Art Gallery, Library and Museum all under one roof.
Interesting building design incorporating an old school. Comprehensive collections related to the local area. A wide variety of categories including Roman artefacts, fossils, industry and oddities (e.g. the Sand House) . There are even a couple of steam trains. Large Art Gallery with paintings and sculptures. An annex displaying photographs too. An exhibition related to the King's Own Yorkshire Life Infantry.
Website: Danum Gallery Library And Museum
Car Park: Paid
Fee: Free
Doncaster High School For Girls
If you look at the front of Doncaster Gallery, Library And Museum’s building, it looks like you can see a reflection of another building in its glass, curtain-walled front. Look at the area around the museum though, and you’ll not find the building casting the reflection. This is because it is not a reflection at all; it is actually the façade of another building behind the glass curtain-wall. What a neat architectural feature! The building within a building is the old Doncaster High School For Girls. Many years ago, I’d stare at the outside world from its first floor common room, unaware that decades later the building itself would be preserved in a museum.
The entrance took me directly into the library part of the building. I headed off towards the 1910 Café which was squeezed between the curtain-wall of the museum and the brick wall of the old school. There were plenty of tables, but all of them were taken. I’d find that Doncaster Gallery, Library And Museum was a very popular place. I wandered up to what used to be the entrance of the school and walked through the porch into the vestibule area. Crikey, it was just like entering my old school again. Instinctively, I checked that my shirt collar was buttoned up. There was even the plaster statue of the Venus de Milo still there. This was a gift to the school in 1917. I always wondered about the wisdom of having a life size statue of a bare, breasted woman at the focal point of the school, but I guess it kept some of the teachers happy. I climbed the old stairs to the first floor where the museum was located. The old common room where I stared at the outside world was now a meeting room. I guess that if the present attendees found their meeting boring, then they still had the distraction of looking out of the window.
The Museum That Houses A Building
Fossilised Egg Of A Hypseloasaurus. I'm Not Sure I'd Want To Meet A 10m Long Reptile.
Is there a museum anywhere in the world without a fossil of an ichthyosaur? If so, shame on them. The one that greeted me near the entrance to the museum still had its last meal of fish and squid fossilised, although I struggled to make them out. They were funny looking beasts, although I think there are equally bizarre creatures wandering the earth nowadays. Take Jeremy Clarkson for example. Next to the fish was a fossil of a dinosaur egg. This was a lot bigger than the ones that I get in a box from Aldi and was from a Hypseloasaurus Priscus. A fully grown beast would have been about 10m long and the fossilised egg was found at Aix in France. Given Doncaster’s former prevalence for mining and quarrying, it is hardly surprising that the museum has plenty of other fossils to see. The size of a fossilised mammoth tooth made me empathise with any toothache the hairy creatures might have suffered. The most interesting item was a fossil of a tree trunk. It had been found at Hickleton Colliery and was the result of a tree that had died 310 million years ago. The crenulations of the bark were clearly visible. It did make me wonder how many other fossils have ended up on the coal conveyor belt of oblivion, rather than being saved. The plants that died during this period were compressed and over time the carbon would form coal, and millions of years later, would provide mining jobs to the grateful people of Doncaster.
Occupied Sarcophagus
Doncaster Alter
The Danum Shield (On The Left), Presumably The One On The Right Is One The Archaeologist 'Could Have Won'
Castra is probably the second word I learnt in my school Latin lessons (the first being the verb porto - I carry). Castra is the plural form of castrum, a military fort or camp. So Don Castra (err…later corrupted to Doncaster) means military fort on the (River) Don. Not surprising then that there have been many archaeological Roman discoveries in the area. Perhaps the best example is the Doncaster Alter which was found during building works at Sepulchre Gate in 1781. The inscription on the altar can be translated to: ‘To the Mother Goddesses Marcus Nantonious Orbiotalis, has freely and deservedly fulfilled his vow.’ My school Latin is now a little vague, but that seems quite a sentence given the small number of letters on the altar. I’ll leave it to the experts though.
The second Roman item that drew my interest was the remains of an old shield, known as the Danum Shield. It is the only one of its kind to have been discovered anywhere in the Roman Empire and so was quite a find. It only survived because somebody had thrown it onto a rubbish pyre shortly before the Danum Roman Fort was abandoned around AD105. The professors think that it was covered in leather with Celtic style decoration. It probably belonged to an auxiliary soldier.
