This list of museums in the West Midlands, England contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Also included are non-profit art galleries and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.
| Name | Image | Town/City | Region | Type | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Hall |  |
Aston | Birmingham | Historic house | 17th century Jacobean-style mansion with period rooms featuring furniture, paintings, textiles and metalwork from the collections of the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery |
| Aston Manor Road Transport Museum | Aston | Birmingham | Transport | Closed, pending relocation | |
| Avery Historical Museum | Smethwick | Sandwell | Industry | website, collection of weighing machines and artefacts, located at the Avery Weigh-Tronix headquarters | |
| Bantock House Museum and Park | Finchfield | Wolverhampton | Historic house | 18th-century house, ground floor furnished to reflect the Edwardian era, upper floor displays of important local people, industries, decorative arts, two Victorian period rooms, gardens | |
| Barber Institute of Fine Arts |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Art | Art gallery and concert hall, collection includes British art, French impressionism and post-impressionism, sculpture, portrait miniatures, decorative arts, coins, part of the University of Birmingham |
| Berkswell Museum | Berkswell | Solihull | Local | website, local history | |
| Bilston Craft Gallery | Bilston | Wolverhampton | Art | Contemporary crafts and decorative arts | |
| Birmingham Back to Backs |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Historic house | Operated by the National Trust, city's last surviving court of back-to-back houses, reflects life from the 1840s to 1970s |
| Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Military | Site for testing small arms and ammunition, features a museum with small arms and ammunition and the history of their development, open by appointment |
| Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Multiple | Art, local history, decorative arts, archaeology, coins, costumes, ceramics |
| Bishop Asbury Cottage |  |
Great Barr | Sandwell | Historic house | 18th century period cottage, boyhood home of Francis Asbury, the first American Methodist Bishop |
| Black Country Living Museum |  |
Dudley | Dudley | Living | Recreated 19th and early 20th century industrial village with historic buildings moved from other sites, includes trams and other transport vehicles, fun fair, historic shops and industry displays |
| Blakesley Hall |  |
Yardley | Birmingham | Historic house | Late 16th century Tudor timber-framed farmhouse, branch museum of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery |
| Cadbury World |  |
Bournville | Birmingham | Food | History of chocolate and the Cadbury confectionery company |
| Centre of the Earth | Birmingham | Birmingham | Natural history | Nature centre used for environmental education | |
| Coventry Watch Museum | Coventry | Coventry | Horology | website, planned museum about watches and watch-making, currently provide exhibitions | |
| Coventry Music Museum | Coventry | Coventry | Music | website, museum highlighting the musical heritage of Coventry | |
| Coventry Transport Museum |  |
Coventry | Coventry | Transportation | British-made road transport including cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles |
| The Drum | ,_Birmingham.jpg) |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Art | Arts centre for Black British and British Asian arts |
| Earlswood Village Museum | Earlswood | Solihull | Local | website, local history | |
| Haden Hill House | Cradley Heath | Sandwell | Historic house | Victorian gentleman's house furnished in period style | |
| Herbert Art Gallery and Museum |  |
Coventry | Coventry | Multiple | Art, local history, culture, natural history, city's medieval, Victorian and modern history |
| Ikon Gallery |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Art | Contemporary art |
| International Project Space | Bournville | Birmingham | Art | Contemporary art gallery, part of the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts | |
| Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Museum | Coventry | Coventry | Automotive | website, historic Jaguar cars and racing cars | |
| The Lace Guild |
|
Stourbridge | Dudley | Textiles | Historic and contemporary lace and lace-related artefacts |
| Stourbridge Glass Museum | Stourbridge | Dudley | glass | [1] | |
| Lapworth Museum of Geology |  |
Edgbaston | Birmingham | Natural history | Fossils, minerals, rocks, operated by the University of Birmingham |
| Locksmith's House |  |
Willenhall | Walsall | Locks | Dedicated to a lock-making family and locally made locks |
| mac |  |
Edgbaston | Birmingham | Art | Theatre, Cinema, Cafe and Public Space with Exhibit Gallery |
| Midland Air Museum | Baginton | Coventry | Transportation | Aircraft Museum including Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre | |
| Museum of the Jewellery Quarter | Birmingham | Birmingham | Historic site | Historic jewellery-making factory, branch museum of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery | |
