The building is Grade II* listed. Historical Description. The museum also housed the local library, open from 10am to 9pm daily, as well as public meeting rooms which were in demand by clubs and societies. Why is the museum here? Maidstone Museum: Excellent local history - See 280 traveler reviews, 74 candid photos, and great deals for Maidstone, UK, at Tripadvisor. Iggy is part of Maidstone’s coat of arms, the first dinosaur to be featured on one. museuminfo@maidstone.gov.uk, 01622 602838 Extra space was needed yet again and the Bearsted Gallery was built to accommodate the Japanese collections on the ground floor and print collections above. & D. R. also has communication with the town from Swanley Junction via Sevenoaks. The new wings provided much needed display and public space. The Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages was established by Mayor of Maidstone Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake who amassed the collection of horse-drawn vehicles in the first part of the 20th century. Maidstone Museum is an exceptional regional museum housed in the gorgeous Chillington Manor, an Elizabethan manor house. museuminfo@maidstone.gov.uk, From its early days in Chillington Manor to the modern additions we see today, the history of Maidstone Museum is rich and compelling. Maidstone Museums Maidstone Museum: Hours, Address, Maidstone Museum Reviews: 4.5/5. However, following a change of heart, the Council authorised the purchase of the building in 1856 for £1,200 and provided an additional £300 for repairs. Shepway Collection. Maidstone began as a Saxon village. Maidstone Museum holds in excess of 15,000 specimens or artefacts which come within the field of social history, and particularly strong domestic themes include housing, heating and lighting, cleaning and maintenance, food and drink, toys and games, textile crafts, music, broadcast and pre-recorded entertainment, writing equipment, and smoking. Maidstone Museums At that time it had 5 watermills, which ground grain to flour. Unfortunately, Chillington Manor was in a bad state of repair and it was felt that it wouldn’t make a suitable building to house a museum. £5 … An exceptionally fine regional museum with collections that comprise a rich and impressive variety of historical objects, fine art and natural history. The museum also holds a fairly large collection of material of major local importance, documenting the everyday life of the borough, local events, and celebrities. A cast of the 125-million-year-old herbivore is now on display at Maidstone Museum. A special exhibit on Japanese and Nepalese customs and costumes (the Nepalese exhibit is a temporary feature), classical paintings and local industry. Maidstone Museum is an exceptional regional museum housed in the gorgeous Chillington Manor, an Elizabethan manor house. Famous incidents in its history include the Wyatt Rebellion and Battle of Maidstone in the English Civil War (1648). An estate of a coffee plantation, called Maidstone, close to Nazareth in Manchester was purchased. Within Maidstone Museum is the Bentlif Art Gallery, an extensive collection of watercolour and oil paintings donated by Samuel and George Bentlif, while the popular Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regimental Museum (QORWK) is also located within the main building. Kents Historical Sites. A natural history zone. ME14 1LH. Maidstone Tourism; Maidstone Hotels; Bed and Breakfast Maidstone; Maidstone Holiday Rentals; Flights to Maidstone; Maidstone Restaurants; Maidstone Attractions; Maidstone Travel Forum; Maidstone Photos; Maidstone Map The buildings flanking the central Elizabethan core of the museum were purchased and rebuilt to form the east wing (1868-9) and west wing (1870-1), using designs by local architect Hubert Bensted. museuminfo@maidstone.gov.uk, Our local history collections provide a compelling insight into life in Maidstone during eras of the past, Cole Collection was taken on the Isle of Sheppey between 1870 and 1900, Ruck Collection taken at roughly the same time, but mostly in Maidstone and its environs, Marley Collection. 01622 602838 The Charles collection remained at Chillington Manor, Dr Charles’ former home, and the Council agreed to rent the building for a year while the collection was catalogued. Chillington Manor House was built in 1562 and was in poor condition when it opened as the Charles Museum in 1858. The museum is one of three operated by Maidstone Borough Council. Hotels near Maidstone Museum: (0.28 mi) Travelodge Maidstone Central (0.44 mi) Premier Inn Maidstone Town Centre hotel (0.28 mi) Innkeeper's Lodge Maidstone (0.41 mi) Rocky Hill House Bed and Breakfast (0.36 mi) The Townhouse Hotel; View all hotels near Maidstone Museum on Tripadvisor 3.8K likes. Maidstone Museum: Great history - See 273 traveler reviews, 75 candid photos, and great deals for Maidstone, UK, at Tripadvisor. Significant finds from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and later Roman and Saxon periods (within our archaeological collections) provide tantalising glimpses of what life must have been like for local people. The museum houses a major collection of printed ephemera, maps, and books (circa 12,000 specimens) relating to Maidstone. Sir Henry Marsham and the Honourable Walter Samuel bequeathed and donated large collections of Japanese decorative wares to the museum in 1908 and 1923, and Lord Bearsted paid for the extension to the east wing to house both the Japanese collection and a collection of Baxter prints donated by his wife. Kent The museum houses a major collection of printed ephemera, maps, and books (circa 12,000 specimens) relating to Maidstone. The generosity of local people resulted in the early growth of the collections and the museum buildings. He asked his executors to, “make such arrangements as they should think fit for the permanent preservation thereof in the town of Maidstone, and the same to be called the Charles Museum.”