If a Museum is a building, then this one will be 10 years old this year. If it is a collection then it will be 199 years old. If it is non of the above, then who knows? The building in Leeds has not been a museum for all that long, which shows in the fact that it is not yet suffering from the dated or decaying displays that beset so many museums.
The collection on the other hand has been gathered and displayed since 1819. Some of the objects themselves have their origins way back in the mists of time. We’re taking Mesopotamia and the Sumerians old (about six thousand years). To give you some idea of how old that is imagine the chunky nail pictured is your old Gran. The usual olden days stuff you see in museums (19th century) is you working your summer job while you do your A-levels.
There’s also an ancient Egyptian mummy for those who prefer something more recent. What has all this got to do with Leeds? The original collections where donated from private individuals who had gathered them in cabinets of curiosities. Now we shouldn’t judge people of the past by modern standards, but equally many of the crimes of the past have gone unpunished. The Great British Empire (self named) might be viewed very differently if we really question the motives and look at the outcome achieved. But what has all this got to do with Leeds?
The Sumerians never visited Leeds, nor did the ancient Egyptians. The same can be said for many of the civilisations on display in the British Museum. The British empire did visit these places however and to summarise ,and quote Hilaire Belloc, “…we have got the Maxim Gun, and they have not.”
Now that we all feel suitably guilty lets get back to casually enjoying an excellent museum; and Leeds City Museum is just that. You ban’t help but make an entrance up the sweeping steps, but then it isn’t immediately apparent where to go, with steps up and down and corridors left and right. If you go upstairs and to the right you should be able to find the shop and someone who’ll help, assuming there’s not one of the helpful volunteers near the door.
There are too many galleries to cover in one blog in detail individually. Indeed there are to many to potentially cover in one day unless you get there at opening and stay all day. The museums covers three floors and each one is packed with exhibits covering Leeds social history, Ancient Worlds and a whole room dedicated to Taxidermy and the environment.
My favourite room in the museum has to be dedicated temporary exhibition space. As I’ve mentioned before this is an excellent thing for a museum to have and it’s something most Leeds museums I’ve been to are very good at. I’ve visited before and never been disappointing, but this time I saw an exhibition which primarily featured the remains of a group of people gathered from across the centuries from London and Yorkshire.
The exhibition was fascinating and extremely emotive. There were 12 individuals on display; exploring our relationship with the dead and their remains. It also looked at how remains are displayed in museums.
The more permanent displays are just as well put together and there are some genuinely interesting stories and objects. You can find your own, but mine were the collection of ancient scripts and a fine selection of local medieval pottery (prizes for those who can name all of them). There’s the odd smattering of art works about, though Leeds art gallery has more of a claim to majority of that.
Leeds has quite a few museums and heritage sites under council control and so much of the collections pertaining to these sites is housed there. This means that, rather than the more traditional local museum with everything from the local area crammed in, Leeds City museum has much less to work with without duplicating displays elsewhere. This coupled with the relatively large space, though not purpose built space, creates something of a unique museum.
The thing I like about Leeds is the meeting of the old and the new. It feels like a very traditional Museum experience, but it is far more up to date than many older museums. I hope that it will continue to fare as well as it seems to have done for past ten/one hundred and ninety nine years. A toast to Leeds City Museum.
Taxidermy rating: 12/15
Toilet score: 5/5
Trail: Yes, frowned upon for adults to do without children
Dead people: Yes, with an extra helping on my visit
Overall Score: 8/10
Website : http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/Pages/Leeds-City-Museum.aspx
The Adventures Of a Museophile 