Whitby Museum 200th celebration: major new exhibition on way telling museum's story

A major new exhibition is being staged during January which will tell the story of the development of the museum through the display of many of the amazing artefacts which have been collected over the years.

Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society was founded on January 17 1823 with the express intention of starting a museum.

By September that year, Whitby Museum was up and running.

The title of the exhibition will be 200 Years of Collecting and the exhibition will show how and why the collections have changed over the last 20 decades.

A further two exhibitions are being designed and installed to show timeline displays of the collections of the Library and Archives, and also the costume collection and gallery.

An integral part of the exhibitions will be the screening of a new documentary film which the museum has commissioned, and titled The Department of Miscellaneous Curiosities.

Location filming at the museum and around Whitby has been completed, and the footage is being edited by producer Anne Dodsworth.

The music score is being composed and the narrative recorded.

A varied programme of talks and events for the year are also a vital element of the celebrations.

From a fashion show, to a talk and valuation from a TV Antiques show presenter, to an evening of Whitby Gazette film and editor’s memories, to a long-sword dance display, and specialist talks and special behind the scenes tours by our curators, the full programme will be advertised soon.

Although the musuem is currently closed, its teams of staff and volunteers are working hard to ensure they celebrate the 200-year milestone in style.

There’s a lot of research and planning taking place behind the scenes, together with organising all the jobs that involve cleaning, conservation and maintenance throughout the year.

Part of the major fossil collection in the Geology gallery is being re-designed to better display the wonderful collection of ammonites, for which Whitby and its museum are famous worldwide.

Improved and more appropriate modern LED lighting is being installed to many of the showcases this month.

Several of the paintings which have been on display for some years in the shipping wing and main gallery are being taken down and will be carefully examined and if necessary, they are being expertly cleaned.

New works from the museum’s art store will replace them on the walls.

The large display case containing some of the premium bird and mammal exhibits in the Natural History gallery is being re-staged with improved mounts, more appropriate dressing, better lighting, improved interpretation and labelling and with relevant explanations for the need for conservation.

In the Ceramics gallery, a new display of plates is being created which curators, volunteers and staff have themselves painted using the collection for inspiration.

With several thousand books and many archive objects housed within the Library, cleaning and preservation are a never-ending task.

Museum volunteers are constantly removing any dust and checking for signs of damage.

During the winter closure period, the museum is able to deep clean the most valuable volumes using a “downdraught bench” which pulls the dust down into a set of filters and any new items are sterilised before being added to the shelves.