Salford Museum and Art Gallery

Last updated

Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Peel Art Gallery.jpg
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Greater Manchester UK location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Greater Manchester
Established1850;174 years ago (1850)
Location Peel Park, Salford, Greater Manchester
Coordinates 53°29′06″N2°16′18″W / 53.48500°N 2.27167°W / 53.48500; -2.27167
Public transit access National Rail logo.svg Salford Crescent
Website Official website

Salford Museum and Art Gallery, in Peel Park, Salford, Greater Manchester, opened to the public in November 1850 as the Royal Museum and Public Library. The gallery and museum are devoted to the history of Salford and Victorian art and architecture.

Contents

Foundation

Along with Queens Park and Phillips Park in Manchester, the Lark Hill estate and mansion were purchased by public subscription and opened to the public as Peel Park and Royal Museum and Public Library, in November 1850. In 1874 Edward Langworthy, former Mayor of Salford and early supporter of the museum, left a £10,000 bequest to the museum which was used to build the west wing, named the Langworthy Wing, connecting the north and south wings. This wing was constructed over three storeys and "was built of brick with stone dressing with a glass and Welch-slate roof, with a pediment gable"; [1] today it serves as the public entrance. Throughout the years the popularity of the museum increased but in 1936 the fabric of the original building, Lark Hill Mansion, was found to be unsound and was demolished due to structural instability. [2]

The new wing, which was designed in the same style as the Langworthy Wing, took two years to be completed and opened in 1938. [2] The decision to "echo the Langworthy Wing in the 1930s is remarkable in the architectural climate of the time and it is tempting to argue that Walker's addition is the first Victorian revival building in the country." [1] The building development was a gradual evolution which was commenced by different architects evolving their ideas at different times. Throughout its development the building has achieved "a degree of architectural consistency as a result of nearly a century of evolution." [1] More than 160,000 visitors were attracted to the museum in its first year to explore casts of antique statues, collection of paintings, Egyptian and Oriental antiques and other significant objects and exhibitions. [3] The number of visitors steadily increased year by year, and in five years had reached 1.6 million. [4]

Architecture

Salford Museum and Art Gallery is noted for its Italianate Renaissance architecture Salford Museum and Art Gallery (Detail) - geograph.org.uk - 3889447.jpg
Salford Museum and Art Gallery is noted for its Italianate Renaissance architecture

The Grade II listed Salford Museum and Art Gallery [5] has masonry pillars and detailed masonry elements on the exterior and within the interior. The aesthetic design of the building has evolved over a 200-year life cycle to produce a unified structure. Important architectural examples are the top-lit galleries in the north and south wings, which are one of the earliest examples of their type. The galleries were built in a Renaissance style; the architects, Travis & Mangnall, "were key local exponents of a gracious Italianate style which had already from the 1840s become a characteristic of commercial architecture, especially in Manchester". [1]

The building is in the heart of the University of Salford, surrounded by civic and educational buildings. It plays a significant role for its relationship with the Peel building to the west and Peel Park to the north. The building is the earliest civic building in the Crescent area and has influenced the location of the other civic buildings. [1]

Collections

Among the paintings in the Salford collection are works by artists such as Christian Ludwig Bokelmann, Charles Landseer, Arthur Perigal, Philip Hermogenes Calderon, William Bruce Ellis Ranken and Thomas Henry Illidge. [5]

The Salford art gallery formerly held over 400 artworks by the Salford-born painter L. S. Lowry which had been collected since 1930, but these were transferred to The Lowry, a new purpose-built gallery which opened in Salford Quays in 2000. [6]

Lark Hill Place

Lark Hill Place, a re-creation of a Victorian street inside Salford Museum Salford Museum, Salford - panoramio (1).jpg
Lark Hill Place, a re-creation of a Victorian street inside Salford Museum

Lark Hill Place, an exhibit on the ground floor, is a re-creation of a typical Victorian street, built using shop fronts that were saved and restored in 1957 when many shops and houses in central Salford were being demolished to make way for new developments. The interiors are furnished with period objects and furniture, recreating the way they were used in Victorian times and recorded sounds are used to produce the ambience of a winter's evening of the period. [7] The conservation of Lark Hill Place, which was done at a time before conservation of historic buildings was popular, represents an early attempt to preserve architectural features during a period of rapid urban development. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salford</span> City in Greater Manchester, England

Salford is a city in Greater Manchester, England. The city is situated in a meander on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester and its city centre. Landmarks in the city include the 100 Greengate skyscraper, the old town hall, cathedral and St Philips Church. It is the main settlement of the wider City of Salford metropolitan borough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. S. Lowry</span> British visual artist (1887–1976)

Laurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Greater Manchester as well as Salford and its vicinity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Salford</span> Public research university in Salford, England

The University of Salford is a public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, 1 mile west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, became a College of Advanced Technology in 1956 and gained university status in 1967, following the Robbins Report into higher education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial War Museum North</span> Museum in Manchester, England

