Waterford Museum of Treasures

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Waterford Museum of Treasures
Waterford Museum of Treasures 2023 logo.svg
Reginald's Tower, The Quay, Waterford City, Ireland.JPG
Reginald's Tower
Ireland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Ireland
Established1982
LocationThe Mall, Waterford, Ireland
Coordinates 52°15′36″N7°06′24″W / 52.259996°N 7.106542°W / 52.259996; -7.106542
Type history museum
Public transit accessThe Mall bus stop (Bus Éireann routes 601, 603, 605)
Nearest parkingBolton Street
Website waterfordtreasures.com

The Waterford Museum of Treasures is a museum for historical artifacts associated with the city of Waterford. There are five museums in the Viking Triangle collectively known as Waterford Treasures. Its collection includes the 14th Century Waterford Charter Roll.

Contents

Constituent museums

Museum

The Viking Museum is housed in Reginald's Tower. Reginald's Tower is the oldest building in civic use in Ireland and is said to date from 1003 A.D. The Viking Museum contains a volume of artifacts, [1] and a video screening on the top floor.[ citation needed ]

Medieval Museum

The Medieval Museum includes two medieval chambers, the 13th century Choristers’ Hall and the 15th century Mayor's Wine Vault. It also contains the only surviving piece of clothing worn by Henry VIII, a cap of maintenance. This was awarded to the Mayor of Waterford, along with a bearing sword, in 1536.

Bishop's Palace Museum

Bishop's Palace Museum, Waterford Bishop's Palace Museum.jpg
Bishop's Palace Museum, Waterford

The Bishop's Palace Museum is a 250-year-old Georgian structure and contains artifacts dating from 17th century Waterford to the present day. The Anglo-German architect Richard Cassels initially designed the Bishop's Palace, which was constructed in 1741. [2] However, construction was completed by the architect John Roberts. [2]

The museum was originally the residence of the Church of Ireland Bishop of Waterford, and was built with its front facing the city wall which became part of the terraced garden of the Palace.[ citation needed ] It now faces the Mall in Waterford city and the new site of the Waterford Crystal factory.[ citation needed ]

The museum tells the story of Waterford from 1700 to the 1970s and contains the only surviving Bonaparte 'mourning cross' which was one of 12 produced upon Napoleon Bonaparte's death in 1821. [3]

The oldest surviving piece of Waterford Crystal, a Penrose decanter, is also on exhibition which dates back to 1789.

The top floor of the building is dedicated to stories specific to Waterford's history, such as Ballybricken's pig markets, Waterford's Home Rule story, some exhibits on Waterford during the First World War, the War of Independence in Waterford, childhood and household living in Waterford. [4]

Awards

Waterford Museum of Treasures has received several awards, [5] including a nomination in the international category of the 2013 "Museums and Heritage Awards". [6]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterford</span> City in Munster, Ireland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double Tower</span> Fortified tower in Waterford, Ireland

The Double Tower is one of the 17 towers which were part of the city walls of Waterford, Munster, Ireland. It was built in the latter part of the 15th century and the early part of the 16th century. Six of the original 17 towers survive to this day; the other five being Reginald's Tower, Beach Tower, Semi-Lunar Tower, French Tower, and Watch Tower (Waterford). The Double Tower is located on Castle Street, between the French Tower and the Watch Tower. All three towers are well-preserved, along with some parts of the old city wall between them.

<i>Waterford Charter Roll</i>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lismore Crozier</span> Irish insular crozier dated to between 1100 and 1113 AD

The Lismore Crozier is an Irish Insular-type crozier dated to between 1100 and 1113 AD. It consists of a wooden tubular staff lined with copper-alloy plates; embellished with silver, gold, niello and glass; and capped by a crook with a decorative openwork crest. The inscriptions on the upper knope record that it was built by "Nechtain the craftsman" and commissioned by Niall mac Meic Aeducain, bishop of Lismore. This makes it the only extant insular crozier to be inscribed, and the only one whose date of origin can be closely approximated. It was rediscovered in 1814, along with the 15th-century Book of Lismore, in a walled-up doorway in Lismore Castle, County Waterford, where it was probably hidden in the late Middle Ages during a period of either religious persecution or raids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilmainham Brooch</span> Medieval Celtic brooch

The Kilmainham Brooch is a late 8th- or early 9th-century Celtic brooch of the "penannular" type. With a diameter of 9.67 cm, it is a relatively large example, and is made from silver, gold and glass, with filigree and interlace decorations. Like other high-quality brooches of its class, it was probably intended to fasten copes and other vestments rather than for everyday wear, as its precious metal content would have made it a status symbol for its owner; less expensive Viking-style brooches were typically worn in pairs on women's clothing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell shrine</span> Metal objects used to enshrine bells

Bell shrines are metal objects built to hold early medieval hand-bells, particularly those associated with early Irish saints. Although the enshrinement of bells lasted from the 9th to the 16th centuries, the more well-known examples date from the 11th century. Nineteen such Irish or British bell shrines survive, along with several fragments, although many more would have been produced. Of those extant, fifteen are Irish, three are Scottish and one is English. Most follow the general shape of a hand-bell capped with a crest above a semicircular cap that matches the shape of a bell handle.

References

  1. "Reginald's Tower". discoverireland.ie. Discover Ireland. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 "The Palace, Cathedral Square, The Mall, Waterford City, Waterford, Waterford". Buildings of Ireland. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  3. "Napoleon Mourning Cross". Waterford Treasures. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  4. "Visit The Bishop's Palace Museum with Discover Ireland". Discover Ireland.
  5. "About - Awards at Waterford Museum of Treasures". waterfordtreasures.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015.
  6. "Blog - Waterford Museum of Treasures Nominated for Museums & Heritage Award". zolkc.com. 22 March 2013.[ dead link ]