Tolson Museum

Tolson Museum

Victorian Mansion seen through winter trees

Tolson Museum in Knowle Park
Location Huddersfield
Type Local
Website Tolson Museum

The Tolson Museum is a local museum in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in a Victorian mansion in Knowle Park on Wakefield Road which was given to the town in memory of two brothers killed in World War I and was originally a natural history museum. It is run by Kirklees Council and has a wide range of exhibits related to the area's cultural and industrial history.

History

In 1919 Legh Tolson gave Ravensknowle Hall, built in 1860 by John Beaumont, to Huddersfield Corporation to use as a museum in memory of his two nephews, brothers 2nd Lieutenant Robert Huntriss Tolson, killed on 1 July 1916 at the Battle of the Somme, and 2nd Lieutenant James Martin Tolson who died in the closing stages of World War I on 2 October 1918. The museum was formally opened on 27 May 1922.[1][2]

Originally a natural history museum with an extensive collection of rocks and fossils[3] Tolson Museum was revamped from the 1980s to feature the industrial history of the Huddersfield area, including the manufacturing of textiles and road vehicles.[4]

Exhibitions

The transport gallery

There are exhibits of local archaeology, weaving machinery and textiles and natural history, with an extensive collection of stuffed birds.[5] A reconstruction of a Victorian schoolroom allows children to experience the type of teaching used in that era.[6] A ground floor extension at the rear of the building houses a transport exhibition including roadbuilding techniques and horsedrawn and motor vehicles including Britain's rarest car – the three-wheeled LSD – which was manufactured in Huddersfield between 1919 and 1924. It was originally made by Sykes and Sugden Ltd from 1919 to 1923 and then by the LSD Motor Co Ltd in Mirfield from 1923 to 1924. Another local make of car, the Valveless, made by David Brown Ltd., is on display after being recovered from South Africa.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "History spotlight ... Dalton". The Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  2. ↑ "The soldiers". leeds-pals.com. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  3. ↑ "Discovering UK Collections". Cornucopia. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 David George (2002). "The Transport Gallery at the Tolsen Memorial Museum, Ravensknowle Hall, Huddersfield". Yorkshire Archaeological Society Industrial History Section. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  5. ↑ Kate Kellaway (22 November 2009). "To a birdwatcher, one glimpse, one moment is happiness enough". The Observer. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  6. ↑ "Tolson Museum". UK School Museums Group. Retrieved 2010-06-06.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tolson Museum, Huddersfield.

Coordinates: 53°38′42″N 1°45′20″W / 53.6449°N 1.7555°W