Warrington Museum & Art Gallery is located on Bold Street in the Cultural Quarter of Warrington

Warrington

Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...

, in a Grade II listed building which it shares with the town's Central Library. The Museum and the Library originally opened in 1848 as the first rate-supported library in the UK, before moving to their current premises in 1857. The art galleries were subsequently added in 1877 and 1931. Operated by Warrington Borough Council, Warrington Museum and Art Gallery has the distinction of being one of the oldest municipal museums in the UK and much of the quintessential character of the building has been preserved.

Architecture

The museum and art gallery were built between 1855 and 1857 to a design by John Dobson

John Dobson (architect)

John Dobson was a 19th-century English architect in the neoclassical tradition. He became the most noted architect in the North of England. Churches and houses by him dot the North East - Nunnykirk Hall, Meldon Park, Mitford Hall, Lilburn Tower, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn,...

. The building is constructed in brick and stone and is in two storeys. It was designated by English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

 as a Grade II listed building on 4 April 1975.

Collections

The museum's collection was originally based upon the collection of the Warrington Natural History Society but it has since grown and now includes a wide range of subjects such as ethnology, egyptology, geology, Roman Britain, pottery/ceramics, botany, fish, amphibians, reptiles, the Civil War, local industries, birds and mammals, and glass. The building also houses a collection of around 1,000 paintings, (oils, watercolours and prints) from the 19th and early 20th centuries, many of which are on display in the mezzanine Art Gallery on the 2nd floor. On the first floor there are two temporary galleries, one large and one small, which frequently display travelling exhibitions and the work of local artists and events relating to the community.