Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery celebrates move with All Change exhibition

Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery on Chequer Road will close its doors on Friday, January 17 before reopening just up the road on Waterdale this summer.

The exhibition will take a fond look back to when the museum used to be at Beechfield House before it moved to its current location in 1964, when it was officially opened by Princess Margaret.

The idea is to give residents the opportunity to reminisce about the museum, relive happy memories and see exhibits which will not be moving to the new Central Library and Museum on the former girl’s school site.

The new building will showcase many exhibits that have not been seen before and allow for more rotation of exhibits and displays.

The social history museum at Cusworth Hall will be available while Doncaster Museum is temporarily closed.

There are also plans to launch a travelling museum this spring, funded by Arts Council England. It will travel around the borough and have a ‘Best of Doncaster’ theme.

It will showcase some of the fascinating artefacts which will go into the new museum and also display objects and stories loaned from community groups and individuals.

When the current museum closes, a conservationist will carefully go through all the exhibits, recording them and checking whether the ones scheduled to move are in a suitable condition to make the short journey.

Guess the accents test

This conservation process and the preparing of exhibits for the new museum is a delicate, specialised process and does take considerable time, says the museum.

The 1960s building will continue to be used for cultural and learning activities and ideas are being explored.

Visitors can see the exhibition in the museum foyer on Thursday and Friday from 10am to 4.30pm.

For more information, go to www.doncaster.gov.uk/museum