Royal Museum and Art Gallery
Encyclopedia
The Royal Museum and Art Gallery, known locally as the Beaney Institute or The Beaney, is the central museum, library and art gallery of the city of Canterbury
, Kent
, England
. Until it closed for refurbishment in 2009, this Grade II listed building contained the regimental museum
of the Buffs (the Royal East Kent Regiment) as well as a gallery devoted to the 19th-century cattle painter Thomas Sidney Cooper
.
in 1846. The City established the Canterbury Museum and Public Library there in 1858, transferring it to the Beaney Institute building with the added name "Royal" in 1898. The Guildhall Street building in Sun Yard now contains the local branch of Debenhams
and bears a blue plaque
.
and City surveyor
A.H. Campbell in 1897 and opened on 11 September 1899 at a cost of £15,000, after Dr James George Beaney left £10,000 to Canterbury
for the institute, and Canterbury City Council
added £5,000 so that Beaney's institute could accommodate the city's existing museum and library. The public contribution to the fittings included £1,050 from Joshua Cox, and a gift from the Slater family enabled the 1934 Slater wing with art gallery to be built at the back. The free library and reading rooms were on the ground floor; the museum and art gallery were on the first floor; the basement contained the natural history department, storage and workroom. The mahogany
cases
came from the British Museum
, paid for by W. Oxenden Hammond and a Miss Lawrence, and adapted by Cubitts. The Victoria and Albert Museum
and Royal Doulton
lent items for display. In the 1944 film A Canterbury Tale
, the Beaney Institute building was director Michael Powell's
inspiration for the Colpeper Institute. For a century there has been a tradition of pavement art
in front of the building. Craig Taylor was among the last in this tradition, and after his death in 2009 the public left floral tributes on the pavement.
— 30 June 1891 Melbourne
) was a ship's surgeon, politician and philanthropist
. He qualified as surgeon in Edinburgh and travelled to Australia before being gazetted assistant surgeon to the 3rd Regiment (the Scots Guards)
. He served at Gibraltar
and later as staff surgeon to the Turkish contingent in the Crimean War
. From 1860 and for most of his life he was honorary surgeon to Melbourne Hospital
. He was a member of the Medical Society of Victoria, publishing numerous papers on medical subjects, and served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council
for the North Yarra Province in 1883-91. He was a colourful character, whose professional life was beset by controversy with the Melbourne medical establishment. His bequest was left for "the erection and endowment of an institute for working men" in which his own portraits were to be hung in the main hall. Canterbury would have received another £60,000 from the residue of his will, however Beaney made up his differences with Melbourne and by the end of his life a codicil was added so that Melbourne received the £60,000.
; Kent County Council
is the library
authority. These authorities work in partnership with stakeholders and funders. From at least 1899 to 1913, F. Bennett-Goldney (1865−1918) was the honorary curator, with Henry Thomas Mead as assistant or deputy curator and librarian and Henry Fielding as secretary. Ken Reedie has been curator since the early 1970s.
, then was moved to the Royal Museum in 1978. Ownership of the Buffs archives was transferred to the National Army Museum
in London in 2000. As of 2010, part of the collection is at the National Army Museum, and the rest remains scattered in storage among Canterbury's museums, until the Beaney re-opens. While the collection was previously at the Beaney, it contained displays tracing the Buffs' history from the 16th century to 1961, when the regiment was amalgamated with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
. The collection includes pictures, trophies, mess
silver, uniforms, weapons and medals including Victoria Cross
es telling stories of campaigns from North Africa
and Burma
to France
and Germany
, plus small sections on East Kent
's Volunteers
and Militia
.
collection.
During refurbishment the lending service continues temporarily at Ede's Garage, 35 Pound Lane. The stock at Pound Lane includes books for adults, children and teenagers; computer facilities; DVD
s, CDs
, talking books and a reduced reference
section. Baby Bounce and Rhyme and Story Time sessions for children continue, along with other community services. Part of the local studies
library is at the Cathedral
Archives until 2012. On one day in May 2009 at the Dane John Gardens
, Kent Libraries & Archives staged a Lark in the Park educational entertainment event to publicise the library's move from the Beaney to the Pound Lane location.