A stone Roman Sarcophagus was also on display. It was found at a quarry at Pollington and dates from around 300-400 AD. The remains of a skeleton was in the sarcophagus, but it is unclear whether these were from the original occupant. The head scratchers believe that originally it was the skeleton of a North African woman who was 50 years old when she died. Most people were cremated at that time and burying her indicated that she must have been wealthy.
Granville's Bike
The Gold Cup
Doncaster is of course famous for horse racing and so it was not surprising that there were a few items in the museum related to the sport. Racing in the borough actually dates back to the 1500s. The Doncaster Gold Cup was on display, although I have my doubts as to whether it is actually made of gold. The first Doncaster Gold Cup was raced in 1766 which predates Doncaster’s St Leger by 10 years. The St Leger is the oldest of the ‘English Classics’ horse races. An information board told me that in 1906 400,000 people attended the event. One can only speculate at the length of the queue for the toilets.
There were plenty of wartime items on display. An information board noted that there were 15 air raids on the borough, killing 20 people and injuring 83. Later in the day, I informed my mum about this and she told me about one of those bombs that landed near their house. She was only 3 years old at the time, but says she still remembers it well. The blast blew in all the windows of their house and also the brickwork of the toilet and bathroom too. My gran took my mum across the road where she was treated to a ‘sooty’ cup of cocoa…which is probably why she remembered it. My grandad who was working in a mine at the time said that the miners felt the vibrations from the blast.
Billy The Bear's Final Resting Place
Museum With A Zoo....Hmmm
Ihere was a stuffed bear in one of the cabinets. This was Billy, a sun bear whose normal haunts should have been the Asian rainforests. Billy got transferred from Shipley Glen Zoo to Beechfield Zoo which was part of Doncaster Museum, back in 1957. It seems a bit bizarre for a zoo to be part of a museum, but maybe that was normal for the time. Beechfield House was Doncaster’s museum from 1910, until it moved to the purpose built museum on Chequer Road in 1964. Doncaster Technical College was built at the location of Beechfield House, less than a minute's walk from the modern museum. Anyway, back to Billy. The story doesn’t end well I’m afraid. He died of cancer just two years after arriving at the museum. Given the photo of him that was on the information board, maybe it was for the best. He was only 6 years old.
'The Five Minute Mint' Went Nuttall's Slogan. Maybe 'Keeping The Dentists Happy' Would Have Been More Appropriate. Even 'Devon Cream Toffee' Was Made In Doncaster!
Ford Poplar - Made At Ford's Car Hill Site In Doncaster
Nuttall Mintoes and Parkinson’s Butterscotch were so prevalent during my childhood, I just assumed that they were both part of the UK’s national tuck shop. They both started their life in Doncaster. I remember going to my local corner shop on many occasions and buying a quarter of Nuttall Mintoes packaged in a paper bag. Parkinson’s Butterscotch was a favourite with Queen Victoria and she appointed the company as a Royal Supplier. Parkinsons ceased trading in 1977, but you can still buy Nuttall's Mintoes as a retro sweet.
Ford was another company in Doncaster that bit the dust. There is an example of a Ford Poplar on the lower floor of the museum. The Poplar was advertised as the world’s cheapest saloon car and one could have been yours for just £275. They were made in Doncaster between 1955 and 1964 and 155,000 were produced. Most of these were exported to America.
Given the prevalence of mining in Doncaster, I was expecting maybe a larger display related to the industry. There was though a brazier that was used on the picket line during the 1984-85 miner’s strike.
There was also a large train manufacturing industry in Doncaster, but more of that when I reach the ground floor of the museum… .
A Yearling Sale At Doncaster (1885) - Lowes Cato Dickenson. An Example Of A Subscription Painting.
The Gallery Was Much Larger And Better Than I Expected
From the museum I went up to the second floor to have a wander around the art gallery. This covered a surprisingly large area and had a collection of paintings, sculptures and photographs. My favourite painting was probably ‘A Yearling Sale At Doncaster(1885), by Lowes Cato Dickenson. The oil canvas portrays the Tattersall Sales Ring. The picture contains portraits of 149 people and is known as a subscription painting. Everybody included in the painting had paid a fee; the more they paid, the bigger they appeared in the painting. A notice in a local newspaper of the time advertised the opportunity: “...contains the portraits of all the leading owners, breeders and trainers as well as many of the frequenters of this busy scene, where may be found, year by year, a gathering of every one of note connected with horses.” It’s a shame that we don’t know how much they paid to be included. It does include the likes of the Earl of Scarborough, the Duke of Westminster and Countess of Zetland.
