| Alderney Society Museum | |
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Location in Alderney
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| Established | 1966 |
| Location | St Anne, Alderney |
| Type | General history and naval museum |
| Director | Louis Jean |
| Curator | Don Oakden |
Alderney Society Museum is the principal museum in Alderney in the Channel Islands. The museum is located in the Old School House on High Street in central St Anne, Alderney. The current administrator is Don Oakden, overlooked by Louis Jean, president of the Alderney Society which runs the museum.
The museum exhibits fully trace the history of the town. There is a collection of rare maps, a list of British Regiments stationed in Alderney since 1732, old records, the 1940 Census of Alderney, and many rare artifacts.[1]
The Alderney Society Museum collaborates with other museums in loaning exhibits. One recent example included the June 2009 through December 2009 artifact loan of iconic pieces from the Alderney Elizabethan Shipwreck, such as cannonballs, breastplate, helmet, and tobacco pipes, to the Guernsey Museums & Galleries in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey.[2]
Contents |
The museum is housed in the Old School House, next to an old church of St. Anne which is not in use. It adjoins the oldest cemetery and has a clock tower at the entrance. A plaque on the wall above the entrance is in French and states that the public school was built and founded by Jean Le Mesurier, governor of the island in 1790.[1] Outside the museum is an old yellow telephone box and post box.
The museum is administered by the Alderney Society who established the museum in 1966 with the purpose of creating "an organisation dedicated to the historical, environmental and scientific promotion of the Island of Alderney".[3] It was first opened in the basement of the Island Hall. However, this place was subjected to frequent flooding alternate accommodation was offered by the Alderney State Authority in the old St. Anne's Public School building for what is termed as a "peppercorn rent", since there was dearth of funds to meet expenses for running a museum. Local volunteers pitched in to refurbish the new museum premises for the formal opening held in 1970.[4]
In 1993, the museum was officially fully registered and, in 1999, the museum was a recipient of the Museums and Galleries’ Gulbenkian Award for "most outstanding achievement" presented by Prince Charles.[3]
The museum has over 12,000 holdings related to the history, archaeology and marine life of Alderney. However, the exhibits displayed also reflected the status of the community who were dependent on subsistence agriculture, fishing and trading for their livelihood. Some of the most notable items include plans and drawings of the construction of the Alderney Breakwater, built between 1847 and 1864. The 1852 George S. Reynolds' lithograph is part of the Alderney Breakwater group of documents.[1][4][5] Holdings are as diverse as 1940 census papers, cinerary urns, dulcie cups, and curry powder bottles.[6] There are also church and government documents, as well as land and cemetery registers. Materials that document Alderney customs, folk life, genealogy, geology, and the island's natural history are part of the holdings.[7]
The largest collection pertains to the Elizabethan Wreck. The Alderney Society has plans to expand the museum to fully accommodate artifacts from the Elizabethan Wreck, which are currently displayed in room G2 on the ground floor and form the bulk of the museum.[3]
