Memories of the Hancock Museum (part 1)

Collections & Objects   Exhibitions   Great North Museum: Hancock   Local History
Posted by administrator on March 31, 2015     Permalink     Comments (5)

Like many people who grew up on Tyneside, my first memories of the Great North Museum: Hancock (then the Hancock Museum) came as a child.  For me, however, the most enduring memory is that of standing outside the museum.  From the age of eight I waited each day at the bus stop outside the museum to get the bus home – that bus stop of course no longer exists as it was bulldozed along with the old formal entrance to the museum, in the creation of Newcastle’s central motorway.

The next set of memories come as a young museum professional in the 1980s attending meetings on the very uncomfortable wooden benches in the old museum lecture theatre but also being taken on tour into the amazing stores of the museum to view not only collections of huge scientific value amassed over a 200 year period but also specimens provided by zoos and other sources and stored in freezers awaiting the expert attention of the museum’s well known taxidermist Eric Morton.

The Hancock Museum in Newcastle

The Hancock Museum in Newcastle

But of course the collections of the Great North Museum: Hancock are not only the collections of the Hancock Museum.  As an archaeology undergraduate (at Leicester University) in 1980 I chose to do my undergraduate dissertation on Neolithic and early Bronze Age jet ornaments from the North East of England and the spacer plate necklace and V-pierced button specimens from the Museum of Antiquities were a rich source of material for that dissertation.  Many hours were spent photographing and drawing objects from the Museum’s fantastic collection.

Some monster creepy crawlies entering the museum for an exhibition in 1995. Eric Morton, taxidermist, can be seen at the far left.

Some monster creepy crawlies entering the museum for an exhibition in 1995. Eric Morton, taxidermist, can be seen at the far left.

I returned to the Hancock Museum, as was, in 2001 as the grandly titled Senior Curator.  As a non-natural scientist, who didn’t even have a biology O level it seemed rather a cheek to be the senior curator of the Hancock.  However, I have been lucky enough across my life in museums, libraries and archives to have run a wide variety of organisations covering, I think, almost the whole world of human knowledge!

Supported by an excellent team with the subject specific knowledge I quickly confirmed that I wasn’t suddenly going to become an expert Paleo-ethno botanist but that my general leadership and management skills would be applied to help develop the Hancock and that I would ensure that I had enough knowledge to converse about the collections with the public and with specialists as required.

2001 was an exciting time to arrive at the Hancock. The business model at the time was very much oriented to blockbuster exhibitions either brought in or self-generated and many people will remember the thick black cloth covering the ceiling of the first gallery in the Museum where many of these exhibitions were staged.  People will also remember the tradition of throwing, from above, coins onto this cloth which were periodically raked off and added to the Museum’s donations.

The Top Secret exhibition at the Hancock Museum in 2000

The Top Secret exhibition at the Hancock Museum in 2000

The first exhibition I was involved with however brought a particular challenge.  An exhibition on the science of Star Trek looking at which elements of the Star Trek technology were possible and which (at least according to Einsteinian physics!) were impossible.  Unfortunately the exhibition had been hired in in US dollars and at about this time the pound suddenly fell against the US dollar, significantly increasing the cost to us of the exhibition and increasing our funding challenge for that year.

Taken during the Star Trek exhibition in 2001. Photo by Mike Blenkinsop Studios

Taken during the Star Trek exhibition in 2001. Photo by Mike Blenkinsop Studios

The most exciting thing however coming up was the bid from Newcastle Gateshead to be Capital of Culture and the energy associated with this bid linked with a strong desire from Newcastle University to strengthen local and regional relationships provided the perfect opportunity to address some of the challenges which the Hancock faced.

The Shipley Art Gallery during the First World War

Shipley Art Gallery   World War 1
Posted by administrator on March 26, 2015     Permalink     Leave a comment

As part of the ‘Wor Life’ project we have been researching all our venues to see what was going on at each of them during the First World War. We’ve found some really interesting stories that we’ll be sharing over the next few weeks.

