Great North Museum
by Terry Farrell
The opening of the Great North Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne on 23rd May 2009 marks the latest stage of my lifelong association with my home city.
The Great North Museum is a new £26million Heritage Lottery Fundbacked museum that incorporates collections from the Hancock Museum and Newcastle University’s Museum of Antiquities, Shefton Museum and Hatton Gallery, bringing together the North East’s premier collections of archaeology, natural history and geology under one roof.
One of the four original staircases
(Photo supplied by Purves Ash)
Working with conservation architects, Purves Ash, and exhibition designers, Casson Mann, Farrells have redesigned and reinvented the existing exhibition space of the Great North Museum, exposing collections and animating areas that were previously hidden or inaccessible. The main concepts of the Farrells design include creating a new central vista through the existing building to the new extension, improving orientation within the museum with the introduction of new openings between the galleries, returning the building to its former glory utilizing all four original staircases to release circulation between all the spaces and improving access for all. The new extension provides purpose built offices, a new café, Interpretation Centre, temporary exhibition space and a new library facility.
The GNM sits within the Cultural Quarter Masterplan, also produced by Farrells. The site of the Museum on the Great North Road, has historically presented an impenetrable barrier, with a clutter of road paraphernalia obstructing clear sight of the entrance façade. The dual carriageway literally cut off access from the west to the Museum which was neither fitting for the Grade 2* listed building nor the collections it contained.
The landscaping around the GNM has a Northumbrian theme which has been interpreted to inform colour selection to the window reveals and fins on the new extension and has also been carried though into the interiors of building on feature walls. The lawns at the front of the museum are re-landscaped to provide a new setting for the building, removing unsightly car parking to a more carefully considered location and provides an area of public realm that can host events in the summer.
Highlights of the new museum exhibits include a life-size replica T.rex skeleton, mummies from Ancient Egypt, and a superb collection of Greek art and archaeology. Visitors can track the story of planet Earth from its place in the universe – brought to life in the Museum’s planetarium – through ancient world civilisations, to natural history and life today. Live animals from around the world, alongside the wellknown Victorian specimens, make up a spectacular display of life on Earth, past and present, and highlighting the needs for conservation efforts worldwide.
The Great North Museum will also serve as the gateway to the environment and landscape of the North East of England. The Hadrian’s Wall Gallery displays exhibits from the entire length of the wall in the single greatest collection of artefacts from the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site. Visitors can discover the fascinating history of Rome’s North Western frontier, including an inscription stone which proves that the wall was built on the orders of Emperor Hadrian. A stunning new temporary exhibition space is capable of housing some of the largest touring exhibitions whilst a comprehensive combined library houses one of the UK’s most important collections of works on natural history and archaeology.
Like any modern cultural facility, the Museum will feature excellent new cafes and other visitor facilities and admission will be free.
Note: The creation of the Great North Museum has been made possible by £8.75million in funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), in addition to generous funding from a wide range of supporters including the European Regional Development Fund, One North East, Newcastle University, Newcastle City Council, TyneWear Partnership, Northern Rock Foundation, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Garfield Weston Foundation, Clore Duffield Foundation and the DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund. The project has been led by Newcastle University in partnership with Tyne & Wear Museums, Newcastle City Council, the Natural History Society of Northumbria and the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne.
City and County
May 2009