I thought the photography display was excellent with several categories from landscape to abstract. I can only aspire to produce such photos, although a few did give me some ideas to try out.
A Treat For The Railway Enthusiasts On The Lower Floor
There Were Plenty Of Name Plates On Display
I made my way down to the ground floor of the museum where I found two steam trains. Yes, that’s right, two full size steam trains on loan from the York Railway Museum. The Green Arrow was built at the Doncaster Plant works in 1936. It pulled carriages up until 1962. The Plant went on to build two of the world’s most famous steam locomotives. The Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 and in 1928 hauled the first ever non-stop London to Edinburgh service. In 1934 it became the first steam locomotive to record an official speed of 100 miles per hour. In 1938, the Mallard entered service and achieved the highest ever recorded speed for a steam locomotive of 126 mph. The record still stands to this day. The current speed record is 154mph and held by Sir Henry Royce. That's the name of the train, rather than some lard-arse in the House Of Lords. Current regulations prevent trains going above 125mph due to the requirement for drivers to see and respond to track-side signals. The HS1, Channel Tunnel train can go faster, because of its purpose built track. If the HS2 trains ever see the light of day, then these are expected to reach 250 mph.
Apart from the two locomotives, there was plenty of other railway paraphernalia on display including two large wall displays of name plates.
A Grim Reminder Of What Little Protection The Soldiers Had from Gas Attacks During The First World war
Maxim Machine Gun
The KOYLI White Rose And French Horn
There was another exhibition on the ground floor: the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI). This turned out to be a lot more interesting than I expected. It described its history from its formation to …well, it doesn’t actually exist anymore. In 1968 it was amalgamated into the Light Infantry as its 2nd Battalion. The Light Infantry was then reduced to two battalions in 1991, before it got merged into a ‘super-regiment’ - The Rifles.
I knew Yorkshire Day was also known as Minden Day, but I never knew why…well, not until today. It goes back to The Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) when Britain was fighting with the Germans against the French. Six British and three Hanoverian regiments defeated the French cavalry at Minden on the 1st of August 1759. After their victory, British soldiers were said to have picked roses and worn them in their hats. This became a regimental tradition. KOYLI soldiers wore white roses or laurels on Minden Day.
The motto adopted by KOYLI was Cede Nullis (Yield To None). Their cap badge is a white rose within a French horn (oddly enough my favourite wind orchestral instrument). It is the smallest cap badge in the British army and one of only a few not to include a crown (although one is shown in the photograph on the left).
The Wonderful Gaumont Frieze - A Couple Of Minutes Walk From The Museum
Doncaster Gallery, Library And Museum
I wandered back upstairs to see if there were any free tables at the 1910 Café. There weren’t. Good job I didn’t come on a busy weekend. I left the building and wandered along the pavement until I got to quite a large impressive frieze. The old Beechfield House Museum must have been located somewhere around here. A plaque said that the frieze had been created in 1934 for the front of the local art-deco styled Gaumont cinema. The frieze shows the story of the making of a film from the writing of the story, to the building of the sets, and lastly the shooting of the film. The Gaumont cinema in Doncaster was opened in 1934. The auditorium could hold around 2,000 people. During the 1960s the Gaumont offered a stage to the likes of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Buddy Holly. Come to think of it, I even saw the rock band Uriah Heep there too in the early 1980s. The building was modernised in 1968 with aluminium cladding attached to the front of the building which blocked the frieze from view. I find it hard to understand why anybody would think that would be a good idea. It was only discovered again when the Guamont was demolished in 2008. It is an impressive sculpture. Would any cinema company pay for this sort of artwork nowadays? I doubt it.
What a day! Facts, figures, dates and images rattled around my head. It had been a very enjoyable outing around Doncaster’s Gallery, Library and Museum. I have to say that the council has done a remarkable job in converting the old school into this new facility. The exhibitions were very well presented and the information boards pitched at the right level. It is very popular though and so probably best visited on a weekday.
Some Original Seating From The Doncaster Rovers Football Ground