Otley Museum is in the town of Otley , near Leeds in West Yorkshire, England . Founded in 1961, it holds a collection of objects, artefacts and documentary material relating to the development of Otley and the surrounding District since the prehistoric period. These include prehistoric stone tools and artefacts; an archaeological collection from the excavations of the Palace of the Archbishop of York at Otley; The Otley Printers' Engineers Collection; The Urban Development Archive, and an archive representing the Social History of Otley from the 18th Century onwards. The Otley Museum is independent, and managed and run entirely by volunteers.
8-546: Until early 2010, two rooms in the Otley Civic Centre housed the museum's eclectic collection of objects depicting the history of Otley and its surrounding District from prehistoric times through Anglo Saxon and Viking era, into the medieval period, and documenting its development from a rural community to a Victorian industrial town, and into the 20th century. When the museum had to vacate those rooms, these artefacts were placed in secure storage. In 2024, while still without
16-530: A permanent physical home, the museum publicised its new website which will serve as a showcase for photographs of some of the approximately 1900 artefacts that have been curated by volunteers. 53°54′22″N 1°41′22″W / 53.9061°N 1.6895°W / 53.9061; -1.6895 This article relating to a museum in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Otley Civic Centre Otley Civic Centre
24-665: A school room attached to the Salem Chapel in Bridge Street before moving to the Wesleyan Chapel in Nelson Street the following year. In the 1860s the members decided to erect a dedicated building for the mechanics institute to promote adult education in the town. The foundation stone for new building was laid by a local philanthropist, Mrs Emma Dawson, of Weston Hall on 19 June 1868. It was designed by Charles Fowler of Leeds in
32-548: Is a municipal structure in Cross Green, Otley , West Yorkshire , England. The structure, which was the offices and meeting place of Otley Town Council, is a Grade II listed building . The building was commissioned by members of the local mechanics institute which had been formed as the Otley Useful Instruction Society in 1835. Its members, who included the magistrate, John Peele Clapham , initially met in
40-553: The Italianate style , built in ashlar stone and was officially opened on 31 October 1871. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Cross Green; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured, on the ground floor, a portico with two pairs of Tuscan order columns supporting an entablature and, on the first floor, a stone balcony and a French door flanked by Corinthian order pilasters . The other bays were fenestrated by sash windows on
48-486: The ground floor and round headed windows on the first floor. At roof level, there was an entablature, a cornice supported by brackets and a balustrade . Internally, the principal rooms were the concert hall on the first floor and the lecture theatre on the ground floor. The building became the main forum for public events in the town with lectures, theatrical performances and concerts all being held there. Following significant population growth, largely associated with
56-473: The status of Otley as a market town, the area became an urban district in 1894. Although, the mechanics institute was extended to the rear in 1895, the council established offices for council officers and their departments in North Parade. The council eventually took ownership of the former mechanics institute, which it received as a gift for the benefit of the community, in 1957. The Otley Museum , which
64-408: Was established in 1961 with the objective of assembling a collection of objects depicting the history of the town, subsequently moved into the building. Following local government re-organisation in 1974, the building was transferred to the ownership of Leeds City Council and the building subsequently became the offices and meeting place of Otley Town Council which was formed in the mid-1970s. After
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