Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery

Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery
The new museum, gallery and library under construction, now completed
Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery is located in South Yorkshire
Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery
Location of the museum within South Yorkshire
Established1964
LocationDoncaster, South Yorkshire, England
Coordinates53°31′15″N 1°07′39″W / 53.5207°N 1.12740°W / 53.5207; -1.12740
TypeMilitary Museum
Websitewww.doncaster.gov.uk/services/culture-leisure-tourism/danum-gallery-library-and-museum-dglam Edit this at Wikidata

Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery is a museum in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.[1]

History

The first Doncaster Museum opened in 1909 at Beechfield House, utilising only the ground floor of the building, and operated a small zoo at the site from 1955.[2] It moved to a purpose-built site on Chequer Road in 1964 to display collections of natural history, archaeology, local history, fine and decorative art.[3] The holotype of the extinct species Ichthyosaurus anningae was identified in the museum's collection in 2008 and formally named in 2015.[4][5] The building also houses the Regimental Museum of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.[6] The Roman Danum shield, found in Doncaster in 1971 is on display in the museum.[7]

The museum won the "Most Improved Audience Figures" award from Audiences Yorkshire in 2009.[8]

Redevelopment

The former museum site closed on 17 January 2020, with the move to a new venue, originally intended to open in summer 2020.[9] The COVID-19 pandemic caused delays to the relocation process. The new building, which cost £14 million, was completed in October 2020.[10] The new museum is called 'The Danum Gallery, Library and Museum' and encloses the Doncaster High School for Girls building.[11] The new museum opened to the public on 29 May 2021.[12]

A new rail heritage centre opened on 19 September 2021[13] within the venue exhibits the Great Northern Railway C1 class locomotive No. 251 and the London and North Eastern Railway Class V2 4771 locomotive Green Arrow to celebrate the contribution Doncaster made to the rail industry. Both locomotives were built in Doncaster and are on loan from the National Railway Museum for three years from February 2021.[14][15][16]

The original site of the museum on Chequer Road is now home to the Doncaster Archives and Local Studies Library.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery". Doncaster Council. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015.
  2. ^ Pip Seccombe; Louise Hill. "Filling the Void in Natural History at Doncaster Museum" (PDF) (Presentation). Yorkshire Naturalists Union. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  3. ^ "places to visit in Doncaster". visitdoncaster.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
  4. ^ Lomax, Dean R.; Massare, Judy A. (2015). "A new species ofIchthyosaurusfrom the Lower Jurassic of West Dorset, England, U.K". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (2): e903260. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.903260. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 85745787.
  5. ^ Gill, Victoria (19 February 2015). "BBC News - Forgotten fossil found to be new species of ichthyosaur". BBC Online. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  6. ^ "King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum Collection". Ogilby Trust. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  7. ^ Buckland, Paul (1978). "A First-Century Shield from Doncaster, Yorkshire". Britannia. 9: 247–269. doi:10.2307/525941. ISSN 0068-113X. JSTOR 525941.
  8. ^ "Audiences Yorkshire recognises the region's trailblazers". creativeportal.org. Archived from the original on 28 December 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
  9. ^ "Doncaster Museum". Heritage Doncaster. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Doncaster's £14 million museum and library is completed - now its being filled up". Doncaster Free Press. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  11. ^ "This is how Doncaster's £14 million new museum looked when the lights were finally switched on for the first time". Doncaster Free Press. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  12. ^ "This is the date for the opening of the new Doncaster museum". Doncaster Free Press. 19 May 2021.
  13. ^ Railway Magazine. October 2021. p. 6. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ^ "Green Arrow locomotive becomes Doncaster museum exhibit". BBC News. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  15. ^ Jeeves, Paul (22 February 2021). "Historic Green Arrow locomotive returns to Doncaster to celebrate town's proud history with the nation's railways". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  16. ^ Holden, Michael (22 February 2021). "Steam locomotive 4771 Green Arrow moves to Doncaster for new rail museum". RailAdvent. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Archives and Local Studies". Heritage Doncaster. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
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