. St. Faith's Street Maidstone Museum a local authority-run museum located in Maidstone, Kent, England, featuring internationally important collections including fine art, natural history, and human history. The local history and social history collections at Maidstone Museum document the history and people of the area at the centre of the Garden of England, and include local industries, photography, printed ephemera and numismatics. • Maidstone is twinned with Beauvais in Picardy, France. The collection ranges from the 18th century to the present day, but the most comprehensive coverage is for the second half of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th. Following the Ewart Act of July 1855, which provided for the establishment of libraries and museums in towns and the provinces, Maidstone Council set about establishing ‘a museum worthy of the county town of Kent’. Maidstone As such, the array of cultural attractions and museums is among the finest in Kent. When he died in 1855, Dr Thomas Charles of Maidstone left his library, art collection, and antiques to the town. We have been visiting Maidstone for years and kept talking about visiting the museum. Maidstone Museum: interesting local history - See 273 traveler reviews, 75 candid photos, and great deals for Maidstone, UK, at Tripadvisor. Lots to see in this local museum, a section on the local army battalions. Written records do not exist much before the Medieval period when the Archbishop’s Palace overlooking the Medway became the focus of a small settlement. Had 90 minutes to kill today so popped in and what a charming place it is. During the museum’s early years, buildings and developments were paid for by local people together with support from the Council. - See 276 traveler reviews, 74 candid photos, and great deals for Maidstone, UK, at Tripadvisor. Maidstone, a market and assize town, a parliamentary and municipal borough, and a parish in Kent. (Most villages would have 100-150 inhabitants). One of the best regional museums in the south east. The following photographers are represented in the collection: The museum contains collections of Greek, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, and modern English coins, love tokens, Kent tokens, hop tokens, jettons, miscellaneous foreign coins, local commemorative medallions, and medals, totalling over 20,000 specimens. St. In the 1890s, the Bentlif Art Gallery was added providing a reference library, temporary exhibition gallery, and dedicated picture gallery. Natural history specimens from around the world are also represented; the museum has an especially fine collection of shells from the South Sea Islands, bird specimens gathered by the great local Victorian collector, Julius Brenchley in 1865, and more exotic specimens of spiders, stick insects, Goliath beetles, and Indian butterflies. The property comprised three hundred and forty-one acres and was divided into ninety-eight lots ranging in … Maidstone Museum Largely housed in Chillington Manor, Maidstone Museum is one of the most interesting old buildings in the town and a fine example of domestic architecture from the late Tudor period. From the 10th century, it was owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Goudhust Society Collection. Maidstone Museum a local authority-run museum located in Maidstone, Kent, England, featuring internationally important collections including fine art, natural history, and human history. The QORWK museum proudly documents the history of the famous local regiment, recounting its exploits and campaigns in the … Iggy is part of Maidstone’s coat of arms, the first dinosaur to be featured on one. Thanet Collection. Come and discover the hidden gems in the collections, which boast a rich and impressive variety of historical objects, fine art and natural history. Snodland Museum Collection. Kent Maidstone Museum: Great history - See 273 traveller reviews, 75 candid photos, and great deals for Maidstone, UK, at Tripadvisor. 44 were here. Maidstone Museum is home to a vast collection of Fine Art, Natural History, and Human History collections with historical artefacts of international importance. One of the key names in the Museum’s history is Julius Brenchley, an explorer, naturalist and botanist who, in 1873, bequeathed his extensive collections of ethnography, art, and natural history to the town. Kemsing Heritage Centre. Maidstone Bicentennial Museum is a community museum which houses unique collections of artifacts that have been donated by the community or purchased by the Maidstone and Area Historical Society. Medway Archive Collection. Stephen Golding Collection. Maidstone Museum: Great for those interested in history. The local history of Maidstone and surrounding area of military, industry local natural history including some rarities, well worth a visit whether … One of the best regional museums in the south east. Hotele w pobliżu Maidstone Museum: (0.44 km) Travelodge Maidstone Central (0.71 km) Premier Inn Maidstone Town Centre hotel (0.44 km) Innkeeper's Lodge Maidstone (0.65 km) Rocky Hill House Bed and Breakfast (0.57 km) The Townhouse Hotel; Zobacz wszystkie hotele w pobliżu Maidstone Museum na stronie Tripadvisor He followed this with a bequest of fine art in 1897. A Maidstone Camera Club member (and in whose name they still hold the Marley Prize), was photographing similar Maidstone scenes in the early decades of the 20th century, Broom Collection – primarily coaches, carriages, and horse images taken between 1904 and 1939 and linked with the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace – form part of. At the time of the Domesday Book (1086), Maidstone was a large village with a population of perhaps 250. By the 18th century, Maidstone was the official and legal centre of Kent. But in 1549, Maidstone was recognised as a town when it was granted a royal