| National Motorcycle Museum |  |
Bickenhill | Solihull | Transportation | British motorcycles |
| New Art Gallery Walsall |  |
Walsall | Walsall | Art | Collections include sculptures and paintings by modern masters including a large selection of work by Jacob Epstein |
| New Hall Mill |  |
Walmley | Birmingham | Mill | website, 18th century watermill, located in New Hall Valley Country Park |
| Oak House |  |
West Bromwich | Sandwell | Historic house | Late 16th century half-timbered Yeoman's farmhouse with Tudor and Jacobean furniture |
| The Pen Museum |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Industry | History of the pen making industry in Birmingham including the companies, different kinds of pens, early typewriters and Braille machines, writing in general |
| Periscope | Edgbaston | Birmingham | Art | Artist-run contemporary art gallery and event space | |
| Priory Visitor Centre | Coventry | Coventry | Archaeology | website, artifacts and history of St Mary's Priory | |
| Red House Cone |  |
Wordsley | Dudley | Art | Former glassworks, exhibits of historic and contemporary glass, glass-making workshops |
| Royal Birmingham Society of Artists |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Art | Gallery exhibits of members' works |
| Sarehole Mill |  |
Hall Green | Birmingham | Mill | 18th century water mill used for grinding corn and later producing metal, includes 19th century bakehouse, exhibits on local resident J. R. R. Tolkien, branch museum of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery |
| Selly Manor |  |
Bournville | Birmingham | Historic | Two Tudor period timber-framed houses |
| Soho House |  |
Handsworth | Birmingham | Historic house | Late 18th century period Georgian home of industrialist Matthew Boulton, branch museum of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery |
| Solihull Gallery | Solihull | Solihull | Art | website | |
| Thinktank |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Science | Themes include future technology, innovation, space travel, current technology and scientific understanding on everyday life, natural history, biology, city's industrial and transportation history |
| Tipton Community Heritage Centre | Tipton | Sandwell | Local | website, located in the town library, local history, industry, canals, social history | |
| Tyseley Locomotive Works |  |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Railway | Railway depot, workshops, engines and artefacts, viewing on open days |
| VIVID | Birmingham | Birmingham | Art | Gallery for media arts | |
| Walsall Leather Museum | Walsall | Walsall | Industry | Former Victorian leather factory, history of the local leather and saddle-making trades | |
| Warwick Arts Centre | Coventry | Coventry | Art | Multi-venue arts complex at the University of Warwick, events in contemporary and classical music, drama, dance, comedy, films and visual art | |
| Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery | .jpg) |
Wednesbury | Sandwell | Multiple | Fine art, decorative arts including Ruskin Pottery, toys and games, local history |
| West Midlands Police Museum |  |
Sparkhill | Birmingham | Law enforcement | Uniforms, vehicles, photographs, badges, whistles, memorabilia, history of police work in the region |
| Wightwick Manor |  |
Wightwick | Wolverhampton | Historic house | Operated by the National Trust, Victorian period manor with Arts & Crafts interiors and Pre-Raphaelite art |
| Wolverhampton Art Gallery | Wolverhampton | Wolverhampton | Art | Collection includes fine art and decorative arts from the Georgian and Victorian eras, Pop Art, works from Northern Ireland, Asian decorative arts |
Defunct museums edit
- Broadfield House Glass Museum, Kingswinford, closed in 2015[2]
- Coventry City Farm, closed in 2008[3]
- Coventry Toy Museum, Coventry, closed in 2007[4]
- Dudley Museum and Art Gallery, closed in 2016[5]
- Galton Valley Canal Heritage Centre, Smethwick
- Jerome K. Jerome Museum, Walsall, website, currently seeking new facility
- Museum of Science and Industry, Birmingham, closed in 1997, many exhibits now at Thinktank, Birmingham
- Walsall Museum, closed in 2015[6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Museum opens to celebrate the Black Country's glass-making heritage". BBC News. 9 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ "Broadfield House Glass Museum to close after 35 years". Express & Star. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/coventry_warwickshire/7291402.stm City farm shuts after cash crisis, BBC News, March 12, 2008
- ^ http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2010/05/05/former-coventry-toy-museum-could-be-restored-after-arson-attack-92746-26381118/ "Former Coventry Toy Museum could be restored after arson attack", Coventry Telegraph, May 5, 2010
- ^ "Dudley Museum shuts as council cuts bite". Express & Star. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Kendall, Geraldine (27 February 2015). "Walsall Museum to close next month". Museums Association. Retrieved 14 April 2017.