M Shed
Encyclopedia
The M Shed is a museum
in Bristol
, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour
in a dockside transit shed
that was previously occupied by the Bristol Industrial Museum
. The M Shed is home to displays of 3,000 Bristol artefacts and stories, showing a city that not only played a role in the slave trade but was also a major industrial centre with themes around transport, people, and arts.
The new museum opened in June 2011, with exhibits exploring life and work in the city. The conversion was expected to cost £27 million including a grant of £11.3 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund
. Another £1.39 million of HLF funding was announced in April 2011.
Normally moored in front of the developing new museum is the collection of historic vessels, which included the Pyronaut, a 1934 fireboat
, and two tugboat
s: John King built as a diesel tug in 1935 and Mayflower
, the world's oldest surviving steam tug built in 1861.
There is also a shop, learning space and cafe and admission is free (whilst donations are welcomed).
built in 1951 by Stothert & Pitt
. A short distance to the west is much older crane, the sole surviving operational example of a Fairbairn steam crane
. Built in 1878, also by Stothert & Pitt, it was in regular use until 1973 loading and unloading ships and railway wagons with loads up to 35 tons. It has been restored and is in working order, operating on some bank holidays and the Bristol Harbour Festival
.
Bristol Harbour Railway continues to offer train rides along the quayside on bank holidays, using restored steam locomotives and rolling stock.
Normally moored in front of the developing new museum is the collection of historic vessels, which included the 1934 fireboat "Pyronaut" and two tugs: John King built as a diesel tug in 1935 and Mayflower, the world's oldest surviving steam tug built in 1861.[1][2]
Exhibits included what is believed to be the world's first purpose-built holiday caravan to be compared with a 1950s equivalent, the Grenville steam carriage, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, carriages and buses.
Each telling a different story of Bristol, and containing a mixture of media.
Among the 3,000 exhibits of archive material on display are models of Nick Park’s
Oscar-winning animated duo Wallace and Gromit
, a 10m long mural by local graffiti artists, and pink spray painted record decks (1980) courtesy of Massive Attack
, the trip hop trio from Bristol. The band’s experimental sound would play a big part in the formation of the city’s club scene in the 1980s and 90s.
Also on display are newspaper clippings from the city’s landmark political episodes, including a triumphant moment for the fight against racial prejudice in 1963 when a group of West Indian workers lead a bus boycott after the city Omnibus Company
refused to recruit black workers. The dispute was championed by Labour socialist Tony Benn
and would help contribute to the end of racial discrimination in Britain.
A centrepiece of the galleries is a huge mural entitled Window on Bristol, painted by local artists Andy Council
and Luke Palmer. It depicts Bristol's buildings in the form of a huge graffiti-esque dinosaur.
was hosted at the M-Shed, and an audio capture of the learning from these presentations was recorded by the BBC.
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...
in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour
Bristol Harbour
Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and...
in a dockside transit shed
Goods shed
A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
that was previously occupied by the Bristol Industrial Museum
Bristol Industrial Museum
The Bristol Industrial Museum was a museum in Bristol, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour, and which closed in 2006. On display were items from Bristol's industrial past – including aviation, car and bus manufacture, and printing – and exhibits documenting Bristol's...
. The M Shed is home to displays of 3,000 Bristol artefacts and stories, showing a city that not only played a role in the slave trade but was also a major industrial centre with themes around transport, people, and arts.
The new museum opened in June 2011, with exhibits exploring life and work in the city. The conversion was expected to cost £27 million including a grant of £11.3 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
. Another £1.39 million of HLF funding was announced in April 2011.
Normally moored in front of the developing new museum is the collection of historic vessels, which included the Pyronaut, a 1934 fireboat
Fireboat
A fireboat is a specialized watercraft and with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment....
