Walsall Museum
Encyclopedia
The Walsall Museum is located in the centre of Walsall
, in the West Midlands
, and displays objects from the local area in its permanent history gallery, 'The Changing Face of Walsall', on the 1st floor. Changing displays within the gallery enable further items of costume and social and industrial history from the Museum's collection to be shown, and there is also space for community displays. The Museum runs a programme of activities for adults and children throughout the year.
The museum shares its building with Walsall Library and is part of Walsall Council's Museum service.
.
, part of a local resident's James Bond
merchandise collection, a preserved butterfly discovered in the attic of the building and a preserved child's arm, found in the White Hart Inn, Caldmore Green. The arm was discovered in 1870 and thought to be a 'hand of glory
', but tests showed it to be a medical specimen, injected with the preservative formalin. It is known that a doctor was residing at the White Hart, but not how he came by the arm.
, born nearby in Caldmore
and John Henry Carless
, receiver of the Victoria Cross
in the First World War.
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, and displays objects from the local area in its permanent history gallery, 'The Changing Face of Walsall', on the 1st floor. Changing displays within the gallery enable further items of costume and social and industrial history from the Museum's collection to be shown, and there is also space for community displays. The Museum runs a programme of activities for adults and children throughout the year.
The museum shares its building with Walsall Library and is part of Walsall Council's Museum service.
The Changing Face of Walsall
This, the museum's permanent exhibition, displays a variety of objects, mainly from local manufacturing industries. Areas covered include:Metalworking
A large collection of different pieces from numerous local manufacturers. There are miniature locks from George Spencer and Joseph E. Bates, novelty metal items and decorations from W.H. Chaplin, Lorinery items from various firms, decorative door knockers by Jesse Simmons and several different kinds of chainChain
A chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...
.
World War two
The gallery holds equipment from the Second World War, including gas masks and other emergency items.The Hodson Shop
A special display area within the gallery houses a selection of costume from the Museum's nationally significant Hodson Shop collection, the unsold stock of a small draper's shop in Willenhall. This consists of women's and children's everyday clothing from the 1920s to the 1970s and is the sort of item that rarely finds its way into a museum collection. Displays in this area are changed on a regular basis.Miscellaneous objects
The gallery also holds a scold's bridleScold's bridle
A scold's bridle, sometimes called "the branks", was a punishment device for men and women, also used as a mild form of torture. It was an iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclose the head. The bridle-bit was about 2 inches long and 1 inch broad, projected into the mouth and pressed down on...
, part of a local resident's James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
merchandise collection, a preserved butterfly discovered in the attic of the building and a preserved child's arm, found in the White Hart Inn, Caldmore Green. The arm was discovered in 1870 and thought to be a 'hand of glory
Hand of Glory
The Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled hand of a man who has been hanged, often specified as being the left hand, or else, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."...
', but tests showed it to be a medical specimen, injected with the preservative formalin. It is known that a doctor was residing at the White Hart, but not how he came by the arm.
Local notables
There are also displays focusing on famous Walsall figures. These are centred on the life and work of local literary figure Jerome K. JeromeJerome K. Jerome
Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...
, born nearby in Caldmore
Caldmore
Caldmore is one of the villages that make up the town of Walsall. The name is pronounced "Kar-ma" by the local populace.-History:The area was an important junction of roads which created a triangular shaped green called Caldmore Green...
and John Henry Carless
John Henry Carless
John Henry Carless VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross during the First World War.Carless was born on 11 November 1896 to John Thomas and Elizabeth Carless, of Walsall. He died when he was 21 years old, and an Ordinary Seaman in the Royal Navy during World War I...
, receiver of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in the First World War.