The Shipley Art Gallery around 1920

The Shipley Art Gallery around 1920

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Shipley Art Gallery was bequeathed to the people of Gateshead following the death of Joseph Shipley, a local solicitor, in 1909. The architect’s plans for the Gallery were submitted to Gateshead for approval in October 1914. With hindsight, it is hard for us to imagine that towns were planning major projects like this during the First World War. However in autumn 1914, the British people were convinced it would be ‘all over by Christmas’.

Despite this belief coming to nothing, Gateshead continued to build the Gallery, even travelling down to the House of Lords to appeal against a ban on providing new materials except to the War Effort. The building opened in 1917 and is a testament to local pride and craftsmanship.

Conscience and Conflict – Campaigning Artists

Art   Exhibitions   Laing Art Gallery
Posted by administrator on March 18, 2015     Permalink     Leave a comment

Help Spain- PHM - rThe Spanish Civil War (1936-9) brought together abstract, realist and Surrealist artists in Britain in opposition to the actions of Franco and his fascist allies. The war broke out after Franco led Nationalist rebels in a violent attempt to overthrow the democratically elected Spanish Republican government. Due to an international non-intervention pact, help for the Spanish Republicans was limited to Russia, while Franco benefitted from troops and military aid from Italy and Germany. For many in Europe, the conflict became a battleground for ideas in the years before the Second World War.

In Britain, the left-wing Artists International Association responded with a ‘Help Spain!’ campaign. This striking design is one of the varied items in the exhibition Conscience and Conflict: British Artists and the Spanish Civil War currently on show at the Laing Art Gallery. This big and fascinating exhibition includes paintings, prints, photographs, posters and sculpture.

brangwyn

Frank Brangwyn’s Spain is another of the powerful campaigning prints in the exhibition (this is a detail of the design). It was made into a huge poster for the Fund for Distressed Women and Children, which helped civilians on both sides of the conflict. However, Republican areas suffered particularly as Franco cut off supply routes. It’s a notable feature of this turbulent time that many artists wanted to get involved with designing posters for campaigns to make a practical difference through fund raising for aid.

Surrealists - May Day 1938 - 30

Other artists worked to try and influence the British government to go to the aid of the Republicans. At the 1938 May Day parade in London, a group of Surrealist artists marched dressed as Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, mocking him for his non-intervention policy. They were accompanied by a tricycle carrying a papier-mâché horse’s head supplied by the artist Julian Trevelyan, which is on display in the exhibition. In characteristic Surrealist style, when the march halted every now and then, the artists would do a little dance, holding their umbrellas aloft. More conventionally, artists such as Henry Moore signed declarations calling for action.

Felicia Browne, Spanish Peasant (standing) - Copy

f browneFor some artists, campaigning was not enough, and they felt they had to join the fight in Spain. Felicia Browne joined a militia near Barcelona in August 1936, but died only a few weeks later attempting to help a fallen comrade on the front line. Some of the drawings she made in Spain, retrieved by fellow militia members, are on display in the exhibition. She was the first Briton to be killed in the conflict.

brigade memberCommunist artist Clive Branson also went to Spain. He was one of many volunteers who fought with the International Brigades. Altogether, 2,500 British volunteers joined 35,000 people from 53 countries in Spain. Branson’s drawings of fellow Brigade members who ended up alongside him in an Italian-run prisoner-of-war camp are displayed in the exhibition. This sketch shows T Jones wearing his Brigade uniform beret.

British Battalion banner

This banner was embroidered by the women of Barcelona and presented to the British Battalion of the 15th International Brigade in 1938.

Branson 'Demonstration in Battersea' p coll - CopyAfter the conflict, Clive Branson returned to his home in Battersea in London, and devoted his time to organising events and marches. There’s a Spanish flag being held aloft in the background of his picture of Demonstration in Battersea, a painting that links the events in Spain with wider political activism in Britain in the years immediately before the Second World War.

The theme of art and class is the subject of a talk by Professor Ysanne Holt of Northumbria University on Wednesday April 1st – Art and Class: British art in the 1930s (2-3 pm, Laing Function Room, £2, students free).

