Another dull day, but I thought I would enjoy a walk in York city centre and through the Museum Gardens. Everywhere was quite busy, which was something of a surprise - the city is slowly returning to normal.
In a prominent position in the Museum Gardens is the Yorkshire Museum. It was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society to accommodate their geological and archaeological collections, and was originally housed in Ousegate, York, until the site became too small. In 1828, the society received by royal grant of 10 acres (0.040 km2) of land formerly belonging to St Mary's Abbey for the purposes of building a new museum. The main building of the museum was designed by William Wilkins in a Greek Revival style and is a Grade 1 listed building. It was officially opened in February 1830, which makes it one of the longest established museums in England. A condition of the royal grant was that the land surrounding the museum building should be a botanic gardens and that was created in the 1830s. The botanic gardens are now known as the Museum Gardens. On 26 September 1831, the inaugural meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science was held at the Yorkshire Museum.
In light of financial issues from 1956 onwards, the Yorkshire Philosophical Society transferred the Yorkshire Museum and Museum Gardens to 'the citizens of York' on 2 January 1961.
The City of York Council set up the York Museums Trust in 2002, to manage the Yorkshire Museum and the Museum Gardens, as well as York Castle Museum and York Art Gallery.
The museum has four major collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, and astronomy. The Roman display is particularly impressive. Part of the museum is built over the remains of St Mary's Abbey, and some of the remains can be seen in the museum, along with numerous artefacts from the abbey.
It will be a joy to visit again, hopefully while the Tansies are still active, but perhaps it will have to be next year.
I knew most of the history but not all, thanks for the education
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
This is a fascinating museum to explore. Following a major reorganisation of the exhibits in 2010, the Roman exhibits have been given more prominence, and more recently a much improved dinosaur display has been created.
Sorry, I can't update you on the Tansies, I didn't walk on the very low path by the boundary fence. Have you seen the painting of the tansy beetle on the house end in Queen Street? - http://365project.org/fishers/365/2019-11-15
Thank you
I knew most of the history but not all, thanks for the education
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
This is a fascinating museum to explore. Following a major reorganisation of the exhibits in 2010, the Roman exhibits have been given more prominence, and more recently a much improved dinosaur display has been created.
Ian
Sorry, I can't update you on the Tansies, I didn't walk on the very low path by the boundary fence. Have you seen the painting of the tansy beetle on the house end in Queen Street? - http://365project.org/fishers/365/2019-11-15
Ian