, and two tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
s: John King built as a diesel tug in 1935 and Mayflower
Mayflower (tugboat)
Mayflower is a steam tug built in Bristol in 1861 and now preserved by Bristol Museums Galleries & Archives. She is based in Bristol Harbour at M Shed . She is the oldest Bristol-built ship afloat and is believed to be the oldest surviving tug in the world.Steam tug Mayflower 1861 by A...
, the world's oldest surviving steam tug built in 1861.
There is also a shop, learning space and cafe and admission is free (whilst donations are welcomed).
History
On the quayside outside the museum are four electrically powered cargo cranesCrane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
built in 1951 by Stothert & Pitt
Stothert & Pitt
Stothert & Pitt were a British engineering company founded in 1785 in Bath, England. They were the builders of a variety of engineering products ranging from Dock cranes to construction plant and household cast iron items. They went out of business in 1989...
. A short distance to the west is much older crane, the sole surviving operational example of a Fairbairn steam crane
Fairbairn steam crane
The Fairbairn steam crane is a type of harbourside crane of an 'improved design', patented in 1850 by Sir William Fairbairn. There is one surviving example in Bristol Docks, England.-Innovative design:...
. Built in 1878, also by Stothert & Pitt, it was in regular use until 1973 loading and unloading ships and railway wagons with loads up to 35 tons. It has been restored and is in working order, operating on some bank holidays and the Bristol Harbour Festival
Bristol Harbour Festival
The Harbourside in Bristol, England, has hosted the Bristol Harbour Festival for 40 years, with over 250,000 visitors attending live music, street performances and a variety of live entertainment. The festival includes music stages, a dance stage, street theatre performances, and water displays...
.
Bristol Harbour Railway continues to offer train rides along the quayside on bank holidays, using restored steam locomotives and rolling stock.
Normally moored in front of the developing new museum is the collection of historic vessels, which included the 1934 fireboat "Pyronaut" and two tugs: John King built as a diesel tug in 1935 and Mayflower, the world's oldest surviving steam tug built in 1861.[1][2]
Exhibits included what is believed to be the world's first purpose-built holiday caravan to be compared with a 1950s equivalent, the Grenville steam carriage, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, carriages and buses.
Galleries
There are three main galleries:Each telling a different story of Bristol, and containing a mixture of media.
Among the 3,000 exhibits of archive material on display are models of Nick Park’s
Nick Park
Nicholas Wulstan "Nick" Park, CBE is an English filmmaker of stop motion animation best known as the creator of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep....
Oscar-winning animated duo Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in a series consisting of four British animated short films and a feature-length film by Nick Park of Aardman Animations...
, a 10m long mural by local graffiti artists, and pink spray painted record decks (1980) courtesy of Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
, the trip hop trio from Bristol. The band’s experimental sound would play a big part in the formation of the city’s club scene in the 1980s and 90s.
Also on display are newspaper clippings from the city’s landmark political episodes, including a triumphant moment for the fight against racial prejudice in 1963 when a group of West Indian workers lead a bus boycott after the city Omnibus Company
Bristol Omnibus Company
The Bristol Omnibus Company is the former name of the dominant bus operator in Bristol, one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. The company once ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties. The name was in operational use until 1985...
refused to recruit black workers. The dispute was championed by Labour socialist Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
and would help contribute to the end of racial discrimination in Britain.
A centrepiece of the galleries is a huge mural entitled Window on Bristol, painted by local artists Andy Council
Andy Council
Andy Council is an illustrator and graffiti artist from Bristol, UK. Dinosaurs combined with architecture are a common theme of his designs.Council was educated at Bournmouth Art College where he studied Animation....
and Luke Palmer. It depicts Bristol's buildings in the form of a huge graffiti-esque dinosaur.
Events
Recently the TEDxBristol, held on the 8th Sept 2011, themed 18 min talks around the subjects of;- Sustainability
- Innovation
- Creativity
was hosted at the M-Shed, and an audio capture of the learning from these presentations was recorded by the BBC.