On Saturday 16 May, Steve Chambers of Northumbria University will introduce a Spanish Civil War radio drama documentary To Make The People Smile Again (BBC Radio, 2007). Steve was the producer of the drama doc, and will also giving a talk alongside Martin Ellis of Zymurgy Publishing, publisher of the book that inspired the drama. The radio production includes  fascinating interviews with International Brigades survivors (Laing Art Gallery function room, 2-3.45 pm, free).

Conscience and Conflict: British Artists and the Spanish Civil War is a partnership exhibition with Pallant House Gallery, Chichester. The exhibition is accompanied by an informative and well-illustrated exhibition book by Simon Martin, Artistic Director of Pallant House Gallery and curator of the exhibition – available from the Gallery or our online shop.

Illustrations

Anon, Help Spain, 1937, Courtesy of the People’s History Museum, Manchester

Frank Brangwyn, Spain (detail), 1937, Leicestershire County Council Artworks Collection

Surrealist artists participate in the May Day march 1938, Photo by F E McWilliam reproduced courtesy of the F E McWilliam estate.

Felicia Browne, Self-portrait, Private collection

Felicia Browne, Spanish Woman, Private collection

Clive Branson, Drawing – No. 18 T Jones 11 August, 1938, The International Brigade Archive at the Marx Memorial Library, London

International Brigade Banner, October 1938, Embroidered banner by the women of Barcelona for the British Battalion, The International Brigade Archive at the Marx Memorial Library, London

Clive Branson, Demonstration in Battersea, 1939, Collection of Rosa Branson

 

Crime and punishment in North Shields

Collections & Objects   Discovery Museum   Local History   Social History   The Archives
Posted by administrator on March 12, 2015     Permalink     Comments (8)

Back in November 2010 Tyne & Wear Archives was given a photograph album  of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 (TWAM ref. DX1388/1). The album contains over a thousand mugshots of prisoners and several years ago we put a small selection of these on Flickr. There are separate sets for the male prisoners and the female prisoners.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been adding to these Flickr sets and I thought this would be a good opportunity to find out more about the stories behind the photos. This was partly inspired by a gallery curated by Brenda Anderson using the first images uploaded to Flickr.

The mugshots include quite a few of children. These can really tug at the heartstrings and include images of two children, David Lloyd (aged 15) and George Burn (aged 14), who were arrested on 10 November 1902 for larceny.

Mugshot of David Lloyd (TWAM ref. DX1388/1).

Mugshot of David Lloyd, 1902 (TWAM ref. DX1388/1).

The Shields Daily News for that day reveals that they were charged with “stealing on the 8th inst. from a wash-house in Prudhoe Street brushes and a box worth 3s, the property of Peter Johnson”. The Shields Daily News for 17 November 1902 reveals that the boys pleaded guilty and their parents were bound over in the sum of £5 for their good behaviour during the following 6 months.

While these images of child prisoners really caught my attention, there was another case featured in the album, which had the same effect for completely different reasons. Rather than generating sympathy for the prisoner, this mugshot sent a shiver down my spine. There was something menacing about the prisoner’s appearance and the word ‘Murder’ on the board he was holding didn’t help matters either.

Mugshot of Jerome Guerrini, 1904 (TWAM ref. DX1388/1).

Mugshot of Jerome Guerrini, 1904 (TWAM ref. DX1388/1).

The case would have been featured in countless newspapers around the country but I was able to find a particularly good account by searching the British Newspapers collection on the findmypast website. The account appeared in the Morpeth Herald for 26 November 1904 and it revealed that the prisoner Jerome Guerrini (who also went under the alias of Joseph Brunetti) was a 27 year old Corsican who had spent the previous four years at sea as a fireman. The man he was accused of murdering was a labourer, Patrick Gilligan. Gilligan lived in Clive Street, North Shields (with two brothers named Davis), almost directly opposite the lodgings occupied by Guerrini.

