Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens

...== A brief history of Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens ==


Sunderland was the first town or city out of London to have a publicly funded museum. Established in 1846, it soon outgrew it's building and in 1879 a purpose built Library, Museum and Winter Gardens were built on Burdon road, at the edge of Mowbray Park and is where it still stands today.


The original Winter Gardens were destroyed during WW2 and ...
...and busts of well known Sunderland people such as William Pile and Jack Crawford.


On one side of the corridor are conference rooms and on the other are what I would describe as little cul-de-sacs. There are three in total each with it's own theme. Here you can find a Textiles display with locally made clippy mats and embroidery as well as a display of Greek textiles. Another section entitled Time Machine houses the whacky and ... more

I grew up in Sunderland, and moved away when I was 12 years old. The old museum and Library had always been a part of my life up until then. I would visit every Saturday with my Grandmother to visit the library and then up to the cafe for a cup of tea and a cake.

Since moving away 20 years ago I hadn't been back to the building until recently. Prompted by my Grans insistence I MUST visit, I went along and was shocked at the change I found.

A brief history of Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens

Sunderland was the first town or city out of London to have a publicly funded museum. Established in 1846, it soon outgrew it's building and in 1879 a purpose built Library, Museum and Winter Gardens were built on Burdon road, at the edge of Mowbray Park and is where it still stands today.

The original Winter Gardens were destroyed during WW2 and were replaced by a brick extension in the sixties, making it one of the largest municipal museums in the country.

In 1995 the public library was moved out into it's own premises and with National Lottery heritage fund money, the museum was redeveloped. Along with a brand new Winter Gardens, the new museum opened in 2001.

Visiting The Museum

I went along to the museum with my Gran and 4 year old daughter not at all sure what to expect. From the outside, apart from a new entrance area the museum looked exactly as it had all those years ago. However entering the museum I was instantly struck by how modern it now actually is.

As you walk into the vestibule area it's light and airy with a very small gift shop. A corridor stretches forward and there are pictures and busts of well known Sunderland people such as William Pile and Jack Crawford.

On one side of the corridor are conference rooms and on the other are what I would describe as little cul-de-sacs. There are three in total each with it's own theme. Here you can find a Textiles display with locally made clippy mats and embroidery as well as a display of Greek textiles. Another section entitled Time Machine houses the whacky and wonderful including the first Nissan Bluebird built in Sunderland (a car I remember well as my Dad drove one years ago!), a penny farthing, and relics from ancient China. I also found an old friend here, Wallis The Lion, who found a home at the museum in 1869 after mauling his tamer when visiting Sunderland with the circus. When I was a little girl I used to find this stuffed Lion terrifying and huge, now I have to say he looks a bit raggy and moth eaten and a lot smaller than I remembered. The final section tells the story of coal mining in Sunderland and was a really interesting section. There was a video show that we didn't see, but I enjoyed seeing the exhibits of inside a minors cottage and reading about life in a mining village.

We then moved upstairs to the first floor to the 20th century Sunderland Gallery. This area was absolutly fascinating charting life in Sunderland in 1919, 1949, 1969 and 1999. There are rooms set up from each era and a video of an actress playing the part of a women from that time, and I thoroughly enjoyed these. I was quite surprised to see some old toys from my own childhood displayed here too.

There is also a very sad little rocking horse on display here. Sunderlands most horrific tragedy occurred in 1883 when a rare show was put on for poor children at The Victoria Hall Theatre. When free toys where thrown into the stalls, the children in the gallery above made a dash to get downstairs and try and collect one for themselves. This resulted in a huge crush in the stairwell where 183 children perished. The innocent little rocking horse is one of the actual toys thrown into the audience that day. I remember being told this story often at school and at home, and I found it very sad to see.

This area covers all aspects of social history in Sunderland including fashion, housing, local politics, entertainment and diet. There are even very realistic displays of food from each era...the cow heel pie doesn't look all that appetising, in fact it looks like it has indeed been there since 1919. There's a lot of interactive areas here, my daughter loved the giant dolls house. I was very excited at this area, as I love social history and learning how ordinary people lived, however I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed at the upkeep of some of the displays. Lights weren't working in some, phones that allowed you to listen to people talking about Sunderland where taped up with masking tape and overall it had a bit of a run down feel.

The run down theme continued into the other displays on the second and third floors, which were a nature area (very interactive for children, my daughter liked this area but I wasn't so keen) and upstairs in the launched on Wearside exhibition, which pays homage to Sunderland's ship building industry.

We also saw some exhibits of Sunderland Glass, which is pretty impressive and I enjoyed, and pottery which was less interesting. An art Gallery has the largest exhibition of Lowry paintings out of Manchester and there's a section dedicated to Roman and Anglo Saxon life in the area. I didn't find this section very interesting, perhaps living in Cumbria and seeing better exhibitions of this period is why.

Our final stop was the Winter Gardens. This huge glass building houses over 2000 species of plants and is a pleasant and relaxing area. You can walk or take a lift for a birds eye view, admire a very modern waterfall and marvel at the biggest Goldfish I have ever seen swimming in a pretty little stream.

After seeing everything we wanted to see, we then went to the bar and brasserie in the museum. I highly recommend this place, even if your not visiting the museum. I had the hugest sandwich on delicious home-made bread and served with salad and crisps. This was more like a main meal than a snack and well worth the £4.75 I paid. There's waiter service in here, and I found it a pleasant way to end our visit.

My Thoughts

The museum has certainly changed since I was a child. It's packed with loads of fascinating displays of life in Sunderland. I think perhaps having a local connection made it more interesting for me. I grew up with stories of great grandparents, aunts and uncles who had worked in the coal mines, ship yards and glass works. I love social history and preffered these displays by far, in particular the mining and 19th century Sunderland exhibitions. I liked how it didn't just focus on the industrial side, but of the communities that sprang up as a result. I liked learning about the lives of the wives, children, and of schools, churches, public houses and entertainment. I do think it's worth a visit for those who don't have a connection with the area, especially as the museum is free, but wonder if it would be as interesting as I found it.

I was disappointed that some of the displays and interactive features weren't working correctly and seemed run down in areas. It's not how I expected a museum which was only reopened 8 years ago to be. Perhaps charging a small fee for admission would help, and I certainly wouldn't have minded doing so. Although the risk there would be alienating the people it's there to serve, the ordinary folk of Sunderland. There are donation points littered around the museum and I did make a donation.

There's an awful lot of written information and video/audio displays. Unfortunately being with my daughter and Gran I had to skip most of these and would like to return alone and spend more time here. The winter gardens are very nice, although not impressive. They are certainly tranquil and peaceful, definitely worth a look.

I also think the restaurant is highly recommendable in it's own right. It is such a nice place with the most fantastic food. I'd eat here again without visiting the museum.

Overall I'd recommend The Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens. For a free half a day out you won't do any better. Mowbray park sits right behind it and is also worth a visit. My only advice here would be don't feed the ducks! We did and where besieged by huge and vicious seagulls! 

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