12 February 2016
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW GALLERY OPENS AT THE MANCHESTER MUSEUM EXPLORING CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN MANCHESTER, ITS PEOPLE AND THE MUSEUMS COLLECTION
The Manchester Gallery reveals the amazing stories behind some of The Manchester
Museum’s most fascinating objects. Uncover the connections between the city, its people
and the Museum in this new gallery opening on 4 April.
Many of the stories and journeys behind the objects in The Manchester Museum’s collection
mirror the journeys of people and communities that have travelled to Manchester.
Presented through the Gallery’s five main themes (Journeys, Migration, the Museum,
Collectors and the Environment), these stories explore the Museum’s history and
Manchester’s changing environment - from an underwater world full of coral reefs; a swamp
which deposited the coal that fuelled the industrial revolution; a desert and an ice age, to
an urban metropolis. The displays also uncover The Manchester Museum’s changing
relationship with the city – from its Victorian beginnings to the modern day – and highlight
the people behind the Museum’s collection, from working class to wealthy collectors,
academics and British soldiers.
The Manchester Gallery will feature seven special ‘objects in focus’ including Maharajah, an
Asian elephant that walked 200 miles from Edinburgh to Manchester in 1872, where he
became the star attraction at Belle Vue Zoo providing rides for visitors; a table from Benin
City taken as loot and sold to pay for the capture of the city by British Forces in 1897; a
Roman Altar found in a Roman rubbish pit in Manchester earlier last year during building
excavations and a set of jars containing samples taken from the HMS Challenger
oceanographic research expedition across the world in 1872.
The Gallery also highlights the stories of many of the Museum’s early collectors including
Marie Stopes, a twentieth century social reformer and pioneering palaeobotanist who was
the first woman to be employed to the scientific staff at The University of Manchester,
(formerly Owens College). The private collections of Victorian entomologist Mr. Sidebotham
and Egyptologist Professor (Sir) William Flinders Petrie, amongst others, also formed the
basis of The Manchester Museum’s collection. The Museum’s current staff and collectors,
particularly Dr Dmitri Logunov, Curator of Arthropods and Dr David Green, Curator of
Mineralogy and Petrology bring that history up to the present day.
The Manchester Museum has been working closely with Abbey Hey Primary School and
Gorton Local History Group to develop ideas around the content for the Manchester Gallery.
This involvement came through the Our City project, which made connections between local
schools, community groups and the Museum’s collections. The children’s artwork told the
history of Gorton past and present culminating in an exhibition at Gorton Library. Their work
in Gorton has helped to create this fascinating gallery.
For further press information or images contact Ros Helliwell in the Press Office:
T: 0161 306 1583 E: ros.helliwell@manchester.ac.uk
The Manchester Gallery has been made possible through the generous support of
Renaissance North West and the DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Museums & Galleries
Improvement Fund.
Extended Information: ‘Objects in focus’
Benin Table
Determined that his kingdom would not become a British colony, the Oba Ovonramwen
(king) of Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria, boldly ignored a treaty with the British as they
attempted to undermine his rule in 1892. In 1896 the British tried to capture Benin City,
but failed. There was a second attempt in 1897 called the ‘Benin Punitive Expedition’. The
city was ransacked forcing the Oba into exile. In order to pay for the cost of the ‘expedition’
British soldiers looted over 2500 objects and sold them throughout the world. The Benin
Table is one of those objects.
‘British Entomology’ by J Curtis
The Museum’s entomology (insect) collection contains very few specimens that are as rare
and as valuable to scientists and historians as the ‘Manchester Moth’. Scientist John Curtis
first described the ‘Manchester Moth’ in the sixth volume of the first edition of his book
‘British Entomology’, which was published in 1830. There are only two other specimens of
this moth in the world; one in London and a second in Melbourne, Australia.
The ‘Manchester Moth’ was given its name because it was a new species discovered in the
city. Approximately 50 specimens were collected on Kersall Moor in June 1829 by insect
collector Robert Cribb. Unfortunately, the store-box containing the specimens was destroyed
by Cribb’s angry landlady as he had not paid his rent. Only three moths survived. The
Manchester Moth is an unsolved scientific mystery because no-one has found any new
specimens since 1829. Entomologists believe that the species does not occur outside Britain
and is probably now extinct.
HMS Challenger Expedition Samples
On 21 December 1872 a steamship named HMS Challenger sailed from Portsmouth to
undertake a scientific and surveying voyage of the world's oceans. This knowledge was
important because the first telegraph cables were being laid under the sea, connecting
Britain to its colonies around the world. Over the next four years, Challenger covered
68,890 nautical miles (110,224 kilometres). The Challenger expedition marked the
beginning of the science of oceanography. Almost 5,000 new species of marine life were
discovered by the scientists on board. Thousands of these individual bryozoa (small
encrusting animals that live in colonies) specimens are now in the Museum’s possession.
