Thomas Sheppard (2 October 1876 – 18 February 1945) was a British museum curator and amateur geologist, who founded several museums in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

and in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, England.

Biography

Sheppard was born in

South Ferriby South Ferriby is a village in North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary and west from the Humber Bridge. North Ferriby is directly opposite on the Estuary's north bank. Village population was 651 in ...

, one of ten children of Harvey, schoolmaster and Myra (née Havercroft). His childhood included holidays spent with his uncle who was a collector of antiquities and fossils. He also accompanied

William Greenwell Canon William Greenwell, (23 March 1820 – 27 January 1918) was an English archaeologist and Church of England priest. Early life William Greenwell was born 23 March 1820 at the estate known as Greenwell Ford near Lanchester, County Durham, E ...

on archaeological digs whilst still at school. Thomas was educated to elementary level in Hull. He worked as a railway clerk in Hull for 11 years, during which time he was self-educated, also attending classes in microscopy and preservation of specimens, natural history topics and geology. Sheppard's employment by the railway ( North Eastern Railway) gave him free travel on the company's lines, enabling him to visit sites of interest in the East Riding. Sheppard became acquainted with

John Robert Mortimer John Robert Mortimer (15 June 1825 – 19 August 1911) was an English corn-merchant and archaeologist who lived in Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire. He was responsible for the excavation of many of the notable barrows in the Yorkshire Wolds ...

, and in 1900 produced a catalogue of Mortimer's Driffield museum. Thomas Sheppard (Hull museums) In 1901 he married Mary Isobel Osborn (b.1877), a son Harvey was born 1902. In 1904 he became the first curator of the Hull Municipal Museum at the Royal Institution in Albion Street, Hull, which was based on the collection of the Hull Literary & Philosophical Society (founded 1822) which had been acquired by Hull Corporation. Sheppard closed the museum and refurbished it, re-opening it in 1902 without admission charges. The museum was popular, with over 2000 visitors a week. Sheppard's character, coupled with the support of influential people led to the opening of further museums.

Wilberforce House Wilberforce House is a British historic house museum, part of the Museums Quarter of Kingston-upon-Hull. It is the birthplace of social reformer William Wilberforce (1759–1833), who used his time as a member of Parliament to work for the ab ...

was opened in 1906, the Pickering Park Museum of Fisheries and Shipping (1912),See also

Pickering Park, Kingston upon Hull Pickering Park is a park in the western suburbs of Kingston upon Hull, on the north side of Hessle Road, near Anlaby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Description and facilities Pickering Park is a council run park of with an ornamental and ...

and Christopher Pickering the Commerce and Transport Museum (1925), the Easington Tithe Barn museum (1928), the Mortimer Museum (1929), and a Railway Museum in 1933.The railway museum as located in

Hull Paragon railway station Hull Paragon Interchange is a transport interchange providing rail, bus and coach services located in the city centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. The G. T. Andrews-designed station was originally named ''Paragon Station'', and together ...

. An 'Old Times Street' museum was also under development but destroyed before opening during the

Second World War 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 ...

. Sheppard's interests also extended to other fields including

amateur dramatics An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History Hist ...

, literary societies and geology. Sheppard's health declined in the 1930s, and he gave up some honorary positions; he was noted as liking cigars and as having a love of whisky, possibly an alcoholic. He separated from his wife Mary Isobel in the early 1930s. He retired in 1941, and died at home, four years later. He is commemorated with a green plaque on

The Avenues, Kingston upon Hull The Avenues is an area of high status Victorian housing located in the north-west of Kingston upon Hull, England. It is formed by four main tree-lined straight avenues running west off the north-north-east/south-south-west running ''Princes Ave ...

Legacy

The Wilberforce Museum, recalling the slave trade and abolitionists still exists, located at

; the "Pickering Park Museum of Fisheries and Shipping" collection moved to the Dock Office building in 1974, and now forms part of the

Hull Maritime Museum The Hull Maritime Museum is a museum in Kingston upon Hull, England, that explores the seafaring heritage of the city and its environs. The museum's stated mission is "To preserve and make available the maritime history of Hull and east Yorkshi ...

; the "Museum of Commerce and Transport" collection now is part of the

Streetlife Museum of Transport The Streetlife Museum of Transport is a transport museum located in Kingston upon Hull, England. The roots of the collection date back to the early 20th century, however the purpose-built museum the collection is housed in was opened in 198 ...

; the Mortimer Museum collection is part of the

Hull and East Riding Museum The Hull and East Riding Museum is located in the Museums Quarter of the Old Town in Kingston upon Hull, England. It dates back to 1925 as the Museum of Commerce and Industry in a former Customs House but acquired its present name in 1989 with ...

. Several of the Hull museums were badly damaged during the

Hull Blitz The Hull Blitz was the bombing campaign that targeted the English port city of Kingston upon Hull by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Large-scale attacks took place on several nights throughout March 1941, resulting in over ...

of the Second World War. The Railway museum, and the un-opened 'Old Times Street' museum were destroyed, and the Municipal Museum building was gutted by fire. Sheppard published numerous books and papers; primarily histories, catalogues, and introductory geological works; as well as many Hull museum publications. He was awarded several honorary life memberships and other honours including a Lyell Award from the London Geological Society. A partial list is given in . Sheppard has been described as a humorous individual, 'portly and jovial' in later years; a workaholic; with a good sense of self publicity and unscrupulous when collecting in the interests of his museums; occasionally arrogant and opinionated. A conflict with the Morfitt family of

Atwick __NOTOC__ Atwick is a village and civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is near the North Sea coast, and north of Hornsea on the B1242 road. The civil parish is formed by the village of Atwick and th ...

probably led him to wrongly label bone points collected in Holderness as fakes.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

External links