Stamford Museum was located in Stamford,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. It was housed in a Victorian building in Broad Street, Stamford, and was run by the museum services of

Lincolnshire County Council Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire an ...

from 1980 to 2011.

The building and area

The building was built in 1895 as a technical school and has the words School of Art and the town crest carved above its doorway. It is built from oolitic limestone and designed by local architect,

John Charles Traylen John Charles Traylen ARIBA (27 February 1845 - 11 June 1907) was an English architect. Life He was born at Sibson in Huntingdonshire, and educated at Oundle School and Northampton Grammar School. He was admitted a student of the Royal Academy o ...

. The museum moved to these premises in 1980, having originally been located in the library on High Street where it had opened in 1961. Stamford was declared England's first Conservation Area in 1967. The town has been here since Anglo-Saxon and Viking times. Five medieval churches, a 15th-century almshouse as well as many other historic buildings remain.

Collections

The museum interpreted the town's history, including

Stamford Ware Stamford ware is a type of lead-glazed earthenware, one of the earliest forms of glazed ceramics manufactured in England. It was produced in Stamford, Lincolnshire between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. It was widely traded across Britain a ...

Pottery and the 18th-century

Daniel Lambert Daniel Lambert ( 1770 – 1809) was a gaol keeper and animal breeder from Leicester, England, famous for his unusually large size. After serving four years as an apprentice at an engraving and die casting works in Birmingham, he returned ...

, renowned for his girth. Notable exhibits included a Blackstone oil engine and the only known fragment of the Stamford Eleanor Cross. In the upper gallery were permanent displays on the archaeology and social history of the town. The lower galleries hosted a regular programme of temporary exhibitions. Also on display here was the Stamford Tapestry, which took 17 years to make and was hung in 2000 as part of the Millennium celebration. There was a large research collection available by appointment. It included a number of photographs and information files on local people, places and events.

Closure

In June 2010 it was announced that the Museum would close because of Lincolnshire County Council cuts. Despite local opposition, the museum closed on 30 June 2011. Some of the former exhibits have been relocated to the Discover Stamford area at the town's Library. Since 2015 the building has been leased b
Wildcats Theatre School

References

External links

"Discover Stamford" on Lincolnshire County Council website
Museums established in 1980 1980 establishments in England Local museums in Lincolnshire Buildings and structures in Stamford, Lincolnshire Defunct museums in England 2011 disestablishments in England