The Morpeth Herald reports:

“About 11 o’clock of the night of July 4th a noise was heard at the back of No. 10 Clive Street. One of the brothers Davis went out and saw the deceased, the prisoner and a friend of the latter named Petro Arteche. He heard the deceased man tell the prisoner and his companion to shift, as it was no place for them to commit a nuisance. Davis would tell then that he saw the prisoner strike the deceased in the chest. Davis told the deceased to come into the house which he did.

Gillighan sat down to supper and just at that moment a noise was heard at the shop door in the front street. Wm Davis opened the door, but saw no one. The deceased also appeared to have come to the door, spoken to someone in the street, and proceeded immediately down an adjoining passage. While he was going down a noise was heard at the back door. Davis followed him down the passage and saw him with head of prisoner’s friend, Arteche under his right arm, and was striking him. The deceased also struck at the prisoner on the right side of the head, causing it to bleed. Then it appeared that the prisoner retired a few yards, rushed at the deceased and struck him on the left side. Davis saw no knife but a few seconds afterwards he was attacked by prisoner. Davis avoided a blow and when the prisoner raised his hand he saw he had a knife. Deceased staggered forward and fell. Davis went to help him up the passage and while he was going Gillighan said ‘Willie, I am stabbed’.” Gillighan died shortly afterwards of internal bleeding.

During the trial Guerrini’s solicitor, Mr Mitchell-Innes asked the jury to find a verdict of manslaughter, emphasising that he was not the aggressor and only used his knife in the heat of the moment. He pointed to Gillinghan’s conviction four years earlier for a serious assault on another man with a bottle and a knife. Caroline Evans, a married woman living in Clive Street, also testified that she saw Gillighan “seize the prisoner and drag him across the back lane”. She heard Guerrini say “I am not making a noise, I don’t want to fight”.

Ordnance Survey map showing Clive Street, North Shields, scale 1:500

Ordnance Survey map showing Clive Street, North Shields, 1896 scale 1:500, Shields & Tynemouth sheet 30

This Ordnance Survey map published in the late 1890s shows that there were quite a few inns and public houses on or just off Clive Street. Could alcohol have played some part in this terrible incident? Did Gillighan single out Guerrini because he was a foreigner?

The Judge’s summing up is interesting in the rather casual way that it stereotypes Corsicans. The Morpeth Herald reports that:

“Judge Darling, in his summing up, said that if there was anything that distinguished a Corsican from the native of any other country, it was the hotness of his blood and the constant use of the knife. He thought the jury should observe this fact in the case. The jury found prisoner guilty of manslaughter and he was sentenced to fifteen years penal servitude”.

I have to admit that I can’t help feeling a bit sorry for Guerrini. There doesn’t seem to have been anything premeditated about his involvement in the dispute – if anything Gillighan seems to have incited it. The fact that it got so out of hand, with such tragic consequences, is a warning of the dangers of carrying a knife. Perhaps not surprisingly a quick search of the 1911 Census shows Jerome Guerrini was still serving his sentence six years later at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight.

By bringing together information from different sources, in this case a photograph album and local newspapers, it’s possible to bring some fascinating, if tragic, stories to life. To my mind the mugshot album is particularly interesting because it relates to a port town. It gives us an insight into the lives of both locals and transient visitors such as Jerome Guerrini. There are plenty more stories waiting to be uncovered and I hope to highlight more mugshots from the album in future blogs. In the meantime why not take a look through this remarkable slice of Edwardian social history on our Flickr pages.

Conservation on Display

Collections & Objects   Discovery Museum
Posted by administrator on March 11, 2015     Permalink     Comments (2)

The conservation department have got together to show a sample of some of the work that we do in the studios across the venues several objects were conserved or part conserved for an exhibition which is on display on the grond floor in the Hub area of Discovery Museum.

Breast plate from a suit of armour possibly dating back to the 15th century. The breast plate is decorated with a floral pattern like the “mantling”, or drapery, of a coat of arms. The decorative design is completed by a knight in a full suit of armour and a mythical phoenix. The breast plate was covered in a heavy layer of red iron corrosion which was disfiguring the surface of the armour and if left could have led to extensive damage. For the purpose of this display the corrosion has been removed from one half of the breast plate, and it has been left in place on the other half in order to highlight the difference. The corrosion will be completely removed from the breast plate when the armour is removed from this display.

