Melton Carnegie Museum
Encyclopedia
The Melton Carnegie Museum is a museum
in Melton Mowbray
, Leicestershire
, which documents the history of the market town. It is managed by Leicestershire County Council
and supported by Melton Borough Council and is Heritage Lottery Fund
ed.
Library, built in 1905, was refurbished and opened by Leicestershire County Council
in 1977 as the Melton Carnegie Museum.
In 1983 the National Museum of Hunting Trust was established. With Melton being a world-renowned centre on Fox Hunting
- the Melton building was intended to incorporate material on hunting. The refurbishment of the building, costing some £500,000, gave the opportunity to include a fox-hunting display - greatly celebrated at the re-opening in the speech of Baroness Mallalieu - given on Friday, 3 May 2002.
.
Stilton Cheese
and Pork Pie
s from Melton Mowbray
are famous all around the world. The museum has displays on the history of these trades and others including saddle, shoemaking
and tinsmith
ing and the impact they had on the town, as well as how the Romans
, Anglo Saxons, Normans
, Tudors, Georgians
and Victorians would have lived in the area.
"Painting the town red" also has strong local connections.
The Museum is accredited by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)
.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, which documents the history of the market town. It is managed by Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council is the county council for the English non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county is divided into 52 electoral divisions, which return a total of 55 councillors. The council is controlled by...
and supported by Melton Borough Council and is Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
ed.
History of the Museum
The former Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
Library, built in 1905, was refurbished and opened by Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council is the county council for the English non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county is divided into 52 electoral divisions, which return a total of 55 councillors. The council is controlled by...
in 1977 as the Melton Carnegie Museum.
In 1983 the National Museum of Hunting Trust was established. With Melton being a world-renowned centre on Fox Hunting
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
- the Melton building was intended to incorporate material on hunting. The refurbishment of the building, costing some £500,000, gave the opportunity to include a fox-hunting display - greatly celebrated at the re-opening in the speech of Baroness Mallalieu - given on Friday, 3 May 2002.
The Museum
The museum, which reopened in 2002 following major refurbishment, traces the social and economic history of Melton and includes exhibitions on the town’s world-renowned Stilton cheese and pork pie industries and accounts of the arguments for and against fox huntingFox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
.
Stilton Cheese
Stilton
Stilton is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, and within the historic county boundary of Huntingdonshire.-Geography:Stilton lies south of the city of Peterborough. It lies on the old Great North Road, from London and was an important coaching stop in the days before motorised transport. It...
and Pork Pie
Pork pie
A pork pie is a traditional British meat pie. It consists of roughly chopped pork and pork jelly sealed in a hot water crust pastry . It is normally eaten cold as a snack or as part of a meal.-Types:...
s from Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
are famous all around the world. The museum has displays on the history of these trades and others including saddle, shoemaking
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
and tinsmith
Tinsmith
A tinsmith, or tinner or tinker or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal, particularly tinware...
ing and the impact they had on the town, as well as how the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, Anglo Saxons, Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, Tudors, Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
and Victorians would have lived in the area.
"Painting the town red" also has strong local connections.
The Museum is accredited by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is a non-departmental public body in England and a registered charity with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives...
.