Bootle museum and art gallery

[Prospice]

FOI request has now been sent to the council....

I refer to the following extract relating to Bootle museum...

During the year 1957-1958 two items of local interest were presented to the Museum:
1) In March, the silver trowel and ivory mason's mallet used by Alderman James Leslie in 1885, when as Mayor he had lain the foundation stone of the library. This was presented by Alderman Leslie's grandson who was visiting friends in England at the time.
2) The tipstaff used by the first regular policeman to patrol Bootle. It belonged to Duncan McRae who headed a contingent of six Lancashire Constabulary officers when they took over the patrolling of Bootle in 1840, from the part-time watchmen who had previously patrolled the area. Mr McRae lived to be a centerian and earned the title 'Father of Bootle Police Force'. The tipstaff, which is the equivalent of the present day truncheon, is two-foot long and bears the Royal cipher of William IV. This had been a family heirloom of the McRae family for years, until in June 1958, Mr Duncan McRae of West Derby, a great grandson, decided to present it to the corporation.

Would the council please confirm what became of these historical items relating to Bootle's history, when the museum was closed in 1974 ?

[Jan]

Hi Prospice,

Thought you may like this info, I found this article in the Liverpool Mercury 23rd June 1887. I can't post the actual article as it is too long to copy, so I will have to type it all out.

BOOTLE

OPENING OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY

The Borough of Bootle which 50 years ago was a small village patronised merely by the inhabitants of Liverpool as a summer seaside residence.
Was yesterday the scene of Jubilee celebrations and civic hospitality. The free public library and museum, built as an addition to the handsome Town Hall in Oriel Road, and stocked with the nucleus of what promises to be an excellent collection of books, art treasures,pictures and animals, was opened by the Mayor (Mr. Alderman, W Jones) amid great eclat. The day throughout was observed as a holiday in the borough, and the greatest interest was shown in the institutions, the opening of which had been anxiously looked forward to by the people of the borough. The new buildings, which adjoin the Southern portion of the Town Hall, have been erected from the design of Mr John Johnson A.R.I.A, Queen Victoria Street, London. The architect of the principal building. The two buildings are connected by the main corridor leading from the vestibule of the Town Hall to the porch of the library. On entering the library, the newspaper and periodical room is to be found on the right. This is a spacious and well-lighted apartment, and is comfortably fitted up with desks and tables, on which are spread the local and leading papers of the Kingdom. The general references library and the reading room are at the back. the librarian's room is contiguous to the entrance hall. The principal stone staircase is of spacious dimensions, centrally situated and giving access to the first floor, which is entirely devoted to museum purposes. The light is admitted to these rooms through skylights, and to the numerous cases which surround the rooms are clearly illuminated, and the objects contained in them are very easily discerned. The curator's room is next to the west museum, and conveniently near to the staircase landing. Ample cloak-rooms have been provided for ladies and gentlemen on the principal floors. The floors of the building are fireproof, the iron girders being embedded in the cement concrete. To make the building as perfect as possible, great consideration was given to the suggestions of the late Alderman Leslie and the Committee. The exterior of the new Free Library and Museum is in the French r??aisance style, corresponding with the Town Hall, and a most picturesque and imposing group of buildings is the result, and the people of Bootle may well be congratulated upon the majestic corporate institutions which are springing so rapidly up in their midst. The fronts of the building are dressed with Yorkshire parpoints and yellow storetons. There are several panels, which it is hoped will be carved to represent arts and manufactures. To complete the ornamentation of the building in this respect about £50 is required, and is hoped that the money will be forthcoming, as the plain panels detract considerably from the architectural effect of the work. The building has been erected from the architects detailed design by Messrs Woods& Sons, Bootle. The total cost of the work £7000.

Jan

[dorothy834]

A good find Jan .thanks for posting
An interesting read..
A building like that for £7.000
A fortune in those times..
I must look out my photos relating
to the articles Prospice wrote about.
Dorothy

[BOBHAMO]

these must be worth a few bob :
BOBHAMO

[Prospice]

I really enjoyed reading that Jan. Thank you. I have always wondered about the panels on the museum, as the frontage looks unfinished. I wonder why they never completed the exterior, given Bootle's wealth at that time.

Bob, I wonder where these pictures are now. Another FOI may be on the cards.