Breast plate from a suit of armour possibly dating back to the 15th century. The breast plate is decorated with a floral pattern like the “mantling”, or drapery, of a coat of arms. The decorative design is completed by a knight in a full suit of armour and a mythical phoenix.
The breast plate was covered in a heavy layer of red iron corrosion which was disfiguring the surface of the armour and if left could have led to extensive damage.
For the purpose of this display the corrosion has been removed from one half of the breast plate, and it has been left in place on the other half in order to highlight the difference. The corrosion will be completely removed from the breast plate when the armour is removed from this display.

There are a range of objects from the different conservation departments to raise awareness of what we do behind the scenes.

We have recently started to offer our services to the public so if you have a treasured object that has seen better days get in contact and we will see if there is anything we can do for you. Below is a sample of some of the stuff on display

This model of a Man o’ War has been crafted from animal bone by a Napoleonic prisoner of war. The prisoners made objects from bone, straw and wood which were easy to find, in order to produce high quality objects such as woven straw boxes and models of ships and guillotines. “Man o’ War” was a Royal Navy term from the age of sail for a powerful warship which had many cannons. This model represents one of the largest of these with 104 guns on three decks, although it is not modelled on any particular ship. The model was very badly damaged; the masts had broken and had detached from the model, and much of the rigging was broken and tangled. The masts have been put back into position using a two-part adhesive, and the rigging has been repaired and replaced, but only where it has been possible to identify where the original rigging would have been.

This model of a Man o’ War has been crafted from animal bone by a Napoleonic prisoner of war. The prisoners made objects from bone, straw and wood which were easy to find, in order to produce high quality objects such as woven straw boxes and models of ships and guillotines.
“Man o’ War” was a Royal Navy term from the age of sail for a powerful warship which had many cannons. This model represents one of the largest of these with 104 guns on three decks, although it is not modelled on any particular ship.
The model was very badly damaged; the masts had broken and had detached from the model, and much of the rigging was broken and tangled. The masts have been put back into position using a two-part adhesive, and the rigging has been repaired and replaced, but only where it has been possible to identify where the original rigging would have been.

Watercolour painting on paper, attributed to James Wilson Carmichael (1800 – 1868) Carmichael was born in Newcastle. He completed his apprenticeship as a ship’s carpenter, but devoted much of his free time to art and was eventually able to make a living as a painter. He is well known as a marine artist. Residues of paper and animal glue at the edges of the painting show that it was once attached to a window mount and backing board. The brown line of discolouration just inside the edge is a result of contact with acidic mount board. Contact with poor quality materials, and unsuitable environmental conditions have caused the paper to become discoloured and brittle. It has lost flexibility, resulting in cracking and tearing at the left side. Dark brown spots in the image are known as ‘fox marks’ and can occur when small, impurities in the paper become degraded. Conservation Treatment The painting has been treated to reduce discolouration and remove acidity from the paper. Cracked and torn areas have been repaired at the back using good quality materials that can be easily removed if necessary. Small areas of loss along the tear have been filled and carefully retouched so that they no longer distract the eye from the image. For display, the painting has been hinged into a window mount. The mount is made from high quality, acid free materials and contains an alkaline buffer to protect the painting from future acid attack. The bevelled window also serves to prevent contact with the glass if the painting is framed.

