Museum of Somerset

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Museum of Somerset
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Somerset UK location map.svg
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Location within Somerset and the United Kingdom
Location Taunton, Somerset
Coordinates 51°0′57.21″N3°6′17.42″W / 51.0158917°N 3.1048389°W / 51.0158917; -3.1048389
Website Museum web site

The Museum of Somerset is located in the 12th-century great hall of Taunton Castle, in Taunton in the county of Somerset, England. The museum is run by South West Heritage Trust, an independent charity, and includes objects initially collected by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society who own the castle.

Contents

Until 2008 the museum was known as the Somerset County Museum. Heritage Lottery Fund support was obtained to improve the museum, and the new museum reopened at the end of September 2011.

Exhibits include the Frome Hoard, the Low Ham Roman Mosaic, the bronze-age South Cadbury shield and a range of other objects relating to the history of the county. [1]

History

In 1874 the castle was bought by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society [2] and between 1899 and 1900 the Great Hall was repaired and refitted as their chief museum space. [3] In 1908-9 the Adam Library was created to house the society's growing collection of books. [4] The society now leases it to Somerset County Council to house the Museum of Somerset. [5] A substantial proportion of the items held by the Museum were originally collected by the Society. [6]

Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the museum on 8 May 1987. [7]

In October 2007, plans for a £6.5 million improvement to the museum and the castle were submitted by Somerset County Council to the Heritage Lottery Fund. [8] It closed to the public on 18 April 2008 for a two-year refit, and reopened as the Museum of Somerset on 29 September 2011. [9] [10] Central to the new museum is the Tree of Somerset, a sculpture carved from oak from the Quantock Hills, which depicts events from Somerset's history. [9] [11]

Exhibits

One of the five panels in the mosaic from Low Ham Roman Villa. This panel depicts Dido and Aeneas. Low ham mosaic.jpg
One of the five panels in the mosaic from Low Ham Roman Villa. This panel depicts Dido and Aeneas.

The museum hosts a collection of toys and dolls, sculpture, natural history, fossils, fine silver, remains of pottery, and it also contains a collection of archaeological items, including the mosaic found at the Low Ham Roman Villa. Also included is the Somerset Military Museum where visitors are enabled to follow the fortunes of the Somerset Light Infantry as they carried out their campaigns across the world. [12]

Exhibits include the Frome Hoard, a hoard of 52,503 Roman coins found in April 2010 by metal detectorist Dave Crisp near the town of Frome. [13] The coins were contained in a ceramic pot 45 cm (18 in) in diameter, [14] and date from AD 253 to 305. Most of the coins are made from debased silver or bronze. [13] The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and is also important as it contains the largest group ever found of coins issued during the reign of Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from 286 to 293 and was the first Roman emperor to strike coins in Britain. [13] The Museum of Somerset acquired the hoard in 2011, using a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. [15] [16]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frome Hoard</span>

The Frome Hoard is a hoard of 52,503 Roman coins found in April 2010 by metal detectorist Dave Crisp near Frome in Somerset, England. The coins were contained in a ceramic pot 45 cm (18 in) in diameter, and date from AD 253 to 305. Most of the coins are made from debased silver or bronze. The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and is also important as it contains the largest group ever found of coins issued during the reign of Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from 286 to 293 and was the first Roman Emperor to strike coins in Britain. The Museum of Somerset in Taunton, using a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), acquired the hoard in 2011 for a value of £320,250.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shapwick Hoard</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Bagborough Hoard</span>

The Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society was founded in 1849. The Society bought Taunton Castle in 1874, and leases it to Somerset County Council to house the Museum of Somerset. A substantial proportion of the items held by the Museum were originally collected by the Society. Since it opened in 2010, the Society's office and library have been located at the Somerset Heritage Centre, alongside the County Council's Heritage Service.

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Taunton Deane was a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. It merged with West Somerset to form Somerset West and Taunton on 1 April 2019. Its council was based in Taunton. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Taunton, Wellington Urban District, Taunton Rural District, and Wellington Rural District. Taunton Deane was granted borough status in 1975, enabling the mayoralty of Taunton to be continued, when other districts did not have mayors. The district was given the name of an alternate form of the Taunton Deane Hundred.

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References

  1. ↑ Binding, Hilary (Autumn 2011). "Making the Museum of Somerset". SANHS Newsletter no. 84. Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. pp. 35–39.
  2. ↑ "History of the Society". Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008.
  3. ↑ "The Castle (The inhabited parts only), Castle Green (North side), Taunton". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council . Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "The History of the Society". Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  5. ↑ "Taunton Castle". Somerset County Council. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  6. ↑ "Collection". Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008.
  7. ↑ "Queen's visit puts Taunton's 500-year-old Royal myth to bed". Somerset County Gazette. 30 March 2019.
  8. ↑ Hill, Phil (24 October 2007). "Plans go in for £6.5million museum". Somerset County Gazette. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  9. 1 2 "Museum of Somerset". Somerset County Council. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "TV star opens museum to the public". Somerset County Council. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  11. ↑ "Museum branches out into new era". Somerset County Council. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  12. ↑ "Somerset Military Museum". Services directory. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  13. 1 2 3 "The Frome Hoard". Portable Antiquities Scheme. Archived from the original on 12 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  14. ↑ "Huge Roman coin find for hobbyist". BBC. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  15. ↑ "Frome Hoard of Roman coins to stay in Somerset". BBC. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  16. ↑ "Frome Hoard returns to Somerset for museum display". BBC. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
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