The Museum of… Selly Manor Museum
This museum in Birmingham tells the story of a timber-framed house that dates back to the 14th century. By Alexandra Genova
Where
Selly Manor Museum is in Bournville, a garden village created by the chocolate maker and philanthropist George Cadbury as an answer to the squalor of industrial Birmingham. Its original location was a mile down the road. It was saved from demolition by Cadbury who moved it – beam by beam – to the village where it now resides.
What
A Grade II-listed timber-framed building that has been occupied almost continuously since the late 1400s.
Opened
“It was a prosperous building until the late 1600s but before it was saved it had fallen into disrepair,” says Gillian Ellis, the heritage manager of Selly Manor Museum. Cadbury bought the building in 1907, it was moved to its current home in 1916 and became a museum a year later. It was awarded full Accreditation by Arts Council England last year.
Collection
“What’s unique about us is that practically all our collection is on display,” Ellis says. “We have a great collection of early oak furniture and domestic objects from about the 17th century. It was put together by George’s son, Laurence Cadbury, who amassed it over the course of 20 years to furnish Selly Manor as it would have been.”
Highlights
“An 18-foot table from about the 1670s, which just about fits in the medieval hall, and a wonderful 15th-century chest carved with dragons,” Ellis says. “But our greatest treasure came from when the architect William Harvey dismantled the building in the 1900s. He photographed the whole thing so we have a wonderful archive of photos of him taking the building down and putting it back together.”
Help at hand
The museum has three full-time members of staff – Ellis, a museum manager and a learning officer. There is a part-time person who does events and school groups, and two casual staff who help at weekends. Two gardeners tend the Tudor-style cottage garden once a week and there are five volunteers who help out when needed.
Budget
The museum is owned and managed by Bournville Village Trust, a charitable housing association, which provides the majority of its funding. “We also get income from visitors and ceremony hire,” Ellis says. “We frequently apply for grants for special projects and were given £29,000 last year by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to improve all the interpretation in the house, which we’re thrilled about.”
Visitors
14,000 visitors a year.
Sticky moment
“The cellar flooded a few years ago and destroyed all our event resources and some furniture,” Ellis says. “It soaked into the brickwork and took out the boiler – we had to rely on oil heating for eight months to keep the children warm. It was no freak accident though, as the manor sits atop a natural spring, but now the cellar is tanked and it won’t happen again.”
Survival tip
“Try out new events to attract different audiences; we’re always diversifying our programme,” Ellis says. “And if you can, try and work closely with local community groups, as it helps to raise your profile and gives you ownership of the building that becomes an important place within the community.”
Future plans
“We are publishing a catalogue of the collection, which we’ve never had before, and that will be published some time this year,” Ellis says. “But the biggest thing is the HLF grant, which we’ll use to make our interpretation more enjoyable for visitors. This will all lead up to our 100-year anniversary in 2016. I’m not sure how we will celebrate it yet, possibly with an Edwardian tea party.”
www.sellymanormuseum.org.uk
This year’s Museums Association annual conference is taking place in Birmingham on 5-6 November
Selly Manor Museum is in Bournville, a garden village created by the chocolate maker and philanthropist George Cadbury as an answer to the squalor of industrial Birmingham. Its original location was a mile down the road. It was saved from demolition by Cadbury who moved it – beam by beam – to the village where it now resides.
What
A Grade II-listed timber-framed building that has been occupied almost continuously since the late 1400s.
Opened
“It was a prosperous building until the late 1600s but before it was saved it had fallen into disrepair,” says Gillian Ellis, the heritage manager of Selly Manor Museum. Cadbury bought the building in 1907, it was moved to its current home in 1916 and became a museum a year later. It was awarded full Accreditation by Arts Council England last year.
Collection
“What’s unique about us is that practically all our collection is on display,” Ellis says. “We have a great collection of early oak furniture and domestic objects from about the 17th century. It was put together by George’s son, Laurence Cadbury, who amassed it over the course of 20 years to furnish Selly Manor as it would have been.”
Highlights
“An 18-foot table from about the 1670s, which just about fits in the medieval hall, and a wonderful 15th-century chest carved with dragons,” Ellis says. “But our greatest treasure came from when the architect William Harvey dismantled the building in the 1900s. He photographed the whole thing so we have a wonderful archive of photos of him taking the building down and putting it back together.”
Help at hand
The museum has three full-time members of staff – Ellis, a museum manager and a learning officer. There is a part-time person who does events and school groups, and two casual staff who help at weekends. Two gardeners tend the Tudor-style cottage garden once a week and there are five volunteers who help out when needed.
Budget
The museum is owned and managed by Bournville Village Trust, a charitable housing association, which provides the majority of its funding. “We also get income from visitors and ceremony hire,” Ellis says. “We frequently apply for grants for special projects and were given £29,000 last year by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to improve all the interpretation in the house, which we’re thrilled about.”
Visitors
14,000 visitors a year.
Sticky moment
“The cellar flooded a few years ago and destroyed all our event resources and some furniture,” Ellis says. “It soaked into the brickwork and took out the boiler – we had to rely on oil heating for eight months to keep the children warm. It was no freak accident though, as the manor sits atop a natural spring, but now the cellar is tanked and it won’t happen again.”
Survival tip
“Try out new events to attract different audiences; we’re always diversifying our programme,” Ellis says. “And if you can, try and work closely with local community groups, as it helps to raise your profile and gives you ownership of the building that becomes an important place within the community.”
Future plans
“We are publishing a catalogue of the collection, which we’ve never had before, and that will be published some time this year,” Ellis says. “But the biggest thing is the HLF grant, which we’ll use to make our interpretation more enjoyable for visitors. This will all lead up to our 100-year anniversary in 2016. I’m not sure how we will celebrate it yet, possibly with an Edwardian tea party.”
www.sellymanormuseum.org.uk
This year’s Museums Association annual conference is taking place in Birmingham on 5-6 November