Manchester
Natural History
Museum - Peter Street
The first Museum of Natural
History in Manchester occupied a building on Peter Street in
1821. Some thirty-four years later the Theatre Royal was erected
next door. The street that separated the two was called Museum
Street.
The segment of the Adshead Map of 1851, above, is shown with the permission of Chetham's Library
In 1850 the collection of the Manchester Geological Society was added to the museum. By 1860 both organizations had run into financial problems and the museum building was struggling to accommodate the collection. In 1867 Owens College (which later became the University of Manchester) took over responsibility for the collection and they moved it to their new building on Oxford Road.
The segment of the Adshead Map of 1851, above, is shown with the permission of Chetham's Library
You can get a glimpse of the
museum in the old postcard image below. It sits on Peter Street
just beyond the Midland Hotel and unfortunately just behind the lamp
post.
In 1850 the collection of the Manchester Geological Society was added to the museum. By 1860 both organizations had run into financial problems and the museum building was struggling to accommodate the collection. In 1867 Owens College (which later became the University of Manchester) took over responsibility for the collection and they moved it to their new building on Oxford Road.
The old museum building on
Peter Street was demolished to make way for St. George's House, the
home of the Young Men's Christian Association. The postcard image
below seems to show the site of the museum, beside the Midland Hotel,
surrounded by fencing after the mueum had been demolished.
St. George's House was completed
in 1911.
The street is
still called Museum Street perhaps to puzzle the passers-by.
