8 May 2012

University department helps create Barnsley's first ever museum

 The first ever museum about Barnsley's history created in partnership with the University of Sheffield will be housed in a new £4.2 million centre.

Archaeological finds from across the borough of Barnsley will be coming home to the multi-million pound Museum and Archives Centre in the Town Hall.

The project is in partnership with the University of Sheffield's Department of Archaeology, with a whole team of researchers working on different areas of the collections.

The collaboration reflects the University's commitment to work in partnership with heritage organisations in the region and to disseminate to the public a new understanding of the history of South Yorkshire.

It has been made possible thanks to a £4.2 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and will feature collections and stories spanning thousands of years of the borough's history. 

Barnsley Arts and Museums Service has successfully applied for £62,400 funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund run by the Museums Association specifically to research the archaeology collections and do an extended programme of activities and exhibitions which starts before opening but will continue for a year afterwards. The two year project - which opens later this summer - will include activities and events with local schools and interested groups and individuals around the borough and will culminate in a major exhibition in the new changing exhibition gallery at the Town Hall and printed and online catalogues about the collections.

Examples of finds include: Stone tools such as axes and hammers from the Neolithic period (4000 BC to 2300 BC) from Langsett, Dunford and Penistone; Coin hoards from Darfield and a bronze bracelet from Billingley from the Roman period (AD 43 to AD 450); Arrowhead and spearhead from the Bronze Age (2300 BC to 700 BC) from the Penistone and Crow Edge area; Pots from Monk Bretton Priory from the medieval period (AD 1066 – AD 1547).

There will also be new permanent displays incorporated into the main museum galleries.

Barnsley's archaeology collections have been cared for by museum services in Doncaster and Sheffield until the completion of new museum stores and galleries within the Town Hall. These services have ensured the preservation of the collections and archives with their own resources until a transfer was possible.

With the new facilities, this fascinating collection of objects will be cared for and researched in Barnsley.

The archaeology will feature in displays about Barnsley's early history, and will also be part of Making History, an interactive gallery where visitors can dig into the past through objects, photographs, maps, archives and films.