Maharajah, Asian Elephant
The story of Maharajah begins in 1872, when he arrived in Edinburgh as part of a travelling
circus. While in Edinburgh, Mr. Alexander Fairgreave, the owner of Maharajah's circus
decided to retire, selling all the circus equipment and animals. Maharajah was sold for £680
pounds during the auction to James Jennison, the owner of the Belle Vue Zoo in Gorton,
Manchester. Eight years old at the time, he stood at over two metres tall with very
impressive 20-inch tusks. In April 1872, Maharajah was boarded onto a horse carriage on
the train headed for Manchester. Before the train left, Maharajah began to get distressed
and uneasy, so his keeper Lorenzo Lawrence decided to walk the 200 miles from Edinburgh
to Manchester, a journey which took ten days. Several famous stories have been told about
this incredible journey. One of them recalls that during the trip, Lorenzo Lawrence and
Maharajah came upon a tollgate keeper. The two men could not agree as to how much an
elephant should pay to go through the gate, so Maharajah settled the dispute himself, by
opening the gate with his trunk. Although no evidence of this incident actually exists, the
story was captured in a painting by Hayward Hardy, which can be seen on display at
Manchester Art Gallery. Maharajah lived in Belle Vue Zoo for ten years where he was a
popular performer, participating in many parades in Manchester. He is believed to have died
of pneumonia at the age of 18. His skeleton was displayed at Belle Vue Zoo for many years,
until it was donated to the Museum.
For further press information or images contact Ros Helliwell in the Press Office:
T: 0161 306 1583 E: ros.helliwell@manchester.ac.uk
Manchu Head-dress
Once worn by a Manchu Noble person, the Manchu head-dress is over 60 years old and was
donated to the Museum in 1939 by Mrs Wood-Jones, who bought it in China. The Manchu
people originally came from a part of North-East China called Manchuria, but they have
since migrated throughout China and settled across the world. A Manchu clan called Aisin
Gioro founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China for more than 250 years from 1644 to
1912. This was China’s last ruling dynasty before the revolution and the establishment of
the Chinese Republic.
Manchu people are recognised as an ethnic minority in modern China, where the Han people
have the most cultural and political influence. Today many people in China have Manchu
ancestry, but the Manchu language is not widely spoken. There has recently been a
renewed interest in exploring Manchu culture within China. New laws protecting ethnic
minorities have encouraged people to take pride in their Manchu heritage.
Red Deer Antlers, Manchester Ship Canal
The skull and antlers from a male Red Deer were found at Barton, Manchester, when the
Manchester Ship Canal was being dug in the 1890s. Red Deer lived in ‘Manchester’ at the
end of the last Ice Age, 10-12,000 years ago. When Manchester’s climate became warmer
at the end of the Ice Age, the deer migrated north out of the area.
Roman Altar
Found lying face down in a Roman rubbish pit, the Roman Altar was discovered by
archaeologists during a dig in Manchester in the summer of 2008. As a result of its
protection, the Latin inscription on its surface is still very clear. The English translation
reads: ‘To the mother goddesses of the Cannanefates and of all peoples, Aelius Victor
gladly, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow’.
Aelius Victor probably served in the Roman army. Because he names the Cannanefates in
the dedication on the altar, he is thought to be a member of that tribe. The Cannanefates
were a Germanic people who lived near the mouth of the Rhine in the Roman province of
Lower Germany.
-ENDSNotes to editors
As a university museum, The Manchester Museum uses its international collection of human and
natural history for enjoyment and inspiration. Working with people from all backgrounds, the Museum
provokes debate and reflection about the past, present and future of the earth and its inhabitants.
The Manchester Museum is home to one of the largest and most important collections of ancient
Egyptian artefacts in the United Kingdom. The Vivarium houses a wide variety of live animals
including frogs, toads, snakes and other reptiles and amphibians. One of the star attractions in the
Museum is the T.rex, displayed in the pre-historic gallery alongside rare examples of fossils dating
back to the Ice Age.
The Manchester Museum was Highly Commended in the Large Visitor Attraction category of the
Manchester Tourism Awards 2008
Lindow Man: A Bog Body Mystery won the Temporary Exhibition Design Category of the Design Week
Awards 2009
The Manchester Museum,
The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL.
T: (0)161 275 2634 F: (0)161 275 2676 www.manchester.ac.uk/museum
Open: Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday, Monday and Bank Holidays 11am – 4pm with FREE
ENTRY
For further press information or images contact Ros Helliwell in the Press Office:
T: 0161 306 1583 E: ros.helliwell@manchester.ac.uk