Whitby Museum, Whitby
Making visitors feel welcome and easing their passage through your museum is an all-important part of the overall experience. But few museums get it right. Unfortunately, the Whitby Museum, after redevelopment and an injection of Heritage Lottery Fund cash, is no exception.
The first sign that greets the visitors on arrival at the 1930s museum set in the picturesque Pannett Park, baldly states: 'These doors will be closed 30 minutes before closing time.' No fanfare welcome; no banner announcing the new extension.
The art gallery and existing museum are little changed, but they are important as they form the first impression for visitors. The entrance leads straight into the art gallery - where the Fylingdales Group of Artists hosts its annual exhibition: a typical display of local scenes of harbourside and moor. Off the main room are two side galleries: the Weatherill Room and the Staithes Group, again showing local artists.
The problem is not the content, which is exactly what you would expect in a local art gallery, but the lack of interpretation and an almost hostile tone to visitors. Rather than engaging them with interesting interpretation, visitors are exhorted not to lean, not to touch, not to sit.
Obviously, some stewarding of visitors is to be expected and when museums are volunteer-run and low on staff, they have to rely on the written word, but here it is overwhelming.
Every piece of furniture in a display of chairs and desks has a 'do not touch' or a 'do not sit' notice attached, despite rope barriers already being in place to prevent any illicit contact.
The interpretation by contrast is minimal, confined to a short introductory panel in the Weatherill Room. In the gallery containing work from the Staithes Group there are labels by some, not all, of the paintings but unfortunately some of them are placed so high that they are impossible to read unless you stand on the wooden ledges that run around the perimeter of the room. This is, of course, expressly forbidden.
In the main body of the museum the forbidding tone is alleviated by the fascinating array of objects arranged in a traditional Victorian-style display that looks as if it hasn't changed much since the museum opened in 1931.
Fossil skeletons are set to dramatic effect into the walls - although, of course, the obligatory notice is there: '180 million years old and very fragile - please do not touch.' Fortunately for the itchy-fingered, there is a fossil handling box.
Like all good local museums there is a bit of everything on display: mounted butterflies; stuffed animals; costumes and dolls; shipping and discovery; ceramics and 'domestic bygones'; and the quaintly named Souvenirs of British Colonial History.
Visitors could spend a great deal of time here, and evidently do. There were several letters proudly displayed on the museum noticeboard from schoolchildren thanking the staff for visits.
And the helpful staff are keen to point visitors in the direction of the new wing - which is fortunate, as otherwise the temporary laser-printed sign announcing it to the world could easily be missed.
In the new wing, graphic panels are used to tell the story of 1,000 years of shipbuilding in Whitby. It is a visual relief to find an ordered and well-interpreted display - although it is limited by the fact that it is installed in what is essentially a corridor.
Finding your way around this new section is difficult - doors are closed, and don't invite entry and it is easy to end up in the curator's office by mistake. Orientation has clearly proved problematic; there is a notice on the door of the new temporary exhibition space politely requesting that visitors: 'Open the door and come into the exhibition.'
The temporary exhibition, Sugar and Slavery, is an ambitious attempt to look at the links between the town and the slave trade. The new gallery provides a decent-sized space for temporary exhibitions and the curators have packed in a wide range of objects and interpretation, although the lurid aqua blue background isn't exactly easy on the eye.
The display starts with model of Captain Cook's Endeavour - the ship wasn't involved in the slave trade, but the slavers were 'vessels of that sort'. It jars to begin the story with an object so weakly linked to the subject matter, and it wasn't the only one - the Amazon warrior (compete with severed head) seemed strangely out of place.
There is a good story to tell here, but the exhibition is confusingly laid out. Quotes from slaver owners, slaves and abolitionists are scattered throughout the gallery but mostly lack context and impact.
Ashton Warner, a slave owned by James Wilson a plantation owner from Whitby, describes conditions: 'The sick house is just like a pen to keep pigs in.' But this incisive quote is lost among many others, and no background history on Warner is provided, although there are several more quotes from him.
An enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer was on hand to answer questions and provide a potted introduction but the gallery would have benefited from an opening panel and a timeline.
On the floor above is small costume gallery. Although the displays are new, the interpretation and the logic behind separating this particular part of the collection are lacking.
There would be no point sticking the most popular objects in the museum up here, as presumably only the keenest visitors venture this far, but it does give the impression that the costumes have been metaphorically mothballed into the attic.
Also new is a lecture room, a study room for maps and photographs, and space for a cafe, which is not yet open.
The collection is owned by the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, which was keen to keep the old museum unaltered. But that leaves the new wing isolated from the main body of the museum both in style and location.
From outside and within, the extension has the look of a municipal add-on. In fact the council owns the building and the town clerk's office and registry have been shoe-horned into the new space.
Naturally the bulk of the money was spent on the extension - but a little attention to detail to bring the rest of the museum up to scratch wouldn't have gone amiss.