and his relatives Thomas George Cooper and William Sidney Cooper
. It also contained Old Master
s and European oils
from the 16th century onwards. The De Zoete collection of English and Dutch artists was given by G.F. de Zoete in 1906. The museum originally had a Van Dyck
painting of James I's
daughter and a Burne-Jones
Wheel of Fortune in oils
. It had a collection of engraving
s and prints
of old Canterbury, given by Dr Pugin Thornton and J. Henniker Heaton, besides the Ingram collection of engravings and drawings of India
, and the Godfrey collection of old Italian
engravings. In the gallery's collection were paintings from the Norwich School and by Adrian Scott Stokes
, besides a 16th century portrait of Chaucer
, two Jacob Epstein
portrait busts and one by Henry Weekes
. One of the last important acquisitions was Sir Basil Dixwell
by Van Dyck
bought for £1 million by Canterbury on behalf of the museum in 2004. These exhibits are either in storage, with specialist conservators for remedial work, or on short term display at the Museum of Canterbury
until 2012, where the Van Dyck can be seen.
s with orient
al porcelain
as well as Anglo-Saxon
grave jewellery from Kent. It had mounted
wildlife bequeathed by S. R. Lushington, and the Hammond bird collection bequeathed in 1903. The large, 18th century chandelier in the basement room came from the cathedral
. It had geological and natural history collections, and the ethnological collection originally included three Māori tattooed
heads, which were returned to New Zealand
in the 1990s.Information from Canterbury Museums Department It had two fourth or fifth-century runestones from Sandwich
, one of which had Raehaebul engraved on it, possibly as a headstone
; in which case these might be the oldest Jutish
tombstones yet found. It had Ancient Greek
bas relief
tablets. Also in the original collection was St Augustine's Chair, from Stanford Bishop church in Herefordshire
. This is not the Chair of St Augustine but was thought to be where St Augustine
sat when he received the British bishops at Augustine's Oak
, 602-604 AD. It was rescued by Dr James Johnston from the church during restorations and given to the museum in 1899 by his son. The chair remains part of the collection but was lent to Stanford Bishop church in 1943, and latest research suggests an 18th century origin. Beside it was a 14th century chair said to have been taken from Notre Dame de Paris
during the French Revolution
. One of the museum's prized possessions was the Burghmote Horn, said to have called the corporation
to assembly from the time of Henry III
until 1835. It also had the municipal
maces
of the extinct corporation of Fordwich
, as well as pilgrims' tokens
used as souvenirs of the shrine of Thomas Becket
. In 1975 the museum was given the ancient helmet of St Alphege Church.
implements and Roman
and Anglo-Saxon
antiquities found in Canterbury, Thanet
and East Kent
have since been shared with local museums: for example the nearly perfect Anglo-Saxon glass
beaker with hollow tears found at Reculver
is now at Herne Bay Museum
. Much of the Romano-British pottery
and glass found in Canterbury is now at the Roman Museum
. The remaining collections are currently stored at the Museum of Canterbury
, with some objects on display.
centenary
was celebrated there in 1957, with an exhibition of his books and papers. There was an exhibition of Giles
cartoons in the gallery from 20 December 2006 to 3 February 2007. From 30 January to 28 February 2009 there was a Hungry for Heritage exhibition, supported by a £24,700 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
, in which local young people created pictures of the soon-to-be-missed exhibits. These pictures were to be displayed in Canterbury cafes while the Beaney was closed.
site, it was intended to "transform that part of the city centre into a vibrant cultural quarter". Bidding started in 2003. The Heritage Lottery Fund
granted the project £6.5 million for redevelopment of building and services to provide space, facilities, displays, an extension, disabled access, a glass lift and educational spaces. Extra space would permit display of those collections previously hidden from public view. The intention was also to extend the gallery and provide further galleries for exhibitions. Plans for the library included an enlarged space for books and for a children's library and local studies
centre, with a space for teenagers. Local people including teachers were involved with planning. Canterbury City Council
, Kent County Council
, private sources and donations made up the project funding to £11.5 million, with the South East England Development Agency
(SEEDA) contributing £975,000. Planners are John Miller & Partners; architects are Sidell Gibson who oversaw restoration of Windsor Castle
after the fire; interior designers are Casson Mann, who have devised a theme of "explorer points". By 8 June 2009 the two councils had cleared out all exhibits, partitions and office material from the building, exposing the colours of early decorations in the process. They had great difficulty in removing Sidney Cooper's
huge Charlie the Bull from the stairwell. The project has attracted some controversy.
started on the site of the new extension in September 2009.