Watercolour painting on paper, attributed to James Wilson Carmichael (1800 – 1868)
Carmichael was born in Newcastle. He completed his apprenticeship as a ship’s carpenter, but devoted much of his free time to art and was eventually able to make a living as a painter. He is well known as a marine artist.
Residues of paper and animal glue at the edges of the painting show that it was once attached to a window mount and backing board. The brown line of discolouration just inside the edge is a result of contact with acidic mount board. Contact with poor quality materials, and unsuitable environmental conditions have caused the paper to become discoloured and brittle. It has lost flexibility, resulting in cracking and tearing at the left side.
Dark brown spots in the image are known as ‘fox marks’ and can occur when small, impurities in the paper become degraded.
Conservation Treatment
The painting has been treated to reduce discolouration and remove acidity from the paper. Cracked and torn areas have been repaired at the back using good quality materials that can be easily removed if necessary. Small areas of loss along the tear have been filled and carefully retouched so that they no longer distract the eye from the image.
For display, the painting has been hinged into a window mount. The mount is made from high quality, acid free materials and contains an alkaline buffer to protect the painting from future acid attack. The bevelled window also serves to prevent contact with the glass if the painting is framed.

The Painting This high quality portrait came into the Hatton collection when it was part of Durham University. There is very little information about it apart from it was partially restored by Helmut Ruhemann in 1960. Condition This oil painting is on a canvas covered panel. Marks around the outer edge of the painting (known as stretcher bar mark) lead to the conclusion that it was originally a stretched canvas and has been mounted onto the panel at a later date. The panel is attached to the vertical planks, but the top horizontal plank has shrunk and ripped the canvas. Old fills and retouching in this area are evidence of older damage. There is a second rip in the canvas (centre right) and paint loss to the right of her hair. The paint is cracked with age and lifting slightly around the edges of the cracks. The surface of the painting was covered with a thick layer of dirt on top of a yellowed varnish with drip marks running horizontally across the face. Treatment The bottom left section has had the thick dirt layer left in place for display purposes. In the top left section the yellow and discoloured varnish has been left in place. The top right section has had the varnish and old retouching’s removed, damages consolidated, and filled ready for retouching. The bottom right section has been fully conserved, retouched and varnish to a display standard The Frame Condition This hand carved and gilded frame is typical of an 16th C frame and was very damaged. The wooden joints had split with chunks missing from the inner edge. The gesso and gilding were missing or flaking in many areas and the surface dirt was so thick that the gold appeared to be discoloured bronze paint until cleaning tests revealed the 24ct gold underneath. Treatment The frame has been glued back together. In the bottom left section the frame has been untouched, with the thick layer of dirt and flaking finish. In the top left section the dirt has been removed to reveal the damaged gilding and gesso. In the top right section the gesso and gilding has been consolidated and filled for re-gilding. The bottom right section has been re-gilded and then toned to match the original gilding.

The Painting
This high quality portrait came into the Hatton collection when it was part of Durham University. There is very little information about it apart from it was partially restored by Helmut Ruhemann in 1960.
Condition
This oil painting is on a canvas covered panel. Marks around the outer edge of the painting (known as stretcher bar mark) lead to the conclusion that it was originally a stretched canvas and has been mounted onto the panel at a later date. The panel is attached to the vertical planks, but the top horizontal plank has shrunk and ripped the canvas. Old fills and retouching in this area are evidence of older damage. There is a second rip in the canvas (centre right) and paint loss to the right of her hair. The paint is cracked with age and lifting slightly around the edges of the cracks. The surface of the painting was covered with a thick layer of dirt on top of a yellowed varnish with drip marks running horizontally across the face.
Treatment
The bottom left section has had the thick dirt layer left in place for display purposes. In the top left section the yellow and discoloured varnish has been left in place. The top right section has had the varnish and old retouching’s removed, damages consolidated, and filled ready for retouching. The bottom right section has been fully conserved, retouched and varnish to a display standard
The Frame
Condition
This hand carved and gilded frame is typical of an 16th C frame and was very damaged. The wooden joints had split with chunks missing from the inner edge. The gesso and gilding were missing or flaking in many areas and the surface dirt was so thick that the gold appeared to be discoloured bronze paint until cleaning tests revealed the 24ct gold underneath.
Treatment
The frame has been glued back together. In the bottom left section the frame has been untouched, with the thick layer of dirt and flaking finish. In the top left section the dirt has been removed to reveal the damaged gilding and gesso. In the top right section the gesso and gilding has been consolidated and filled for re-gilding. The bottom right section has been re-gilded and then toned to match the original gilding.