charter. Come and meet local history and archaeology groups from across the borough, and discover more about the history of your local area. An estate of a coffee plantation, called Maidstone, close to Nazareth in Manchester was purchased. When he died in 1855, Dr Thomas Charles of Maidstone left his library, art collection, and antiques to the town. A cast of the 125-million-year-old herbivore is now on display at Maidstone Museum. Maidstone Stone tools and other evidence tell us that our ancestors were living in the Maidstone area over 400,000 years ago. 3.8K likes. Collections relating to local industries include brewing and hop picking (Fremlin, Style & Winch, Mason & Co); papermaking (Whatman); confectionary and food production (Sharps & Foster Clark); engineering (Tilling-Stevens); and agricultural equipment (Weeks). In the 20th century, the extensive Japanese collections were acquired through a bequest from the Honourable Henry Marsham and a donation from the Honourable Walter Samuel. Talk starts at 10.30am. Museum curators, and later museum managers, have been instrumental in organising the museum’s continued growth, helping secure large collections and drive forward the development of galleries and new buildings. Get in touch with Maidstone Museum with your query today and we'll contact you with a response as soon as possible. Join local historian Naomi Dickins for a spellbinding talk on the history of witchcraft in Kent, looking at some of the characters involved and the accusations surrounding them. ME14 1LH. The museum is one of three operated by Maidstone Borough Council. Mr Edward Pretty, a friend of the late Dr Charles, was appointed as the first curator in the September. Maidstone has a history that is rich in culture and diversity. The building is Grade II* listed. In the 21st century, Maidstone is still expanding as a retail and entertainment centre. Maidstone Museum Collection. Maidstone Bicentennial Museum is a community museum which houses unique collections of artifacts that have been donated by the community or purchased by the Maidstone and Area Historical Society. The Maidstone Bicentennial Museum is run by the Maidstone and Area Historical Society. By the 13th century Maidstone grew into a town. Maidstone Museum is home to a vast collection of Fine Art, Natural History, and Human History collections with historical artefacts of international importance. Maidstone Museums, Maidstone, Kent. The collection ranges from the 18th century to the present day, but the most comprehensive coverage is for the second half of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th. Maidstone, under the direction of the Moravian missionaries was founded in 1840. It was also a successful industrial town with major brewing and papermaking industries. The collection is based on … Come and discover the hidden gems in the collections, which boast a rich and impressive variety of historical objects, fine art and natural history. Bob Richards Collection. Maidstone Museum: Excellent local history - See 273 traveler reviews, 75 candid photos, and great deals for Maidstone, UK, at Tripadvisor. … Lydd Museum Collection. It is also free which is an added bonus but not a fact they make all that clearly. Eden Valley Museum Collection. Faith's Street Over the following 40 years, the building was transformed through the generosity of local benefactors. 01622 602838 It has seen settlement by the Romans and the Normans and played its role in pivotal moments of English history such as the Peasants' Revolt and the English Civil War.It has also hosted a large Army barracks since Napoleonic times and was an important centre for Kent's brewing and papermaking industries. It was also the mark… Maidstone Museums, Maidstone, Kent. On January 20, 1858 the museum opened as the Charles Museum, making Maidstone Museum one of the first local authority run museums in the UK. Maidstone Museum, Maidstone: See 273 reviews, articles, and 75 photos of Maidstone Museum, ranked No.3 on Tripadvisor among 45 attractions in Maidstone. Cranbrook Museum Collection. Maidstone, under the direction of the Moravian missionaries was founded in 1840. In 1874-5, the central courtyard was restored, railings erected, and the Elizabethan façade refurbished. Maidstone Bicentennial Museum is a community museum which houses unique collections of artifacts that have been donated by the community or purchased by the Maidstone and Area Historical Society. Maidstone is a town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town.Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. Maidstone Museum, Maidstone: zobacz recenzje, artykuły i zdjęcia dotyczące Maidstone Museum w serwisie Tripadvisor w Maidstone, Anglia Situated on the Medway it was ideally situated for transporting vegetables and fruit from Kent by water to London. The townstands on the river Medway, with three stations on the S.E.R., one of which is called Maidstone Barracks and another Tovil; the L.C. The property comprised three hundred and forty-one acres and was divided into ninety-eight lots ranging in … The photographic collections of over 6,000 items covering historic Kent consist of glass plate negatives, photographic prints, magic lanterns and slides, cameras, and accessories and equipment, together with a small quantity of amateur cine equipment. The History of Maidstone and its environs goes as far back as Mesolithic times. information, local history Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery: Maidstone: Maidstone: Multiple: Local history, natural history, geology, archaeology, ethnography, fine and decorative art, Ancient Egyptian artifacts, costumes, Japanese decorative arts and prints, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum: Maison Dieu: Support from the 10th century, Maidstone was a large village with a response as soon as possible Maidstone a. 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