[Jan]

Hi Prospice,

Liverpool Records Office have some records there for Bootle Museum, I just had a look at their online catalogue, I am not sure what the contents are, but may be worth a visit to view some of the articles.

http://archive.liverpool.gov.uk/calmvie ... ew.Catalog

Jan

[Prospice]

Exactly the response I anticipated...



Thank you for your Freedom of Information request that we received on the 19 August 2014.

We do not hold the data you request.

I have consulted with my colleagues in the museum team and they have told me that they do not recognise these objects and believe that they may have formed part of the group of objects that were transferred to Liverpool Museum when Bootle Museum was closed in the early 1970s.

Unfortunately we don’t have any records of what was in Bootle Museum and Art Gallery before it closed as there was no accession register and no-one thought to create a list of what was transferred to us when we received the objects from Bootle.

The Freedom of Information Act asks that public authorities must provide applicants with particulars of how they may complain about the handling of their request for information should they wish to.

Any such complaint should be directed to information@sefton.gov.uk or the Data & Information Management, Governance and Security Officer, 7th Floor, Merton House, Stanley Road, Bootle, L20 3UU.

[BOBHAMO]

What a disgrace Prospice
how can treasures which where donated and belong to bootle rate payers
just be dismissed, i wonder if any of the so called colleagues are old enough
to even remember the museum . who gave permission to just give away objects that are worth money
just brush aside anyone who makes a reguest ,
the problem is are membership of sefton
there are some countcilers who look in to the forum
will they respond?????????
BOBHAMO

[Prospice]

It is a disgrace, and even though I knew what the outcome would be, I'm still furious. These items were bestowed to the museum by relatives, and should not have been given away !

I will send an FOI to Liverpool Museum, to see if they hold the objects, although I don't ever recall seeing them in there. I will also ask if there is an inventory of the items from Bootle.

[efc46]

we should get a partition going to say gis our art back fire truck robbers / Davey Rowlands ex pat( Brisbane Australia) and a proud bootle buck

[Allen Jones]

The support for Prospices plan looks to be gaining momentum. I am 100% behind the move. Stick it to Sefton Council La.

[Paul McCabe]

I popped into the Akenside Gallery in Southport over the weekend, the gallery is on the 2nd floor, & whilst compact does have some interactive displays to encourage education........worth a visit, & of course, entrance is free.

Spotted this rascal..............I'm sure I remember it from my visits to Bootle Town Hall as a schoolboy........when TV was in Black & white....!!

[Dan]

Hi Prospice,

Thought you may like this info, I found this article in the Liverpool Mercury 23rd June 1887. I can't post the actual article as it is too long to copy, so I will have to type it all out.

BOOTLE

OPENING OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY

The Borough of Bootle which 50 years ago was a small village patronised merely by the inhabitants of Liverpool as a summer seaside residence.
Was yesterday the scene of Jubilee celebrations and civic hospitality. The free public library and museum, built as an addition to the handsome Town Hall in Oriel Road, and stocked with the nucleus of what promises to be an excellent collection of books, art treasures,pictures and animals, was opened by the Mayor (Mr. Alderman, W Jones) amid great eclat. The day throughout was observed as a holiday in the borough, and the greatest interest was shown in the institutions, the opening of which had been anxiously looked forward to by the people of the borough. The new buildings, which adjoin the Southern portion of the Town Hall, have been erected from the design of Mr John Johnson A.R.I.A, Queen Victoria Street, London. The architect of the principal building. The two buildings are connected by the main corridor leading from the vestibule of the Town Hall to the porch of the library. On entering the library, the newspaper and periodical room is to be found on the right. This is a spacious and well-lighted apartment, and is comfortably fitted up with desks and tables, on which are spread the local and leading papers of the Kingdom. The general references library and the reading room are at the back. the librarian's room is contiguous to the entrance hall. The principal stone staircase is of spacious dimensions, centrally situated and giving access to the first floor, which is entirely devoted to museum purposes. The light is admitted to these rooms through skylights, and to the numerous cases which surround the rooms are clearly illuminated, and the objects contained in them are very easily discerned. The curator's room is next to the west museum, and conveniently near to the staircase landing. Ample cloak-rooms have been provided for ladies and gentlemen on the principal floors. The floors of the building are fireproof, the iron girders being embedded in the cement concrete. To make the building as perfect as possible, great consideration was given to the suggestions of the late Alderman Leslie and the Committee. The exterior of the new Free Library and Museum is in the French r??aisance style, corresponding with the Town Hall, and a most picturesque and imposing group of buildings is the result, and the people of Bootle may well be congratulated upon the majestic corporate institutions which are springing so rapidly up in their midst. The fronts of the building are dressed with Yorkshire parpoints and yellow storetons. There are several panels, which it is hoped will be carved to represent arts and manufactures. To complete the ornamentation of the building in this respect about £50 is required, and is hoped that the money will be forthcoming, as the plain panels detract considerably from the architectural effect of the work. The building has been erected from the architects detailed design by Messrs Woods& Sons, Bootle. The total cost of the work £7000.

