Bushey Museum
Encyclopedia
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. It was officially opened as a volunteer-run museum in October 1993, having achieved Full Registration with the Museums and Galleries Commission. In the week prior to opening, the Museum won joint first prize in the prestigious Gulbenkian Foundation Awards for the best achievement by museums operating with limited resources.
Bushey Museum covers local history through the Bushey Museum Trust's collections of artefacts, documents, maps and works of art. The displays tell the story of Bushey
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, with an emphasis on the unique artistic history of the village. They include works by members of the Monro Circle which flourished in the early 19th century. The Museum has a large collection (considered to be of national significance) of works, artefacts and ephemera relating to Sir Hubert von Herkomer
Hubert von Herkomer
Sir Hubert von Herkomer , British painter of German descent. He was also a pioneering film-director and a composer. Though a very successful portraitist, especially of men, he is mainly remembered for his earlier works that took a realistic approach to the conditions of life of the poor...
RA and his famous School of Art in Bushey which, a century ago, was attracting students from all over the world. There is also a major collection of paintings by Lucy Kemp-Welch
Lucy Kemp-Welch
Lucy Kemp-Welch was a British painter who specialized in painting working horses. She is best known for her illustrations to the 1915 edition of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty...
as well as works by other artists who, up to the present day, have been drawn to Bushey by its reputation.
Bushey's social history is illustrated through historical maps, displays of archaeology from earliest times to the present day, examples of the wide range of products made in Bushey, for example, Lotts Bricks, Ellams Duplicators and Bushey Heath pottery and displays on life in the village, both in times of peace and war.
A wide range of local records including census material can be inspected at the Museum's Local Studies Centre. The museum runs regular exhibitions examining different aspects of Bushey’s artistic and social and business heritage.
The Museum is supported by an active Friends of Bushey Museum which numbers some 800 members making it one of the largest such Friends organisations in the country. The Friends hold monthly evening meetings, undertake regular visits to other museums and places of interest and hold social and fundraising events. They support the Museum by providing manpower and by raising funds for new acquisitions.
Bushey Museum is open every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm; entry is free of charge. It is situated at Rudolph Road, Bushey, WD23 3HW.