The Museum of Chelmsford is based in Oaklands House, an historic property off Moulsham Street in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. It is a Grade II

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Oaklands House

The house was designed by Charles Pertwee for Frederick Wells, a director of the Chelmsford Brewery, and completed by 1865. It was constructed with an elaborate

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

, and went on to be used as a hospital during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Since 1930 the building has housed the Museum of Chelmsford.

Collections

The Museum of Chelmsford is a local history and industrial heritage museum. A major £5 million extension and redevelopment scheme opened in January 2010 and the museum now includes exhibits and interactive displays focusing on the engineering pioneers R.E.B. Crompton,

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegraphy, wireless tel ...

, and Hoffmann Ball Bearings, as well as illustrating the development of the town and city from prehistory up to modern times. The fine art collection includes works by noted artists with a connection to Chelmsford, including Alfred Bennett Bamford, Doris Boulton-Maude and

Richard Spare Richard John Spare (born 1951) is a British artist and master printmaker known primarily for his drypoints, etchings and oil paintings. He is based in London. Biography Education and early career Spare attended Maidstone College of Art ...

. It also holds pottery including Castle Hedingham ware and that made by the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

winner

Grayson Perry Sir Grayson Perry (born 24 March 1960) is an English artist. He is known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British "prejudices, fashions and foib ...

. The house also incorporates the Museum of the

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

and the Essex Yeomanry. Highlights of this collection include the French Imperial Eagle captured by the 2nd Battalion of the 44th Regiment of Foot from the French 62nd Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne at the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...

in 1812, as well as ''The Last Stand of the 44th Regiment at Gundamuck'', a painting by William Barnes Wollen depicting the

1842 retreat from Kabul The 1842 retreat from Kabul was the retreat of the British and East India Company forces from Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War. An uprising in Kabul forced the then-commander, Major-General William Elphinstone, to fall back to the Britis ...

in Afghanistan.

References

External links

Official siteCollections portal
Museums in Chelmsford (city) Natural history museums in England Industry museums in England Local museums in Essex {{UK-museum-stub