Captain Cook Birthplace Museum
Encyclopedia
Captain Cook Birthplace Museum is a free-entry public museum
located in Stewart Park
in Marton
, Middlesbrough
within the borough of Middlesbrough
and the ceremonial county
of North Yorkshire
, England
.
It is one of three institutions run by the Middlesbrough Museum & Gallery Service along with the Dorman Museum
and the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
(mima).
]The museum first opened its doors in the setting of the town's Stewart Park in 1978, the 250th anniversity of the birth in the same spot of British
naval explorer and circumnavigator Captain James Cook
.
A biographical museum, it champions and surveys his life, times and subsequent journeys.
Prior to its existence, visitors to the Park had long already been enlightened as to the location's historical significance by the erection by local industrialist and mayor
Henry Bolckow of a granite
urn
in the 1850s bearing Cook's name, within what were then the grounds of his own residence, Marton Hall.
Marton Hall was destroyed by fire in 1960 during demolition, with only a surviving stone loggia
a telltale sign as to its former existence.
The museum itself comprises some of the modest Cook-related collections outside of the ownership of the major national and international collections; including household items and a speculative reconstruction of the birthplace cottage that was swept away amid the landscaping process for the Marton Lodge, home to the Rudd family, which stood here until 1793.
Also on call to the visitor are a series of interactive displays and temporary travelling exhibitions as well as a cafe, gift shop, education suite and resources and archive room.
A second major refurbishment was undertaken in 1998 whereupon Sir David Attenborough reopened it to the public.
External to the museum can be found an information board in deference to Marton's position as the starting point for the 'Captain Cook Country Tour', a product of the Cleveland
-wide Captain Cook Tourism Association.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
located in Stewart Park
Stewart Park, Middlesbrough
Stewart Park is a park in Marton, a southern suburb of Middlesbrough, England, located at the corner of Ladgate Lane and Marton Road.- History :...
in Marton
Marton, Middlesbrough
Marton — officially Marton-in-Cleveland — was a village in the North Riding of Yorkshire, which is now within the town boundaries of Middlesbrough, in the borough of Middlesbrough and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Originally, the parish of Marton extended down to the River...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
within the borough of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough (borough)
-External links:*...
and the ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It is one of three institutions run by the Middlesbrough Museum & Gallery Service along with the Dorman Museum
Dorman Museum
Dorman Museum is a general museum located in Linthorpe within the borough of Middlesbrough and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. From its establishment in 1904 initial thematical leanings were towards the natural sciences, although galleries of the local Linthorpe Pottery, and of...
and the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, or mima, is a contemporary art gallery based in the centre of Middlesbrough, England. The gallery was formally launched on Sunday 27 January 2007...
(mima).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
naval explorer and circumnavigator Captain James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
.
A biographical museum, it champions and surveys his life, times and subsequent journeys.
Prior to its existence, visitors to the Park had long already been enlightened as to the location's historical significance by the erection by local industrialist and mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Henry Bolckow of a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
urn
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
in the 1850s bearing Cook's name, within what were then the grounds of his own residence, Marton Hall.
Marton Hall was destroyed by fire in 1960 during demolition, with only a surviving stone loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
a telltale sign as to its former existence.
The museum itself comprises some of the modest Cook-related collections outside of the ownership of the major national and international collections; including household items and a speculative reconstruction of the birthplace cottage that was swept away amid the landscaping process for the Marton Lodge, home to the Rudd family, which stood here until 1793.
Also on call to the visitor are a series of interactive displays and temporary travelling exhibitions as well as a cafe, gift shop, education suite and resources and archive room.
A second major refurbishment was undertaken in 1998 whereupon Sir David Attenborough reopened it to the public.
External to the museum can be found an information board in deference to Marton's position as the starting point for the 'Captain Cook Country Tour', a product of the Cleveland
Cleveland, England
Cleveland is an area in the north east of England. Its name means literally "cliff-land", referring to its hilly southern areas, which rise to nearly...
-wide Captain Cook Tourism Association.