Whitby Museum is an independent museum in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, run by Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, a learned society and registered charity,[1] established in 1823. It is located in a building opened in 1931 in Pannett Park, Whitby, which also contains the Society's Library and Archive.
The museum contains a wide range of material relating to the history of Whitby, and has specialist collections relating to:
- Jurassic fossils, in particular ammonites and marine reptiles [2]
- Whitby jet
- Captain James Cook and HM Bark Endeavour
- Whitby's whaling industry.
- The Natural History of the North Yorkshire coast and moors
- Costume and textiles
The museum also contains a Hand of Glory, the dried and pickled hand of a hanged man, said to have magical powers.[3]
The museum has a reference library and archive documenting the industries and social history of the town and area. This is used as a research facility.
History
Between the 1890s and 1930 the museum collection included the mummy of an Egyptian man who had died around 300 BC.[4][5] The mummy had previously been owned by Sir George Elliot, 1st Baronet and was donated to the museum on his death.[4][5] The mummy was purchased for £15 by Thomas Sheppard, the then curator of the Hull Municipal Museum, in 1930 and is now at the Hands On History Museum in Kingston upon Hull.[4][5]
References
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