What's the History of the Museum?
The Museum is situated on Priestgate in Peterborough city centre. This street dates back to the twelfth century when the current town plan was set down by the monks of Peterborough abbey. The origins of the name of the street are unknown.
The first recorded house on the Museum site was in the
16th century, when a grand mansion was built there for the Orme
family, who were given land in the area by King
Henry VIII in 1538. This house, called Neville Place, is marked on
a 1611 map of Peterborough and can be seen in a 1731 drawing
(right) of the city. The Orme family were MPs
and magistrates for the city and were chiefly responsible for
building the Guildhall in Cathedral Square which still stands
today. Some stonework probably still survives from this original
house in the cellars under the Museum, and there may be more
elsewhere in the building.
The main part of the current building dates from 1816, when it was a grand Georgian house for former Manchester businessman, now Peterborough magistrate, Thomas Cooke and his new wife Charlotte. He lived in the building until his death in 1854.
In 1856 the Priestgate mansion was sold to the 3rd
Earl Fitzwilliam, who allowed it to be used as the city's first
hospital, the Peterborough infirmary from 1857 until 1928. The
building was altered after a fire in 1884, with wings being added
on the side and an extension to the rear. The infirmary
(left), run by a charitable trust, continued to outgrow
the building, leading to the construction of a new hospital as a
memorial to Peterborians killed in the First World War. Upon
completion in 1928 the hospital was moved to this building, which
is today part of the Peterborough District Hospital.
The Museum building was acquired by Percy Malcolm Stewart, chair of the London Brick Company, and donated to the Museum Society. It was opened as the Museum in 1931, with the art gallery added in 1939.
The Peterborough Natural History Society and Field
Club was founded in 1871 to promote interest in local natural
history. Members included the surgeon at the hospital, Dr Walker
(right) and local chemist Mr Bodger. Within a decade the
society had widened its interest and laid the foundation of a
museum and a library. It became the Natural History, Scientific and
Archaeological Society and in 1947 took its modern title of the
Museum Society. When the Society began assembling the museum
collections, with the first collection was kept in a
cardboard box under a member's bed! Various buildings have housed
the collection during its history, including a house on Park
Road and a former chapel in the Cathedral Precincts.