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, 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...
. Until it closed for refurbishment in 2009, this Grade II listed building contained the regimental museum
Regimental museum
In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment.-England:*Army Medical Services Museum...
of the Buffs (the Royal East Kent Regiment) as well as a gallery devoted to the 19th-century cattle painter Thomas Sidney Cooper
Thomas Sidney Cooper
Thomas Sidney Cooper was an English landscape painter noted for his images of cattle and farm animals.Cooper was born at Canterbury, Kent, and as a small child he began to show strong artistic inclinations, but the circumstances of his family did not allow him to received any systematic training...
.
History
A previous museum and library, established in Guildhall Street in 1825 by the Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution, was bought by the CityCity of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. The main settlement in the district is Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
in 1846. The City established the Canterbury Museum and Public Library there in 1858, transferring it to the Beaney Institute building with the added name "Royal" in 1898. The Guildhall Street building in Sun Yard now contains the local branch of Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
and bears a blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
.
Building
The Tudor Revival Beaney Institute building was designed by architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and City surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
A.H. Campbell in 1897 and opened on 11 September 1899 at a cost of £15,000, after Dr James George Beaney left £10,000 to Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
for the institute, and Canterbury City Council
City of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. The main settlement in the district is Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
added £5,000 so that Beaney's institute could accommodate the city's existing museum and library. The public contribution to the fittings included £1,050 from Joshua Cox, and a gift from the Slater family enabled the 1934 Slater wing with art gallery to be built at the back. The free library and reading rooms were on the ground floor; the museum and art gallery were on the first floor; the basement contained the natural history department, storage and workroom. The mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
cases
Display case
A display case is a cabinet with one or often more transparent glass sides and/or top, used to display objects for viewing, for example in an exhibition, museum, house, in retail, or a restaurant. Often labels are included with the displayed objects, providing information...
came from the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, paid for by W. Oxenden Hammond and a Miss Lawrence, and adapted by Cubitts. The Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
and Royal Doulton
Royal Doulton
The Royal Doulton Company is an English company producing tableware and collectables, dating to 1815. Operating originally in London, its reputation grew in The Potteries, where it was a latecomer compared to Spode, Wedgwood and Minton...
lent items for display. In the 1944 film A Canterbury Tale
A Canterbury Tale
A Canterbury Tale is a 1944 British film by the film-making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Sgt. John Sweet; Esmond Knight provided narration and played several small roles. For the postwar American release, Raymond Massey narrated...
, the Beaney Institute building was director Michael Powell's
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
inspiration for the Colpeper Institute. For a century there has been a tradition of pavement art
Street painting
Street painting, also commonly known as pavement art, chalk art, and sidewalk art, is the performance art of rendering original and non-original artistic designs on pavement such as streets, sidewalks, and town squares with impermanent and semi-permanent materials such as chalk.-Origin:Street...
in front of the building. Craig Taylor was among the last in this tradition, and after his death in 2009 the public left floral tributes on the pavement.
Dr James George Beaney
Dr Beaney (15 January 1828 CanterburyCanterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
— 30 June 1891 Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
) was a ship's surgeon, politician and philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
. He qualified as surgeon in Edinburgh and travelled to Australia before being gazetted assistant surgeon to the 3rd Regiment (the Scots Guards)
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
. He served at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and later as staff surgeon to the Turkish contingent in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. From 1860 and for most of his life he was honorary surgeon to Melbourne Hospital
Royal Melbourne Hospital
The Royal Melbourne Hospital , located in Parkville, Victoria an inner suburb of Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research...
. He was a member of the Medical Society of Victoria, publishing numerous papers on medical subjects, and served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council
Victorian Legislative Council
The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...
for the North Yarra Province in 1883-91. He was a colourful character, whose professional life was beset by controversy with the Melbourne medical establishment. His bequest was left for "the erection and endowment of an institute for working men" in which his own portraits were to be hung in the main hall. Canterbury would have received another £60,000 from the residue of his will, however Beaney made up his differences with Melbourne and by the end of his life a codicil was added so that Melbourne received the £60,000.
Management
The building, museum and art gallery are owned and managed by Canterbury City CouncilCity of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. The main settlement in the district is Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
; Kent County Council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...
is the library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
authority. These authorities work in partnership with stakeholders and funders. From at least 1899 to 1913, F. Bennett-Goldney (1865−1918) was the honorary curator, with Henry Thomas Mead as assistant or deputy curator and librarian and Henry Fielding as secretary. Ken Reedie has been curator since the early 1970s.
