CHELMSFORD   MUSEUM



            
                                                                   CHELMSFORD  MUSEUMS                                                                                                                                                       J  A
OAKLANDS  HOUSE                                                                   THE  NEW  MUSEUM


CHELMSFORD  MUSEUM

Chelmsford Museum is in Oaklands Park,  Moulsham Street ( CM2 9AQ ).   It is owned by Chelmsford Borough Council and managed by Parks and Heritage Services.

OPENING  TIMES

Monday to Thursday        10am  -  5pm

Friday                               10am  -  5pm         ( Half term and school holidays only )

Saturday                           10am  -  5pm

Sunday                               1pm  -  4pm


PLEASE  NOTE :    The Museum is closed on Fridays during term time and on Good Friday
                               but open during all half terms and school holidays.



ADMISSION

Admission to the museum is free and free car parking is available in Oaklands Park.   There may be a charge for special events.

Free quizzes are available at reception to help you make the most of your visit.



DISABLED  ACCESS

Please telephone if you require assistance.

                                                                            01245 605700



CHELMSFORD  MUSEUM

Chelmsford's first museum was established in 1835 by members of the Chelmsford Philosophical Society.   It was housed inside part of Chelmsford Prison which at that time was near the stone bridge in the centre of town..   In 1843 the museum's collection was moved to a purpose built building in New Bridge Street ( now known as New London Road ).   In the early 1900s the collection was taken over by Chelmsford Borough Council and in 1906 it was moved to a new building in Victoria Road South which also housed the library and the School of Art.   The collection was finally moved to Oaklands House in Oaklands Park in 1930.


OAKLANDS  HOUSE

Oaklands House is a Victorian House built in 1866 / 7 for Frederick Wells,  a successful coal merchant,  timber merchant,  brewer and Borough Alderman.   It was built in the Italianate style and was probably designed by Charles Pertwee,  Frederick Well's brother-in-law.   Frederick chose this style after seeing Osborne House,  Queen Victoria's residence on the Isle of Wight.   The bell tower is typical of this style   Oaklands House was one of the largest and most imposing houses in Chelmaford.   It is now smaller than originally built as the servant's quarters were demolished between 1920 and 1930.   Oaklands House together with Oaklands Park was purchased by Chelmsford Borough Council in 1929.   In 2006,  English Heritage recognised the importance of Oaklands House by awarding Grade 2 listed status.

From about 1950 onwards,  the emphasis of the collection was changed to concentrate more on Chelmsford and Essex which resulted in foreign material being moved to other museums.   In 1973 a single storey extension was added to exhibit artefacts on loan from the Essex Regiment Trust.   This extension was demolished in 2008 and has been replaced by a larger extension of contrasting design,


THE  NEW  MUSEUM

The New Museum was opened in January 2010 and was funded by Chelmsford Borough Council at a cost of £5.2M.

The New Museum is attached to the south side of Oaklands House and is of a modern contrasting design.   The bricks were chosen to blend with those of Oaklands House and the grey metal plates on the side of the New Museum were chosen to  match the slates on the roof of Oaklands House.   The new building is environmentally friendly.   Some of the heat needed is provided by ground source heat pumps and the rainwater from the roof is collected and stored for watering the gardens in Oaklands Park.


PERMANENT   EXHIBITIONS

THE  STORY  OF  CHELMSFORD
This exhibition takes the visitor on a journey from the Ice Age to the present day,  taking in the major archaeological monuments and sites in the district.


DOMESTIC  LIFE
The shows a reconstructed Victorian Kitchen.   Items on display were used for cooking,  cleaning,  washing and ironing in the 19th century.


COMMUNITY  LIFE
These displays celebrate the later history of Chelmsford,  including the town's music and leisure scene.   There are videos and oral reminiscences,  and dressing up for children.