Jan

Tiny addendum.

First curator and librarian was John Joseph Ogle.

They ran lectures in the basement in Winter 1887 which led to a school in the 1890s and that later moved into the newly-built

Bootle Technical School (1900).

Ogle became the first director.

[Dan]

During the year 1957-1958 two items of local interest were presented to the Museum:

1) In March, the silver trowel and ivory mason's mallet used by Alderman James Leslie in 1885, when as Mayor he had laid the foundation stone of the

library. This was presented by Alderman Leslie's grandson who was visiting friends in England at the time.


2) The tipstaff used by the first regular policeman to patrol bootle. It belonged to Duncan McRae who headed a contingent of six Lancashire Constabulary

officers when they took over the patrolling of Bootle in 1840, from the part-time watchmen who had previously patrolled the area.

Mr McRae lived to be a centerian and earned the title 'Father of Bootle Police Force'. The tipstaff, which is the equivalent of the present day truncheon,

is two-foot long and bears the Royal cipher of William IV. This had been a family heirloom of the McRae family for years, until in June 1958,

Mr Duncan McRae of West Derby, a great grandson, decided to present it to the corporation.

[Dan]

Originally in Bootle, now at the Atkinson Gallery in Sputhport.

Portrait of Lilith by the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Maler Collier.

Lilith was originally a she-demon from Babylonian mythology, but, from other sources, was later mentioned as Adam's first wife.

Not sure which of the two the portrait represents.



From the Daily Arts magazine;

"John Collier’s Lilith is a painting made in 1889, depicting the Kabbalistic demoness, known as Adam’s first wife. Born by the hand of the Creator, and shaped from impure clay, which influenced her demonic nature, she is punished and condemned to see her offspring die. Thirsty for revenge, she takes the form of the snake of temptation and incites Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Abel is also a victim of Lilith’s perversity as she leads Caïn to commit fratricide."


Also originally in the museum was a statue of Eve. It's now at the foot of the stairwell in the Town Hall building.

Maybe the Atkinson thought it bad luck to have two of Adam's wives under the same roof.

[Dan]

Some of the Bootle memorabilia on the facebook museum site. No name given as to the ownership.

Medal commemorating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.







Medal to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bootle July 11 1913 for the opening of the Gladstone Dock.






1889 School Attendance medal.









1919 commemorative cup

[Dan]

Came across this on the Atkinson Gallery site.

Bootle artist Sydney Wright

I think, prior to its closure, some of his paintings were on display at the Bootle Art Gallery.

"We have been given a fascinating group of studies for two paintings in our collection by long-forgotten artist Sydney Wright. Most of the studies we have been given are for ‘Mammon’ a nightmarish fantasy painted on the grand scale. It features a monstrous devil presiding over all the great institutions of the earth including churches, banks and temples, while the four horsemen of the apocalypse hurtle across the sky. It’s a wonderful piece of ‘outsider’ art by someone who was totally committed to his moral views, didn’t belong to any artistic movement and clearly saw the approach of WWII as the impending collapse of civilization.

Very little is known about Sydney, he was working as a draughtsman during WWII and his drawing skills are very evident. He was also a lay preacher. His studio was on Stanley Street in Bootle above a saddlery shop and he lived with his father a few streets away at 26 Ash Street. They ran a scout group at the Baptist church also on Ash Street. He seems to have been a ham radio enthusiast and was working in South Africa in the 1950s. If anyone knows any more we would be pleased to hear about it. Email hello@theatkinson.co.uk"

He was active 1937-1942. I think "Stanley Street" is a typo - it should be "Stanley Road".