East Kent Buffs regimental museum
Until it closed in 2009 for refurbishment this was known as the Buffs Gallery, containing the archives of the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment). Around 1960 the collection was in the West Gate Towers MuseumWestgate, Canterbury
The Westgate is a medieval gatehouse in Canterbury, Kent, England. This 60-foot-high western gate of the city wall is the largest surviving city gate in England. Built of Kentish ragstone around 1379, it is the last survivor of Canterbury's seven medieval gates, still well-preserved and one of the...
, then was moved to the Royal Museum in 1978. Ownership of the Buffs archives was transferred to the National Army Museum
National Army Museum
The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, England adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The National Army Museum is open to the public every day of the year from 10.00am to 5.30pm,...
in London in 2000. As of 2010, part of the collection is at the National Army Museum, and the rest remains scattered in storage among Canterbury's museums, until the Beaney re-opens. While the collection was previously at the Beaney, it contained displays tracing the Buffs' history from the 16th century to 1961, when the regiment was amalgamated with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
"PWRR" redirects here. For the railroad with these reporting marks, see Portland and Western Railroad.The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division...
. The collection includes pictures, trophies, mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
silver, uniforms, weapons and medals including Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
es telling stories of campaigns from North Africa
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
and Burma
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
to France
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and Germany
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, plus small sections on East Kent
East Kent
East Kent and West Kent are one-time traditional subdivisions of the English county of Kent, kept alive by the Association of the Men of Kent and Kentish Men: an organisation formed in 1913...
's Volunteers
Volunteer Force (Great Britain)
The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, before forming part of the...
and Militia
Militia (United Kingdom)
The Militia of the United Kingdom were the military reserve forces of the United Kingdom after the Union in 1801 of the former Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland....
.
Free Library
Between 1913 and 2008, the library stock increased from 12,000 volumes to two million including 17th and 18th century texts, maps, local Media and directories. It was designed with rooms for newspapers and journals, and a magazine room as well as lending and reference libraries. The 200 Scott-Robinson books about Kent are part of the local historyLocal history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history...
collection.
During refurbishment the lending service continues temporarily at Ede's Garage, 35 Pound Lane. The stock at Pound Lane includes books for adults, children and teenagers; computer facilities; DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s, CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, talking books and a reduced reference
Reference work
A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled in a book for ease of reference. That is, the information is intended to be quickly found when needed. Reference works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end...
section. Baby Bounce and Rhyme and Story Time sessions for children continue, along with other community services. Part of the local studies
Local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history...
library is at the Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
Archives until 2012. On one day in May 2009 at the Dane John Gardens
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Kent Libraries & Archives staged a Lark in the Park educational entertainment event to publicise the library's move from the Beaney to the Pound Lane location.
Gallery
Until closure for refurbishment in 2009 the gallery was known for its collection of works by local artists including Thomas Sidney CooperThomas Sidney Cooper
Thomas Sidney Cooper was an English landscape painter noted for his images of cattle and farm animals.Cooper was born at Canterbury, Kent, and as a small child he began to show strong artistic inclinations, but the circumstances of his family did not allow him to received any systematic training...
and his relatives Thomas George Cooper and William Sidney Cooper
William Sidney Cooper
William Sidney Cooper was an English landscape artist, best known for his paintings of the countryside around Herne Bay in Kent.-Life and work:William trained with his Great-Uncle Thomas Sidney Cooper at his School of Art in Canterbury...
. It also contained Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
s and European oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
from the 16th century onwards. The De Zoete collection of English and Dutch artists was given by G.F. de Zoete in 1906. The museum originally had a Van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
painting of James I's
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
daughter and a Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
Wheel of Fortune in oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
. It had a collection of engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
s and prints
Old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition . A date of about 1830 is usually taken as marking the end of the period whose prints are covered by this term. The main techniques concerned are woodcut, engraving and etching, although there are...
of old Canterbury, given by Dr Pugin Thornton and J. Henniker Heaton, besides the Ingram collection of engravings and drawings of India
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
, and the Godfrey collection of old Italian
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
engravings. In the gallery's collection were paintings from the Norwich School and by Adrian Scott Stokes
Adrian Scott Stokes
Charles Adrian Scott Stokes RA was an English landscape painter. Born in Southport, Lancashire, he became a cotton broker in Liverpool, where his artistic talent was noticed by John Herbert RA, who advised him to submit his drawings to the Royal Academy. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in...
