The Tolson Museum is a local museum in Huddersfield

Huddersfield

Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

, West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, England. It is housed in a Victorian

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 mansion in Knowle Park on Wakefield Road which was given to the town in memory of two brothers killed in World War I

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 was originally a natural history museum. It is run by Kirklees Council and has a wide range of exhibits related to the area's cultural and industrial history.

History

In 1919 Legh Tolson gave Ravensknowle Hall, built in 1860 by John Beaumont, to Huddersfield Corporation to use as a museum in memory of his two nephews, brothers 2nd Lieutenant Robert Huntriss Tolson, killed on 1 July 1916 at the Battle of the Somme, and 2nd Lieutenant James Martin Tolson who died in the closing stages of World War I on 2 October 1918. The museum was formally opened on 27 May 1922.

Originally a natural history museum with an extensive collection of rocks and fossils Tolson Museum was revamped from the 1980s to feature the industrial history of the Huddersfield area, including the manufacturing of textiles and road vehicles.

Exhibitions

There are exhibits of local archaeology, weaving machinery and textiles and natural history, with an extensive collection of stuffed birds. A reconstruction of a Victorian schoolroom allows children to experience the type of teaching used in that era. A ground floor extension at the rear of the building houses a transport exhibition including roadbuilding techniques and horsedrawn and motor vehicles including Britain's rarest car – the three-wheeled LSD – which was manufactured in Huddersfield between 1919 and 1924. It was originally made by Sykes and Sugden Ltd from 1919 to 1923 and then by the LSD Motor Co Ltd in Mirfield from 1923 to 1924. Another local make of car, the Valveless

Valveless

The Valveless was an English automobile manufactured from 1908 until 1915 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire. The successor to the Ralph Lucas Valveless, the car marked the entry of the David Brown group into the manufacture of motors...

, made by David Brown Ltd.

David Brown Ltd.

David Brown Engineering Limited is a British engineering company, principally engaged in the manufacture of gears and gearboxes. Their major gear manufacturing plant is in Swan Lane, Lockwood, Huddersfield, adjacent to Lockwood railway station...

, is on display after being recovered from South Africa.

External links

• Museum website