Project data
Extension cost: £1.1m
Funders: Heritage Lottery Fund, trusts, local businesses,
individuals
Architect: BCD Consultants, Whitby
Design: Whitby Museum
Making visitors feel welcome and easing their passage through your museum is an all-important part of the overall experience. But few museums get it right. Unfortunately, the Whitby Museum, after redevelopment and an injection of Heritage Lottery Fund cash, is no exception.
The first sign that greets the visitors on arrival at the 1930s museum set in the picturesque Pannett Park, baldly states: 'These doors will be closed 30 minutes before closing time.' No fanfare welcome; no banner announcing the new extension.
The art gallery and existing museum are little changed, but they are important as they form the first impression for visitors. The entrance leads straight into the art gallery - where the Fylingdales Group of Artists hosts its annual exhibition: a typical display of local scenes of harbourside and moor. Off the main room are two side galleries: the Weatherill Room and the Staithes Group, again showing local artists.
The problem is not the content, which is exactly what you would expect in a local art gallery, but the lack of interpretation and an almost hostile tone to visitors. Rather than engaging them with interesting interpretation, visitors are exhorted not to lean, not to touch, not to sit.
Obviously, some stewarding of visitors is to be expected and when museums are volunteer-run and low on staff, they have to rely on the written word, but here it is overwhelming.
Every piece of furniture in a display of chairs and desks has a 'do not touch' or a 'do not sit' notice attached, despite rope barriers already being in place to prevent any illicit contact.
The interpretation by contrast is minimal, confined to a short introductory panel in the Weatherill Room. In the gallery containing work from the Staithes Group there are labels by some, not all, of the paintings but unfortunately some of them are placed so high that they are impossible to read unless you stand on the wooden ledges that run around the perimeter of the room. This is, of course, expressly forbidden.
In the main body of the museum the forbidding tone is alleviated by the fascinating array of objects arranged in a traditional Victorian-style display that looks as if it hasn't changed much since the museum opened in 1931.
Fossil skeletons are set to dramatic effect into the walls - although, of course, the obligatory notice is there: '180 million years old and very fragile - please do not touch.' Fortunately for the itchy-fingered, there is a fossil handling box.
Like all good local museums there is a bit of everything on display: mounted butterflies; stuffed animals; costumes and dolls; shipping and discovery; ceramics and 'domestic bygones'; and the quaintly named Souvenirs of British Colonial History.
Visitors could spend a great deal of time here, and evidently do. There were several letters proudly displayed on the museum noticeboard from schoolchildren thanking the staff for visits.
And the helpful staff are keen to point visitors in the direction of the new wing - which is fortunate, as otherwise the temporary laser-printed sign announcing it to the world could easily be missed.
In the new wing, graphic panels are used to tell the story of 1,000 years of shipbuilding in Whitby. It is a visual relief to find an ordered and well-interpreted display - although it is limited by the fact that it is installed in what is essentially a corridor.
Finding your way around this new section is difficult - doors are closed, and don't invite entry and it is easy to end up in the curator's office by mistake. Orientation has clearly proved problematic; there is a notice on the door of the new temporary exhibition space politely requesting that visitors: 'Open the door and come into the exhibition.'
The temporary exhibition, Sugar and Slavery, is an ambitious attempt to look at the links between the town and the slave trade. The new gallery provides a decent-sized space for temporary exhibitions and the curators have packed in a wide range of objects and interpretation, although the lurid aqua blue background isn't exactly easy on the eye.
The display starts with model of Captain Cook's Endeavour - the ship wasn't involved in the slave trade, but the slavers were 'vessels of that sort'. It jars to begin the story with an object so weakly linked to the subject matter, and it wasn't the only one - the Amazon warrior (compete with severed head) seemed strangely out of place.
There is a good story to tell here, but the exhibition is confusingly laid out. Quotes from slaver owners, slaves and abolitionists are scattered throughout the gallery but mostly lack context and impact.
Ashton Warner, a slave owned by James Wilson a plantation owner from Whitby, describes conditions: 'The sick house is just like a pen to keep pigs in.' But this incisive quote is lost among many others, and no background history on Warner is provided, although there are several more quotes from him.
An enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer was on hand to answer questions and provide a potted introduction but the gallery would have benefited from an opening panel and a timeline.
On the floor above is small costume gallery. Although the displays are new, the interpretation and the logic behind separating this particular part of the collection are lacking.
There would be no point sticking the most popular objects in the museum up here, as presumably only the keenest visitors venture this far, but it does give the impression that the costumes have been metaphorically mothballed into the attic.
Also new is a lecture room, a study room for maps and photographs, and space for a cafe, which is not yet open.
The collection is owned by the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, which was keen to keep the old museum unaltered. But that leaves the new wing isolated from the main body of the museum both in style and location.
From outside and within, the extension has the look of a municipal add-on. In fact the council owns the building and the town clerk's office and registry have been shoe-horned into the new space.
Naturally the bulk of the money was spent on the extension - but a little attention to detail to bring the rest of the museum up to scratch wouldn't have gone amiss.
Project data
Extension cost: £1.1m
Funders: Heritage Lottery Fund, trusts, local businesses,
individuals
Architect: BCD Consultants, Whitby
Design: Whitby Museum