, besides a 16th century portrait of Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
, two Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...
portrait busts and one by Henry Weekes
Henry Weekes
Henry Weekes, RA was an English sculptor, best known for his portraiture. He was among the most successful British sculptors of the mid-Victorian period....
. One of the last important acquisitions was Sir Basil Dixwell
Dixwell Baronets
There have been three Baronetcies created for members of the Dixwell family, all of whom are descended from Charles Dixwell of Coton House, near Churchover, Warwickshire...
by Van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
bought for £1 million by Canterbury on behalf of the museum in 2004. These exhibits are either in storage, with specialist conservators for remedial work, or on short term display at the Museum of Canterbury
Museum of Canterbury
The Canterbury Heritage Museum, formerly the Museum of Canterbury, is a museum in Stour Street, Canterbury, South East England, telling the history of the city. It is housed in the 12th century Poor Priests' Hospital next to the River Stour. The museum exhibits the Canterbury Cross and contains a...
until 2012, where the Van Dyck can be seen.
Royal Museum
Original collections
The original collections included English and European ceramicCeramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
s with orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
al porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
as well as Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
grave jewellery from Kent. It had mounted
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
wildlife bequeathed by S. R. Lushington, and the Hammond bird collection bequeathed in 1903. The large, 18th century chandelier in the basement room came from the cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
. It had geological and natural history collections, and the ethnological collection originally included three Māori tattooed
Ta moko
Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Traditionally it is distinct from tattoo and tatau in that the skin was carved by rather than punctured...
heads, which were returned to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the 1990s.Information from Canterbury Museums Department It had two fourth or fifth-century runestones from Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
, one of which had Raehaebul engraved on it, possibly as a headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
; in which case these might be the oldest Jutish
Jutlandic
Jutlandic or Jutish is a term for the western dialects of Danish, spoken on the peninsula of Jutland....
tombstones yet found. It had Ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
bas relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
tablets. Also in the original collection was St Augustine's Chair, from Stanford Bishop church in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
. This is not the Chair of St Augustine but was thought to be where St Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
sat when he received the British bishops at Augustine's Oak
Gregorian mission
The Gregorian mission, sometimes known as the Augustinian mission, was the missionary endeavour sent by Pope Gregory the Great to the Anglo-Saxons in 596 AD. Headed by Augustine of Canterbury, its goal was to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. By the death of the last missionary in 653, they...
, 602-604 AD. It was rescued by Dr James Johnston from the church during restorations and given to the museum in 1899 by his son. The chair remains part of the collection but was lent to Stanford Bishop church in 1943, and latest research suggests an 18th century origin. Beside it was a 14th century chair said to have been taken from Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. One of the museum's prized possessions was the Burghmote Horn, said to have called the corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
to assembly from the time of Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
until 1835. It also had the municipal
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
maces
Ceremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
of the extinct corporation of Fordwich
Fordwich
Fordwich is the smallest place in Britain with a town council, having a population of 351 recorded in the 2001 census. It lies in Kent, on the River Stour, northeast of Canterbury....
, as well as pilgrims' tokens
Devotional medal
In the Roman Catholic Faith, a devotional medal is a medal issued for religious devotion. They are also sometimes used by adherents of the Orthodox and Anglican Churches....
used as souvenirs of the shrine of Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
. In 1975 the museum was given the ancient helmet of St Alphege Church.
Current distribution of collections
Its collections of prehistoricPrehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
implements and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon art
Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman Conquest of a large Anglo-Saxon nation-state whose...
antiquities found in Canterbury, Thanet
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
and East Kent
East Kent
East Kent and West Kent are one-time traditional subdivisions of the English county of Kent, kept alive by the Association of the Men of Kent and Kentish Men: an organisation formed in 1913...
have since been shared with local museums: for example the nearly perfect Anglo-Saxon glass
Anglo-Saxon glass
Anglo-Saxon glass has been found across England during archaeological excavations of both settlement and cemetery sites. Glass in the Anglo-Saxon period was used in the manufacture of a range of objects including vessels, beads, windows and was even used in jewellery. In the 5th century AD with the...
beaker with hollow tears found at Reculver
Reculver
Reculver is a hamlet and coastal resort situated about east of Herne Bay in southeast England. It is a ward of the City of Canterbury district in the county of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location at the western end of the Wantsum Channel, between the Isle of Thanet and the Kent...
is now at Herne Bay Museum
Herne Bay Museum and Gallery
Herne Bay Museum and Gallery is a local museum in Herne Bay, Kent, England. It was established in 1932 and is notable for being a seaside tourist attraction featuring local archaeological and social history, for featuring the history of the town as a tourist resort, for its local art exhibitions,...
