International opening
The recently developed Medieval Museum forms part of a new museum quarter in the historic centre of Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. By Simon Stephens
This year Waterford in the Republic of Ireland will put the finishing touches to a €30m project to create a new museum quarter in the historic centre of the city.
The Waterford Museum of Treasures features three museums that cover more than 1,000 years of history in the city. The Bishop’s Palace Museum has the world’s largest collection of historic Waterford glass, dating back to the 1780s.
The Viking Museum at Reginald’s Tower is housed in a circular defence tower that was built at the beginning of the 13th century. It displays objects from a 9th-century Viking site at Woodstown, which is 5kms upriver from the city, and artefacts from a Viking city at Waterford.
The third venue is the Medieval Museum, which sits beside the cathedral and Bishop’s Palace. The museum has been constructed on top of two medieval stone monuments – a 13th-century Choristers’ Hall and a 15th-century Mayor’s Wine Vault.
The exhibitions in the Medieval Museum are accompanied by audiovisual presentations that bring to life some of the great treasures of medieval Waterford.
These include the four-metre long Great Charter Roll of 1373, which features the earliest portrait of a medieval king of England. Also on display is the only surviving piece of clothing of a medieval English monarch, the Cap of Maintenance of Henry VIII.
The Bishop’s Palace and the Medieval Museum are expected to attract 60,000 paying visitors in 2014, while the Viking Museum at Reginald’s Tower is likely to have more than 15,000 visitors.
Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, celebrates its 1100th anniversary this year.
Was it a challenge to integrate the contemporary architecture of the Medieval Museum with actual medieval structures?
Eamonn McEneaney: The most challenging aspect of the project was the site, which is surrounded on three sides by 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century buildings. The site had been derelict since 1520, with a subterranean ground floor of a 13th-century Deanery building (known as the Choristers’ Hall) still intact.
A web of issues had to be addressed including medieval archaeology, conservation of the Choristers’ Hall, access, fire safety and derelict structures.
What was the most difficult aspect of the project?
The sheer enormity of the entire scheme in its ambition and complexity. It involved architecture, museology and urban regeneration, and was undertaken in a period of deep recession. It called on all the skills and energies of the staff of the city architects department and the museum.
How is the history of medieval Ireland brought alive for visitors?
The route for visitors to the Medieval Museum is down some spiral stairs into the Choristers’ Hall and then into the Mayor’s Wine Vault, where they are transported back into the Middle Ages.
There is a tour by a costumed re-enactor, a character called Mayor Wyse, who can trace his antecedents back to the 13th century and whose descendant still sits on Waterford City Council today.
There are also two animated presentations that tell the story of the main objects of the second- and first-floor galleries – the Great Charter Roll and the Waterford cloth-of-gold vestments.
Is the museum aimed at a particular audience?
The museum is for all – locals, tourists, national, academic and children. Waterford Treasures offers a re-enactor tour and a self-guided tour with the multilingual interactive audioguide.
There is also a potted-history of Waterford evening show as well as two walking tours of the Viking Triangle. One is a fun, guided one, the other is self-guided using an audioguide. Both tours take you through seven national monuments as well as the three museums. We run education and Friends programmes.
What is the most innovative element of the project?
Museums being an economic driver and part of urban regeneration is one innovative element. More specifically, there is the use of six models showing the city from Viking times to the late-18th century.
Eamonn McEneaney is the director of Waterford Treasures, Three Museums in the Viking Triangle
The Waterford Museum of Treasures features three museums that cover more than 1,000 years of history in the city. The Bishop’s Palace Museum has the world’s largest collection of historic Waterford glass, dating back to the 1780s.
The Viking Museum at Reginald’s Tower is housed in a circular defence tower that was built at the beginning of the 13th century. It displays objects from a 9th-century Viking site at Woodstown, which is 5kms upriver from the city, and artefacts from a Viking city at Waterford.
The third venue is the Medieval Museum, which sits beside the cathedral and Bishop’s Palace. The museum has been constructed on top of two medieval stone monuments – a 13th-century Choristers’ Hall and a 15th-century Mayor’s Wine Vault.
The exhibitions in the Medieval Museum are accompanied by audiovisual presentations that bring to life some of the great treasures of medieval Waterford.
These include the four-metre long Great Charter Roll of 1373, which features the earliest portrait of a medieval king of England. Also on display is the only surviving piece of clothing of a medieval English monarch, the Cap of Maintenance of Henry VIII.
The Bishop’s Palace and the Medieval Museum are expected to attract 60,000 paying visitors in 2014, while the Viking Museum at Reginald’s Tower is likely to have more than 15,000 visitors.
Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, celebrates its 1100th anniversary this year.
Was it a challenge to integrate the contemporary architecture of the Medieval Museum with actual medieval structures?
Eamonn McEneaney: The most challenging aspect of the project was the site, which is surrounded on three sides by 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century buildings. The site had been derelict since 1520, with a subterranean ground floor of a 13th-century Deanery building (known as the Choristers’ Hall) still intact.
A web of issues had to be addressed including medieval archaeology, conservation of the Choristers’ Hall, access, fire safety and derelict structures.
What was the most difficult aspect of the project?
The sheer enormity of the entire scheme in its ambition and complexity. It involved architecture, museology and urban regeneration, and was undertaken in a period of deep recession. It called on all the skills and energies of the staff of the city architects department and the museum.
How is the history of medieval Ireland brought alive for visitors?
The route for visitors to the Medieval Museum is down some spiral stairs into the Choristers’ Hall and then into the Mayor’s Wine Vault, where they are transported back into the Middle Ages.
There is a tour by a costumed re-enactor, a character called Mayor Wyse, who can trace his antecedents back to the 13th century and whose descendant still sits on Waterford City Council today.
There are also two animated presentations that tell the story of the main objects of the second- and first-floor galleries – the Great Charter Roll and the Waterford cloth-of-gold vestments.
Is the museum aimed at a particular audience?
The museum is for all – locals, tourists, national, academic and children. Waterford Treasures offers a re-enactor tour and a self-guided tour with the multilingual interactive audioguide.
There is also a potted-history of Waterford evening show as well as two walking tours of the Viking Triangle. One is a fun, guided one, the other is self-guided using an audioguide. Both tours take you through seven national monuments as well as the three museums. We run education and Friends programmes.
What is the most innovative element of the project?
Museums being an economic driver and part of urban regeneration is one innovative element. More specifically, there is the use of six models showing the city from Viking times to the late-18th century.
Eamonn McEneaney is the director of Waterford Treasures, Three Museums in the Viking Triangle
Project data
- Cost €30m (for the three museums)
- Main funders Fáilte Ireland €11m; Waterford City Council
- Architect Waterford City Council Architects
- Exhibition design Vidar Media
- Audiovisuals Pillarstone Productions
- City models Colin Patton
- Audiovisual guide Zolkc
- Display case supplier ClickNetherfield