Dartmouth Museum
Dartmouth Museum is a local museum in Dartmouth, Devon, which displays and chronicles the history of the port of Dartmouth. It moved to its current location in the 1950s and is housed in a merchant's house which, in 1671, entertained Charles II and where he held court during a storm which forced him to stay in the port.[1] The museum is run by the Dartmouth Museum Association, a registered charity.[2]
The museum was refurbished during the winters of 2010 and 2011[3] and has a large collection of models of sailing ships, and of ships in bottles.[4] The latter is referred to as the Dawe Collection. The museum building itself is part of the exhibition[5] which includes local records and photographs, and a plaster ceiling believed to be unique showing the Tree of Jesse. The museum also houses the Henley Collection, a collection of artefacts and scientific material collected by William Henley (1860-1919), all of which were previously part of a separate museum on Dartmouth's Anzac Street.[6]
The entrance to the museum is in Dartmouth's Butterwalk, via a spiral staircase built counterclockwise around a ship's mast.
References
- ^ "The Kings Room, Dartmouth Museum". Dartmouth Museum. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
King Charles II was entertained in July 1671, when storms forced him to seek shelter in Dartmouth.
- ^ "Dartmouth Museum, registered charity no. 306635". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- ^ "Dartmouth Museum Moves Forward". By The Dart. May 2011. pp. 66–67. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ Evans, Martin H; West, Janet (2011). "Maritime Museums: main alphabetical list". Retrieved 5 May 2011.
Large collection of ship models, incl ships in bottles, bone PoW & glass ship models. Marine & other paintings. Large archive of local photographs. ARC. Edu BA. Museum is in a 17C merchant's house & has been refurbished.
- ^ "Cornucopia - Dartmouth Museum". Retrieved 5 May 2011.
Star objects at this location: The museum building itself; the collection of ship models; the collection of photographs.
- ^ "New Display at Dartmouth Museum". Dartmouth News. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
William Henley (1860-1919) was one of the most remarkable sons of Dartmouth. He was a local ironmonger who, in a lifetime search for knowledge, became a self taught and talented artist, naturalist and botanist, and scientific microscopist. His many water-colours form a unique record of the town at the end of the nineteenth century.
