The Willis Museum is a local history museum in the Market Place,

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. The building, which was the headquarters of Basingstoke Borough Council, is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The building

Since the 14th century a Mote Hall was situated in Market Place, just to the east of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

. The present building, which was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

, was completed in 1835. The building served as a

corn exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...

and market hall and dances were held in the room upstairs. It was also the headquarters of the Council of the Borough of Basingstoke until the borough was abolished by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

in 1974. It then served as the headquarters of the enlarged District of Basingstoke until the Civic Offices opened nearby in 1981. It has been home to the Willis Museum since 1984.

The museum

The museum was originally housed in the old (now demolished) Mechanics' Institute building in New Road. It was founded by the local clockmaker, George W. Willis, as the Basingstoke Museum in 1931. Renamed after the founder in 1956, the Willis Museum was expanded to cover the town and surrounding area's history, from the Upper Cretaceous Age through to the development experienced during the 1960s and 1970s. It moved to the Town Hall in 1984. As well as funding from visitor donations, the Willis Museum receives grant funding from

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

Exhibitions

Displays covers local history, including remains of an ancient human known as "Basingstoke Man" and what is rumoured to be the world’s oldest wedding cake. In 2014, the museum faced criticism after some medieval coins, donated by a local treasure hunter, were removed from display. In January 2018 the museum faced criticism after specialist job roles were cut as part of a restructure of the wider Hampshire Cultural Trust service. The museum is home to the Sainsbury Gallery, which hosts temporary exhibitions. The gallery was added to the museum in 2008 with funding by the Linbury Trust, founded by

Lord Sainsbury Baron Sainsbury was created in 1962 for Alan Sainsbury in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. There have been two other peers with the surname "Sainsbury" who included their surname as part of their titles; all are from the Sainsbury family, names ...

. Previous exhibitions in the Sainsbury Gallery have included: * May The Toys Be With You * Turner and the Sun * Alice in Wonderland

Jane Austen statue

Situated outside the museum is a statue of

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

. The life-sized

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

figure was created by sculptor Adam Roud as part of a series of events marking the 200th anniversary of the writer's death. It is considered to be the first of Austen in the world. The events were credited with boosting the previously falling number of visitors to the museum, though it is unknown for how long or successfully this effect will last. The location was chosen as it is speculated to be the same square Austen would have visited to go shopping or to dance at the assembly rooms nearby. The statue was unveiled at a public ceremony attended by civic figures as well as Austen fans (or "

Janeite The term Janeite has been both embraced by devotees of the works of Jane Austen and used as a term of opprobrium. According to Austen scholar Claudia Johnson ''Janeitism'' is "the self-consciously idolatrous enthusiasm for 'Jane' and every detail ...

s") in

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

costume. Jane Austen spent the first 25 years of her life in nearby Steventon, where her father was vicar. Roud claimed that the statue represents Austen as a "daughter and a sister" as she walked through the town.

References

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External links

Friends of the Willis
Museums in Hampshire City and town halls in Hampshire Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire Basingstoke Government buildings completed in 1835