SouthseaScene

Portsmouth City Council's Museum Service is 125 years old on 21 January 2020. On 21 January 1895 Portsmouth town council opened its very first museum - housed in the old Town Hall in the High Street, Old Portsmouth which stood next to what is now The Dolphin public house. In September 1904 the council purchased Charles Dickens Birthplace in Commercial Road and in 1931 Cumberland House was turned into a natural history museum with an art gallery. During the Second World War the museum building in Old Portsmouth was bombed and a large part of the collection was lost: Cumberland House became the main museum until new premises could be found. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of growth for the museums service - Southsea castle was purchased in 1960 and in 1972 a new city museum opened in the striking building on Museum Road, part of the former Clarence Barracks. Eastney Beam Engine House was also opened to the public as an industrial museum in 1972. The latest addition to

Photo cred. James Taylor Check out the Portsmouth Amateur Diary and what's on in January 2020. Start the year with some foot-tapping musicals and drama! CRATCHIT'S CHRISTMAS CAROL by HAVANT DYNAMO YOUTH THEATRE 8-11 January at The Pallant Centre, The Pallant Centre, The Pallant, Havant PO9 1BE TREASURE ISLAND by THORNGATE PANTOMIME AND VARIETY COMPANY 11-12 January at the Thorngate Theatre, Bury Road, Gosport PO12 3PX ROBIN HOOD by the Hayling Island Amateur Dramatic Society 11-18 January at the Station Theatre, Station Road, Hayling Island PO11 0EH SLEEPING BEAUTY by WINDMILL PLAYERS 17-18 January at the Clanfield Memorial Hall, South Lane, Clanfield PO8 0RB TREASURE ISLAND by THORNGATE PANTOMIME AND VARIETY COMPANY 18-19 January at the Thorngate Theatre, Bury Road, Gosport PO12 3PX CINDERELLA by CROFTON AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY 23-26 January at the Crofton Hall Theatre, Stubbington Lane, Stubbington PO14 2PP CRAZY FOR MUSICALS by CCADS THEATRE 25