Our History
Background to the Great North Museum: Hancock
An artist's impression of the new biodiversity gallery
The Great North Museum: Hancock incorporates collections from the Hancock Museum and Newcastle University’s Museum of Antiquities, the Shefton Museum and the Hatton Gallery.
Hancock Museum
The Hancock Museum's origins can be traced to about 1780 when Marmaduke Tunstall began collecting ethnographic and natural history material from all over the world. He later brought his 'museum' from London to North Yorkshire.
After Tunstall's death his collection was purchased, in 1791, by George Allan of Darlington. In 1793 the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle was founded and its activities included the formation of a small museum.
The 'Lit and Phil' acquired George Allan's collection in 1823. In 1829 the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne (now the Natural History Society of Northumbria) was founded as an offshoot of the 'Lit and Phil' and displayed the natural sciences collections in a new museum opened, behind the 'Lit and Phil' (Westgate Road, Newcastle), in 1834.
The Museum's collections soon outgrew this building and the new 'Newcastle Museum' was opened on its present site in 1884. In 1890 the well-known North East naturalist John Hancock, who had been instrumental in the campaign for setting up the new museum, died aged 83 years. The Museum was re-named the Hancock Museum in honour of him and his brother Albany.
In 1959 the Natural History Society entered into an agreement with the University of Newcastle under which the University agreed to care for the building and collections. Since 1992 the University has contracted Tyne & Wear Museums (TWM) to manage the Museum under a Service Level Agreement.
The Hancock Museum closed its doors to the public on Sunday 23 April 2006 to begin its transformation into the Great North Museum: Hancock.
Museum of Antiquities
The Museum of Antiquities was the principal museum of archaeology in north east England and the joint museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne and Newcastle University. In the 1950s it was decided that neither the Keep nor the Black Gate were suitable for the storage or display of delicate artefacts owned by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne and an agreement was reached that a Museum of Antiquities would be opened on the campus of what was then King's College, (and is now Newcastle University) The agreement was signed in 1956, and the Museum opened in 1960.
The original plan was for the Museum to take only the Society's prehistoric, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon material. Over the years much else has been added from other collections and from excavations in Newcastle and Northumberland. In 1978, the Museum's collecting policy was extended to take material up to 1600.
The Museum of Antiquities closed its doors to the public on 19 April 2008. Its collections form part of the new Great North Museum: Hancock.
The Shefton Museum
The Shefton Museum, was located within the Department of Classics at Newcastle University and held a small but widely recognised collection of artefacts from the Greek world. It was founded in 1956 by Professor B.B. Shefton with a grant of £20 from the University to purchase three Greek pots. Over the decades it expanded, thanks to a mixture of University acquisitions, grants from other museums and academic bodies, and bequests and loans from outside benefactors, into a collection of over 800 objects. While comparatively small by the standards of most museums, it gained an international reputation under the curatorship of Professor Shefton, and since 1984, that of his successor Professor Tony Spawforth. It also formed an invaluable resource for both teaching and research in Classics and Archaeology. The museum closed to the public on 18 April 2008. Its collections form part of the new Great North Museum: Hancock.
Why change?
The Hancock Museum was the North's only natural history museum and it was in need of major investment to improve its visitor facilities and its outdated permanent displays. Access was difficult for wheelchair users, parents with buggies or anyone who found steep steps hard to climb. The glass roof of the building, was over 100 years old and constantly needed repair and the original heating system could no longer provide the sort of environment which the collections require.
The Museum of Antiquities was the only museum which interpreted the whole story of Hadrian's Wall and its surroundings. The museum building was both small and inaccessible and these important collections were in need of a new home with additional display space and interpretation. Although the Museum was recognised nationally for the quality of its educational work, it had no education space for working with schools or other groups. Display cases were crammed with objects in order to get just a fraction of the collections on display. The Shefton Museum had wonderful collections but they were an under-used resource due to the location of the museum within the University campus and also its small size. There is nowhere else between Manchester and Edinburgh where the public can see displays of Greek and Etruscan material. Although not relocating, the Hatton Gallery will benefit greatly from the profile and improved resources by working as part of the Great North Museum. The Great North Museum partnership is delighted that the new museum brings the collections together in a fully accessible public space fit for the 21st century.