POTTERY
Ceramics on display include 17th - 18th century English ' Delft ' ,  a tin glaze pottery;  the unusual; Victorian Essex Art Pottery made by Edward Bingham and his family at Castle Hedingham in North Essex;  and ' Chelmsford Sissies ' a contemporary and decorative pot by Grayson Perry,  Chelmsford- born Turner Prize winner.


THE  TUNSTILL  COLLECTION  OF  GLASSES

                                                              

The Tunstill collection of glasses amounts to over 400 pieces and spans the period of c.1695 to c.1800.   They are arranged by stem type in line with the classifications produced by the late Barrington Haynes in his book " Glass Through The Ages ".   The heavy balusters came first,  then moulded pedistal stems,  balustroid,  light balusters,  composite,  plain,  air twists,  hollow,  incised,  opaque,  colour and mixed twists and finally faceted stems.   Among the collection are several unusual glasses namely : a light baluster inscribed " Aurea Libertas " possibly by Jacob Sang,  some engraved with 'Jacobite' emblems,  an engraved design from the workshop of James Giles,  coloured and mixed twists and a faceted stem cut in columns but with horizontal bands of daimonds.   There are also glasses enamelled by a member of the Beilby workshop.   There are also 36 ale glasses of good quality on loan to the museum.

Frederick Tunstill was born in 1875.   He was apprenticed to Cromptons Engineering Works in Chelmsford at the age of 12 years.   It was through a friend that he was introduced to glass collecting.   Some 30 years later he left to become a commercial traveller for Electrical Construction Company of Wolverhampton.   It was during this time that he built up his collection which was bequeathed to Chelmsford Museum by him in 1957.

Refurbishment in 1995 was opened by glass specialist John Brooks who described the collection as a treasure and one of the most well displayed in a provincial museum.   The Glass Circle members have visited the collection twice and have remarked how well worthy of detailed study it was and were very surprised at its size of over 400 glasses.   The Friends have contributed to the refurbishment,  a glass cabinet,  new locks and the cleaning of glasses.


NATURAL  SCIENCES
Two animal galleries display mainly British Birds,  some of which are rare,  together with mammals and vertebrates.   In between the two rooms is the very popular Bee Room with a working hive.

The Geology Room exhibits British fossils,  many from the south east region and Essex and featuring a small but fine collection of rocks and minerals.

In the hall a much loved European Bear from Russia is part of the Dr Salter collection.


BRIGHT  SPARKS
Chelmsford was the home of the world's first wireless factory,  the UK's first electrical engineers and the first British manufacturer of ball and roller bearings.   ' Bright Sparks ' the new industrial gallery,  welcomes visitors with the story of how these key modern industries grew among the mills and maltings of a market town.   There are displays of Chelmsford's surprising products and recorded memories of people who worked for our ' latest and greatest ' firm,  Marconi.   Hands-on science interactives illustrate some of the principles underlying the technological developments.


ESSEX  REGIMENT  MUSEUM
The exhibition tells the story of the county Regiment from its origins in 1741 as the 44th and 56th Regiments of Foot.   It looks at the origins of the nickname ' The Pompadours ' and follows the Regiment's fortunes throughout the major conflicts in the British Empire.   The exhibition displays trophies of the Regiment,  including the famous ' Salamanca Eagle ' ,  a Napoleonic standard captured from the French in 1812.   It also includes an oil painting of the ' Last Stand at Gundamuck ' in Afghanistan in 1841.   The Regiment is followed throughout two world wars,  the Korean war and other conflicts,  until its amalgamation in 1958 and disbanding in 1992.   The Regiment's traditions have passed to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment,  whose service in recent conflicts abroad are still keenly followed.


ESSEX  YEOMANRY
A new exhibition follows the Yeomanry from its founding in 1794 as a volunteerr cavalry formed by prominent landowners throughout its distinguished history.   Today the Essex Yeomanry is part of the Territorial Army's 71st ( Yeomanry ) Signal Regiment in the Royal Corps of Signals.