4 minute read
Balancing development against respect for the past
MARTHA JASKO-LAWRENCE, Curator of Archaeology at Sheffield Museums, describes the recent Thomas Bateman exhibition
In ACID 2021, with Sharon Blakey, I wrote about Sheffield Museums’ plan to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Victorian antiquarian Thomas Bateman with an exhibition at Weston Park Museum. At the time of writing our plans were already in flux due to the Covid-19 pandemic so I had to be non-committal about the opening date and the content. Our aim was to change the perception of the Bateman collection as an assemblage of local archaeological material and show that the original collection was vast in numbers of objects and breadth of subjects. The final exhibition Brought to Light: The Remarkable Bateman Collection, which opened in May 2022, certainly achieved this aim, showcasing over 270 items from Sheffield’s collection, complemented by nearly 40 objects loaned from other institutions. Thomas Bateman (18211861) was an antiquarian whose collection was held at his private museum at Lomberdale House in Middleton-by-Youlgreave. Best known locally as a pioneer of early archaeology, he excavated over 200 prehistoric barrows in the Peak District earning him the nickname “The Barrow Knight”. He died at the early age of 39 and his collection passed to his son Thomas William Bateman (1851-1895).
In 1876, he loaned part of the collection to Weston Park Museum in Sheffield. The museum subsequently purchased this material in 1893. The dispersal of the remaining collection took place through a series of sales in 1893 and 1895.
Research for Brought to Light revealed the extent to which Bateman items are spread across the different collections at Sheffield Museums. The popular perception was that the Bateman collection was formed mainly of archaeological material, an impression reinforced by the catalogue published by the museum in 1895 that detailed only the Bateman “antiquities”. The natural history collection has not been as well documented, but this too contains many interesting and significant specimens, including two complete ichthyosaur fossils.
Generous loans from other museums showed the diversity of the original collection. The University of Manchester lent one of several ex-Bateman collection medieval illuminated manuscripts held at John Rylands Library, along with the Trier book binding, an exquisite ivory-inlaid book cover dating to 900-1300. Bateman’s interest in ethnography was highlighted by loans from Pitt Rivers Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge.
One exciting discovery was a letter written by Thomas Bateman, held in the Special Collections Library, University of Sheffield. The museum’s archive contains 10 volumes of letters sent to Thomas Bateman, but letters he wrote to others are much rarer.
Although the exhibition closed in January, our intention is to keep the legacy going with a small display in the permanent archaeology gallery and to share the research online.
The introductory panel to the exhibition
Green light for Wingfield station
LUCY GODFREY of the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust (DHBT) reports on a busy year, despite the pandemic
As for many organisations, the pandemic has been a challenge for the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust (DHBT) over the past 12 months. Nonetheless, the Trust has very been active, as the following events will show.
WINGFIELD STATION
The Grade II* Station near Alfreton is one of the world’s rarest rural railway stations. Despite 40 years of total neglect, the 1840 building remained largely intact and unchanged.
With financial support from Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we appointed a specialist contractor (ASBC Heritage & Conservation Specialists) to undertake urgent repair works. Work started in midOctober with scaffolding going up overnight on the trackside elevation of the building. Time pressure was great: Network Rail only allowed “possession” of the mainline past the station for a few hours. But all went smoothly, and re-roofing was achieved by June last year.
In May 2022 we received the wonderful news that our second Lottery application had been successful and we’re now raising £250,000 to ‘match’ their £667,000 pledge of funds to finish the restoration.
VISITS AND EVENTS
In July 2021, the owners kindly let us hold a summer garden party in their home in Market Place, Wirksworth. The house was built by the Duchy of Lancaster in 1750, which also bought the adjacent Hopkinson’s House, to incorporate the garden of that property too. Hopkinson’s House, restored by DHBT between 1981 and 1985, is now the HQ for the Trust.
At the party, we displayed a recently conserved fragment of decorative plaster found in the “garage” – the former Hall chamber of the house built in 1631 by William Hopkinson.
We’ve also run several popular, free Wingfield Station tours. Further dates are on our website, so people can see the impact of the capital works so far.
Our Derbyshire visits included trips to Sudbury village and Gasworks; Bonsall village; Bennerley Viaduct; Ashbourne; St Wilfrid’s Church, Barrow upon Trent, and Milford.
OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
We’ve also launched a YouTube channel showcasing some of our projects and explaining what we do. Find our channel by searching for Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.
Find out more
If you’d like to find out more about DHBT or support our project at Wingfield Station, please visit our website: www.derbyshirehistoricbuildingstrust.org.uk
