The Mansfield Museum is a

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

museum in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

run by Mansfield District Council. Originally called the "Tin Tabernacle", the Museum was given to the town of Mansfield by the wealthy collector and natural historian, William Edward Baily in 1903. On his death he donated his collection and the building to house it. The following year the Museum was opened to the public on its current site on Leeming Street. Other prominent local people also added to the collection, including naturalist

Joseph Whitaker Joseph Whitaker may refer to: *Joseph Whitaker (industrialist) (1789–1870), American iron master and landowner *Joseph Whitaker (naturalist) (1850–1932), English naturalist *Joseph Whitaker (ornithologist) (1850–1936), Sicilian-English ornith ...

and artist Albert Sorby Buxton. The current building replaced the deteriorating "Tin Tabernacle" in 1938 and a fourth gallery was added in the 1960s. The arcade gallery was opened by the Sarah, Duchess of York in 1989.

Collections

The museum, with a focus on natural history, is known for being family friendly.

Made in Mansfield

The Museum arcade holds an exhibition on eight of the more well-known industries that built Mansfield's reputation for manufacturing. The gallery features artefacts, photos, film and audio relating to the major, past and present employers of the town: Metal Box, Shoe Co, Mansfield Brewery, Barrs Soft Drinks, hosiery, precision engineering, mining, foundries and quarrying.

Albert Sorby Buxton

The museum holds the watercolour pictures of Mansfield painted by artist Albert Sorby Buxton. The pictures highlight buildings in Mansfield that no longer exist and views that have long since disappeared.

Ceramics

A gallery is dedicated to the ceramic works of William Billingsley and Rachel Manner's

lustreware Lustreware or lusterware (respectively the spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a Metal, metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic Oxide, oxides in an Cer ...

References

External links and references

* {{coord, 53.1458, -1.1938, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Art museums and galleries in Nottinghamshire Museums in Nottinghamshire Local museums in Nottinghamshire Buildings and structures in Mansfield Museums established in 1903