Celebrating 125 years of Portsmouth Museums

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 the city's museums was The D-Day museum which was created to tell the story of the epic D-Day landings and to house the stunning Overlord Embroidery. The building was designed by the council's chief architect Ken Norrish and opened in 1984 by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. It's recently undergone a £5million Heritage Lottery grant funded transformation and re-opened as The D-Day Story ahead of the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Portsmouth Museums' service presents the city's heritage and provides opportunities for people to enjoy and learn from its objects and art. Across the city there's a wide range of attractions to preserve and show the story of the city and its people.

Cllr Pitt, Cabinet Member for Culture and City Development at Portsmouth City Council said: "The museum service has maintained and displayed the city's heritage and history for 125 years. From its beginnings in Old Portsmouth to the range and versatility of the sites and exhibitions we have to offer today; it's something to celebrate and look after for future generations to enjoy."

Comments

Delicious thinly sliced pork in Korean marinade

Sometimes you found a recipe and wrote it down on a piece of paper to try it out. Having done that, you forget where the recipe came from. Likewise this Korean recipe for pork, which turned out to be so delicious we have cooked it for everyone. The marinade is simple to make and yet really packed with flavours. For the Korean marinade you need 3 garlic cloves 1/2 brown onion 1/2 a pear or apple Blitz these ingredients together and then add 5 tablespoons soy sauce (I use Kikkoman) 3 tablespoons caster sugar 2 tablespoons sesame oil 3 tablespoons mirin black pepper For dinner for 2 people, 200g pork tenderloin is enough. Slice this thinly, and bash it to an even thinner piece with a meat mallet. Marinade in the sauce and leave it in the fridge for an hour. Then heat a frying pan on medium heat with a teaspoon of vegetable oil and fry the thin pork pieces until browned. You want some of the edges of the meat to be dark brown and caramelised, if you can. Don't cook too many pieces or ...

‘Southsea dinosaur’ returns

Luna Park 2021, an eagerly anticipated new public artwork for Portsmouth designed by internationally renowned artists Ivan Morison and Heather Peak of Studio Morison will be launched on 2 October 2021 on a celebratory day in Southsea Common. The 1.4 metres bronze sculpture is a tribute to the original 53-foot high 2010 artwork Luna Park, which tragically burned down on Southsea Common. The artists will unveil a new sculpture that responds to ten years of public demand to ‘bring back the Southsea Dinosaur’. The new public artwork will be located within a direct sightline to the position of the original Luna Park sculpture. It will sit on top of a fossil Portland stone plinth with a QR code which when scanned with a smartphone will connect to an Augmented Reality experience. People will be transported to a digital rendering of the original artwork, seemingly standing life-size in front of them on Southsea Common. Viewers will also be able to use their mobile devices to visit a...

Indonesian fried spring rolls (Lumpia Goreng)

I don't often make Indonesian food because the ingredients are hard to find, but our local supermarkets are getting better at stocking ethnic ingredients. In the frozen section of Tesco, near the samosas, you can find the spring roll pastry. Don't bother asking the branch in Chester. I was laughed at by the cashier when I asked for spring roll skin, because 'skin' is what we call the wrapper in Indonesian. Her more helpful colleague offered me filo pastry instead, which can be a good substitute. I'm afraid no one in Chester has yet to taste my amazing spring rolls as a result. Friends in Southsea are luckier! Here are the ingredients to make 30 spring rolls (the packs come in 30 or 40 pieces) 1 medium head of cabbage, thinly sliced 2 carrots, julienned 1 red or yellow pepper, julienned 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 1 medium courgette, julienned 1 tablespoon of Oyster sauce (omit if cooking for vegan) 2 tbsp soy sauce salt and pepper to taste 1 tbsp vegetable oil f...

SouthseaScene

Search This Blog