Sitting in the heart of Derby’s cultural quarter, Derby Museum and Art Gallery has its roots in a private natural history society founded on 10 February 1836 – nearly 190 years of collecting, curating, and opening its doors to the public. The building itself dates from 1879, designed by architect Richard Knill Freeman and gifted to the town by the philanthropist Michael Thomas Bass, along with Derby Central Library. The Art Gallery section followed in 1882, and by 1883 the museum had been fitted with electric lighting, a notably forward-thinking step for the era.
The Collections
The museum holds an impressive gallery dedicated to the work of Joseph Wright of Derby, one of the most significant painters of the eighteenth century, whose atmospheric works depicting industry, science, and candlelight made him a distinctive figure in British art history. Alongside Wright’s paintings, there is an extensive display of Royal Crown Derby porcelain and other ceramics produced in Derby and the surrounding region. Further galleries cover archaeology, natural history, geology, military history, and world cultures, giving the museum a breadth that makes it one of the more comprehensive collections in the East Midlands.
A Long History of Public Access
The origins of the museum trace back to the Derby Town and County Museum and Natural History Society, which began as a members-funded private institution housed at the Full Street Public Baths. Early donations came from Dr Forrester, a former President of the Derby Philosophical Society, while Col. George Gawler contributed minerals and exotic stuffed birds – including an albatross – gathered during his time as governor in South Australia. William Cavendish, the 6th Duke of Devonshire, served as patron, and Sir George Crewe, a keen naturalist, was president. The society moved to the Athenaeum on Victoria Street in 1840, and from 1857 – when Llewellyn Jewitt became secretary – the museum began opening its doors to the general public on Saturday mornings. The botanist Alexander Croall became the first librarian and curator in 1863, overseeing the merger of the museum and library collections. Derby Corporation took ownership in 1870, and after three years of storing the collections, formally opened the museum to the public on 28 June 1879. A substantial gift of paintings arrived in 1936 from Alfred E. Goodey, who had spent fifty years building his collection. On his death in 1945 he left £13,000 to fund an extension, which was completed in 1964 and now forms the main body of the museum.