. Much of the Romano-British pottery
Ancient Roman pottery
Pottery was produced in enormous quantities in ancient Rome, mostly for utilitarian purposes. It is found all over the former Roman Empire and beyond...
and glass found in Canterbury is now at the Roman Museum
Roman Museum
For the National Museum of Wales see National Roman Legionary MuseumThe Roman Museum in Canterbury, Kent, houses a Roman pavement which is a scheduled monument, in the remains of a Roman courtyard house which itself is a grade I listed building. The pavement was discovered after World War II...
. The remaining collections are currently stored at the Museum of Canterbury
Museum of Canterbury
The Canterbury Heritage Museum, formerly the Museum of Canterbury, is a museum in Stour Street, Canterbury, South East England, telling the history of the city. It is housed in the 12th century Poor Priests' Hospital next to the River Stour. The museum exhibits the Canterbury Cross and contains a...
, with some objects on display.
Exhibitions in museum and gallery
The Joseph ConradJoseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
centenary
Century
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
was celebrated there in 1957, with an exhibition of his books and papers. There was an exhibition of Giles
Carl Giles
Ronald "Carl" Giles , often referred to simply as Giles, was a cartoonist most famous for his work for the British newspaper the Daily Express....
cartoons in the gallery from 20 December 2006 to 3 February 2007. From 30 January to 28 February 2009 there was a Hungry for Heritage exhibition, supported by a £24,700 grant 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...
, in which local young people created pictures of the soon-to-be-missed exhibits. These pictures were to be displayed in Canterbury cafes while the Beaney was closed.
Beaney project
The building closed for refurbishment on 28 February 2009, and is expected to reopen in 2012. Together with the associated project to redevelop the Marlowe TheatreMarlowe Theatre
The Marlowe Theatre is a major 1200-seat theatre in Canterbury, England.It closed in March 2009 for redevelopment and a brand-new Marlowe Theatre re-opened to audiences on 4 October 2011.-Name:...
site, it was intended to "transform that part of the city centre into a vibrant cultural quarter". Bidding started in 2003. 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...
granted the project £6.5 million for redevelopment of building and services to provide space, facilities, displays, an extension, disabled access, a glass lift and educational spaces. Extra space would permit display of those collections previously hidden from public view. The intention was also to extend the gallery and provide further galleries for exhibitions. Plans for the library included an enlarged space for books and for a children's library and local studies
Local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history...
centre, with a space for teenagers. Local people including teachers were involved with planning. Canterbury City Council
City of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. The main settlement in the district is Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
, Kent County Council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...
, private sources and donations made up the project funding to £11.5 million, with the South East England Development Agency
South East England Development Agency
SEEDA, more officially the South East England Development Agency, is one of a number of regional development agencies in England. It was set up as a non-departmental public body in 1999 to promote the region and to enable a number of more difficult regeneration projects which otherwise might not...
(SEEDA) contributing £975,000. Planners are John Miller & Partners; architects are Sidell Gibson who oversaw restoration of Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
after the fire; interior designers are Casson Mann, who have devised a theme of "explorer points". By 8 June 2009 the two councils had cleared out all exhibits, partitions and office material from the building, exposing the colours of early decorations in the process. They had great difficulty in removing Sidney Cooper's
Thomas Sidney Cooper
Thomas Sidney Cooper was an English landscape painter noted for his images of cattle and farm animals.Cooper was born at Canterbury, Kent, and as a small child he began to show strong artistic inclinations, but the circumstances of his family did not allow him to received any systematic training...
huge Charlie the Bull from the stairwell. The project has attracted some controversy.
Archaeology
An archaeological dig by the Canterbury Archaeological TrustCanterbury Archaeological Trust
Canterbury Archaeological Trust is an independent charity formed in 1975 to undertake rescue excavation, research, publication and the presentation of the results of its work for the benefit of the public.The Trust's main activities are to:...
started on the site of the new extension in September 2009.
