterbury, Kent, and as a small child ...
and
William Sidney Cooper William Sidney Cooper (1854–1927) was a British landscape artist, best known for his paintings of the countryside around Herne Bay in Kent. Life and work William trained with his Great-Uncle Thomas Sidney Cooper at his School of Art in C ...
who painted sheep and cattle in the countryside around Herne Bay. The Art Gallery has a collection which focuses on local views and on work by artists connected with the area. Workshops involving practising artists and related to the changing special exhibitions programme are planned for schools as a further focus on making art. There was an exhibition of paintings and prints by local artist Paul Mitchell in December 2009.


Exhibitions

There was an exhibition about the colour blue in February and March 2008. An exhibition about the cartoonist Giles took place in summer 2009. The Herne Bay Living History community memories group contributes to some of these exhibitions, and The October–December 2009 exhibition was entitled "Make do and Mend", using local evidence such as photographs and memories, to show how everyday objects were re-used during wartime. Craft activities and quizzes for families take place in association with the exhibitions.Herne Bay Museum and Gallery "Make Do and Mend" leaflet 2009 The permanent Tom Bowes exhibition shows him as a wax model with his collection and books.


Story time and quizzes

There was a "Herne Bay at War" quiz for families from October 2009 to January 2010, and for under-fives there was a story-time hour once a month from January to June in 2009. Image:Penny Lick Glasses 009.jpg,
Penny lick A penny lick was a small glass for serving ice cream, used in London, England, and elsewhere in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Street vendors would sell the contents of the glass for one penny. The glass was usually mad ...
glasses Image:Glass beaker from Broomfield 013.jpg,
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
glass beaker Image:Herne Bay Museum 056.jpg,
Ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
pointed
hand axe A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or che ...
s found near Herne Bay Image:Babys gas mask 022.jpg,
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
baby's
gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mask ...
Image:Model of pumping engine 023.jpg, 1880s model of
waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
pumping engine Image:Official seal press 025.jpg, Official
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
press Image:Saxony spinning wheel 029.jpg, Saxony
spinning wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning f ...
, part of 2009 "Make Do and Mend" exhibition Image:Sharks teeth search boxes 031.jpg, Search boxes containing coarse sand and
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
sharks' teeth


Projected closure and saving of museum


Projected closure

The museum was under threat of closure as of 2009, pending a decision by
Canterbury City Council Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of th ...
on 18 February 2010. This caused widespread controversy. In the event the Council voted to close the museums in 2011, but said it would fund them for the financial year 2010–2011 whilst working with other organisations to examine ways of keeping the museums open.Liz Crudgington, "Bitter debate over 'realistic' budget", ''Herne Bay Times'' (Kent Messenger), p.7, 25 February 2010


Saving of museum

On 9 December 2010 the ''Herne Bay Times'' announced the saving of the museum, saying that 2,000 fans had fought back and that the Department of Culture and Enterprise had agreed to a rescue plan, as stated by Canterbury City Council's head of culture, Janice McGuinness. This was to be done by charging a £2 entry fee for non-residents; local residents and children would not be charged, although visiting schools would pay fees. There was to be "rationalisation within the service and more involvement with the community without".


See also

*
Canterbury Roman Museum The Canterbury Roman Museum in Canterbury, Kent, houses a Roman pavement which is a scheduled monument, in the remains of a Roman courtyard house which itself is a grade I listed building. The pavement was discovered after World War II bombing, ...
*
Westgate, Canterbury The Westgate is a medieval gatehouse in Canterbury, Kent, England. This high western gate of the city wall is the largest surviving city gate in England. Built of Kentish ragstone around 1379, it is the last survivor of Canterbury's seven medie ...
*
Westgate Hall, Canterbury Westgate Hall is a hundred-year-old drill hall and community space in a Conservation area of Canterbury, Kent, notable for hosting community events. The Hall was threatened with closure or demolition in 2009, but a group of local people fough ...
*
Whitstable Museum and Gallery Whitstable Museum is a heritage centre in Whitstable, Kent, with Invicta (locomotive), Invicta, one of the world's oldest steam engines, the history of the local oyster trade and historical Surface supplied diving, diving equipment. History Th ...


References


External links


Herne Bay Museum and Gallery websiteHerne Bay Historical Records Society
(the group which has owned most of the museum exhibits since 1932)
Friends of Herne Bay MuseumCanterbury City Council Online Budget Consultation pageCanterbury City Council Online: Agenda for Exec Committee 21 Jan 2010
(includes link to audio recording of meeting)
Youtube: Unofficial Herne Bay Museum channelCanterbury City Council: Herne Bay Pier report including proposal to demolish and develop Museum site 22 February 2010
(to read report, right click on "Herne Bay Pier report" link to download pdf file) {{DEFAULTSORT:Herne Bay Museum And Gallery Museums in the City of Canterbury Museums established in 1932 History museums in Kent Local museums in Kent Art museums and galleries in Kent 1932 establishments in England Herne Bay, Kent