Imperial War Museum North is a museum in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. One of five branches of the Imperial War Museum, it explores the impact of modern conflicts on people and society. It is the first branch of the Imperial War Museum to be located in the north of England. The museum occupies a site overlooking the Manchester Ship Canal on Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, an area which during the Second World War was a key industrial centre and consequently heavily bombed during the Manchester Blitz in 1940. The area is now home to the Lowry cultural centre and the MediaCityUK development, which stand opposite the museum at Salford Quays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Salford</span> Borough and City in Greater Manchester, England

Salford, also known as the City of Salford, is a metropolitan borough with city status in Greater Manchester, England. The borough is named after its main settlement, Salford, but covers a larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton, Walkden and Pendlebury. The borough had a population of 270,764 in 2021, and is administered from the Salford Civic Centre in Swinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Whitworth</span> Art gallery in Manchester, England

The Whitworth is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing over 60,000 items in its collection. The gallery is located in Whitworth Park and is part of the University of Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester Art Gallery</span> Art gallery in Manchester, England

Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre, England. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three connected buildings, two of which were designed by Sir Charles Barry. Both of Barry's buildings are listed. The building that links them was designed by Hopkins Architects following an architectural design competition managed by RIBA Competitions. It opened in 2002 following a major renovation and expansion project undertaken by the art gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salford Quays</span> Area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England

Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it faces Trafford across the canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendlebury</span> Town in Greater Manchester, England

Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Manchester, 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Salford and 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Bolton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lowry</span> Arts centre in Salford, England

The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex opened on 28 April 2000 and was officially opened on 12 October 2000 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Seedley is an inner city suburb of Salford, Greater Manchester, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MediaCityUK</span> Property development in Salford

MediaCityUK is a 200-acre (81 ha) mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by Peel Media; its principal tenants are media organisations and the Quayside MediaCityUK shopping centre. The land occupied by the development was part of the Port of Manchester and Manchester docks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Manchester</span> Overview of the culture of Manchester

The Culture of Manchester is notable artistically, architecturally, theatrically and musically. Despite being the 5th largest city in the United Kingdom by population and the second largest conurbation, Manchester has been ranked as the second city of the United Kingdom in numerous polls since the 2000s (decade), with an influential culture scene helping to elevate Manchester's importance in the national psyche. This has helped the city's population grow by 20% in the last decade, and made the universities the most popular choices for undergraduate admission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peel Park, Salford</span> Urban park

Peel Park is a public urban park in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, located on the flood plain of the River Irwell below Salford Crescent and adjacent to the University of Salford. It was the first of three public parks to be opened on 22 August 1846, for the people of Manchester and Salford, paid for by public subscription. The park was the main public venue for the 1851 royal visit of Queen Victoria to Manchester and Salford and has been the subject of a number of paintings by the Salford artist, L.S. Lowry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peel Building</span> Academic in Salford

The Peel Building is a building at the University of Salford located in their Peel Park campus adjacent to the A6 Crescent and is the university's oldest building in current use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, Manchester</span> Church in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, Manchester is a Greek Orthodox church in Salford, Greater Manchester. Completed in 1861 in a classical architectural style, it is the oldest purpose-built Greek Orthodox church in England and since 1980, a grade II listed building for its “special architectural or historic interest”. As of 2017 the church provides liturgies on Sundays and acts as a hub for a community of an estimated 2,500 Greek diaspora, particularly Greek Cypriots, British Cypriots and Greek students in Manchester.

Jai Redman is a British artist who uses sculpture, painting, digital illustration and socially engaged public art. His work forms an "emotional and often satirical commentary on our dislocation from politics and the planet." He was responsible for This is Camp X-Ray in 2003, a reconstruction of an American detention facility; and had a retrospective exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery in 2016/17. His work is held in the collections of Manchester Art Gallery and the University of Salford.

<i>Piccadilly Gardens</i> (painting) 1954 painting by L. S. Lowry

Piccadilly Gardens is a 1954 oil painting by the English artist L. S. Lowry. It depicts Piccadilly Gardens, a large garden square in Manchester city centre, north-west England. The painting hangs in the Manchester Art Gallery on nearby Mosley Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ralston (artist)</span> Scottish artist (1788/1789–1833)

John Ralston (1789–1833) was a Scottish artist who spent most of his life and career in Manchester, England. He was primarily a marine and landscape painter, but his best-known works depict the city's medieval and early modern architecture before its demolition and replacement during the Industrial Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Parry (artist)</span> British painter and engraver (1795-1871)

James Parry was a British painter and engraver.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Architectural History Practice Ltd, (2008), “Salford Museum & Art Gallery, Conservation Management Plan
  2. 1 2 Crescent Conservation Area Appraisal (PDF), Salford City Council, 31 May 2008, p. 15, retrieved 19 January 2011
  3. ↑ Mullen, H., B, (1899), "The Royal Museum & Libraries, Salford : Their Inception & Development. 1849: Souivenir of the Jubilee"
  4. ↑ Architectural History Practice Ltd, (2007), "Salford Museum & Art Gallery", Conservation Management Plan]
  5. 1 2 Anon. "More about Salford Museum & Art Gallery". Art UK . Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "L.S Lowry Exhibition". The Lowry. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Anon. "Lark Hill Place". Salford Community Leisure Limited. Retrieved 23 February 2016.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.