From Bob Hamo's post from 2009 I think the saddlery shop above which Sydney had his studio was;

364a Stanley Road Lunt Mrs Elizabeth saddler, which was in the row of shops between the Ash Street and Marsh Lane junctions.

Sydney Wright working in his studio. I think the Atkinson has the painting he is working on , but the site is down at present.



Mammon by Sydney Wright

[Allen Jones]

Brilliant. Great link to the past.

[Dan]

Cheers Allen.

The painting below is also by Sydney Wright and it's in the Atkinson collection in Southport.

It's the painting he's working on in his studio in the photo above.

It's called "The Darkest Hour".



I think I know why he stopped painting in 1942,

His studio was lost in the bombing. Only 4 shop units between the Ash Street and Marsh Lane junctions survived the war.

To make matters infinitely worse he would have known some of the men, women and children who were killed in the Co-op shelter disaster.

Some probably members of the Ash Street Baptist congregation and possibly members of his scout troop.

The link below gives a list of the civilians of Bootle who perished in WWII.


http://www.liverpoolmonuments.co.uk/war ... bootle.htm

[Silver-Haired-Hippy]

Fantastic paintings. Great artist.

Loretta

[Allen Jones]

Much appreciation Dan. Do you have a date for the Ash St/Marsh lane bombing. People in NZ have no idea of the scale of death and destruction visited on Bootle and Merseyside in general. Keep up the good work, Allen.

[fatboyjoe90]

Hiya Allen.
Co-op Shelter Bootle Liverpool And Merseyside Remembered

On the night of 7th/8th May 1941 the sirens again sounded to warn the people of the region of another approaching attack from the enemy planes. On Stanley Road in Bootle locals made their way to the shelter at the Co‐operative store . Basically it was the basement of

[efc46]

i remember the big boat which was half a boat in a mirror case e had lots of goes on the revolvin door I remember the town hall being rebuilt an the old coach so polished

[bob. b]

Don't get me off on one
Remember the days they took everything to Southport?
It kissed me off back in the day
Remember a counselor knocking on our door for a vote Well, you robbed us and took all the thing to Southport
The Town hall and baths are run down on sad days.
Hope someone from the council is looking at the building loads of damage taking place on the Baths post office and education building.
All going to rack and ruin
Would love the college to do something about this for the community
The baths what a restaurant or wine bar and the Education building ?
Can I buy it from the council? Cheap

[bjones]

The Town hall and baths are run down on sad days.
Hope someone from the council is looking at the building loads of damage taking place on the Baths post office and education building.
All going to rack and ruin
Would love the college to do something about this for the community

What a brilliant idea Bob! The lads doing apprenticeships could get some excellent experience and the borough would benefit from their free labour.
You're an old boy of Bootle Tech so who better than you to suggest this to the college principal. Go for it Bob!

[efc46]

here in aussie the council are not accountable for anything costs us a fortune for their mismanagement I left Bootle in 1967 the cop shop was still in use the baths was still in use now its derelict what a shame and these public servants put the hand in the money bag town planners wot a joke look how Bootle has been destroyed not by the Luftwaffe no no look at strand road gone the schools gone Marsh lane The Palace The gainy all gone I grew up in a happy community's not a no plans for the workers wot a shame

[Allen Jones]

Hi Davey. Same here in NZ. When the councils finances go in the red they automatically look at libraries etc to chop for savings. The Buildings in Bootle were a jewel and well deserving of protection. I often think of the hospital and its demolition as criminal. Poorly served by it local body membership.

[Bonesy]

When we went to the Battle of the Atlantic open day at the town hall, we walked the full length of the Town Hall and associated buildings to find the entrance. The exterior is in a poor state of repair.
Some of the masonry work is crumbling away.
The interior is very sad indeed. The last time it was decorated, it looked like it was done when,
Bob Hammo were a lad


Keith

[Dan]

Bootle Times January 24 1947.

Sent this clipping, from the front page of the Bootle Times, to the Atkinson in Southport.

It clarifies a few issues about Sydney Wright. He wasn't living in South Africa in the 1950's, as was previously thought.

He had died in April 1943 due to ill-health.