Exhibitions
The NMR holds over 10 million photographs that document English buildings, archaeological sites and landscapes from the middle of the 19th century to the present day.
Our new exhibitions programme will establish a series of regional and national photographic exhibitions to excite people about historic buildings, landscapes and the photographic collections of the NMR. We are keen to work in partnership with local museums, libraries, archives, galleries, community groups so that our images can be viewed alongside others peoples and be seen in a wider context.
NMR Exhibitions Manager: Anne Woodward
Tel: 01793 414613
Email: anne.woodward@english-heritage.org.uk
Forthcoming Exhibitions:
Current Exhibitions:
England at Leisure
3 May - 31 December 2008
Cannock Chase Museum, Valley Road, Hednesford, Staffs, WS12 1TD
This exhibition, using images from the recent publication 'Leisure', offers a glimpse into the world of leisure from Victorian times up to the mid 20th century showing children and adults taking a break from their working lives to enjoy themselves.
Changing Landscapes
2 August - 12 October 2008
Cannock Chase Museum, Valley Road, Hednesford, Staffs, WS12 1TD
28 January - 18 May 2008 - now closed
National Coal Mining Museum for England, Caphouse Colliery, New Road, Overton, Wakefield, WF4 4RH.
Coal formed the backbone of Britain's Industrial Revolution. At the height of the industry's prosperity in 1913 2,600 pits employed 1.1 million men. By nationalisation in 1947 this figure dropped to around 1,000 and in 1992 just 50 pits remained. Now there are only four deep mines left in operation. This collaborative exhibition between the NMR and the National Coal Mining Museum for England offers case studies of coal mines from six English regions showing colleries as working sites and new photographs to show th changes since the industry's demise.
Past exhibitions:
Merchant Palaces. Liverpool Mansions photographed by Bedford Lemere
From 26th May 2007 - 31 August 2008
Sudley House. Mossley Hill Road, Aigbirth, Liverpool, L18 8BX
The photographs in this major exhibition from the NMR archives were taken between 1888 and 1916 by the London based firm Bedford Lemere and Co. one of the best architectural photographers of the day. The firm travelled the country taking pictures of the homes of the rich. The wealth of late Victorian and Edwardian Liverpool often brought the firm to Merseyside.
The Liverpool merchants, trading in goods imported through the docks were also ship owners, banker, insurers and lawyers, and manufacturers in food processing and the chemical industry. Their taste in sumptuous furnishings and lavish decorations are opened for all to see at this exhibition showing the privileged homes of Liverpool's business elite before the First World War.
The music room, Holmestead, North Mossley Hill Road, July 1901, BL16685
At this date Holmestead was occupied by the shipowner and art collector William Imrie. Dominating this room is Edward Burne-Jones's painting The Tree of Forgiveness. It was later acquired by W.H. Lever and is now in the Lady Lever Art Gallery. The wallpaper is William Morris's 'Acanthus' pattern, designed in 1875.
Dawpool, Thurstaston, (1896), BL13481/08
Thomas Henry Ismay, chairman of the White Star Line, and his wife Margaret moved into this grand new house overlooking the Dee estuary in 1884. It was designed for them by Richard Norman Shaw, Mr and Mrs Ismay were both closely involved in the design and furnishing of Dawpool. Sadly the house survived less than fifty years: it was demolished in 1927.
Shot from Above
Until 30 June 2008
Westminster City Archives, 10 St Ann's Street, London, SW1P 2DE
7 March 2008 - 27 April 2008
Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall Yard, Off Gresham Street, London, EC2V 5AE
Seeing London from the air provides a new perspective on its history and character in more ways than one. This display accompanies a new book on the subject based on a number of remarkable collections of historic aerial view of the city held by the National Monuments Record and the Royal Aeronautical Society. They show the city in the Edwardian era, the early 1930s and the 1940s and 1950s. The historic views have been supplemented by new photographs taken by English Heritage's Aerial Survey team. The exhibition is a celebration of one of the greatest of all world cities, giving insights into its evolution of the last century.
John Gay: Blackpool 1949. Photographs from the National Monuments Record, English Heritage.
30 June 2007 to April 2008
Grundy Art Gallery, Queen Street, Blackpool, Lancashire.
The seaside is a special place with its own distinctive sounds, smells, tastes and sights. This exhibition highlights the evocative photographs of John Gay who captured Blackpool holiday makers in the summer of 1949. For many of us photographs like these help crystallise our image of seaside holidays of the past.
John Gay was a professional photographer who was renowned for his work in national advertising campaigns, magazines and books. Best known for his architectural photographs these images of Blackpool demonstrate his ability to capture ordinary people at ease on holiday.
Making the Past Present - Images of Essex
Chelmsford Museum 22 December 2007 – 28 February 2008
This exhibition brings together images, facts and figures from six local museums and the County Record Office that hold historic collections about Essex. The National Monuments Record has contributed images to the exhibition which prompts us to look again at some familiar and unfamiliar buildings as a way of making the past more relevant to our daily lives.
Aerial Photography and Archaeology: 100 Years of Discovery
Old Sarum:
21st to 29th Aug 2006
2 miles north of Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 3SD. Tel 01722 335398
Alexander Keiller Museum:
2nd to 28th Sept 2006
Avebury, Wiltshire
Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum:
7th Oct to 8th Jan 2007
The King's House, 65 The Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire. Tel 01722 332151
Wiltshire Heritage Museum:
Mid Jan to mid Feb 2007
41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire. Tel 01380 727369
The Royal Engineers Museum of Military Engineering:
5th Mar to 27th Apr 2007
Brompton Barracks, Prince Arthur Road, Gillingham, Kent. Tel 01634 822839
Aldershot Military Museum:
12th May to 24th June 2007
Queen's Avenue, Aldershot, Hampshire. Tel 01252 314598
Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon:
30th July to 17th Sept 2007
Grahame Park Way, London, NW9 5LL. Tel 0208 3584850
Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum:
23rd October to 26th November 2007
Trenchard House, 85 Farnborough Road, Farnborough. Tel 01252 375050
One day in the late summer of 1906, photographs of Stonehenge were taken from a balloon belonging to the British Army. They are the earliest known aerial views of any archaeological site in the British Isles. Today, aerial photography is of great importance to archaeology.
This exhibition tells the story of aerial photography and its contribution to archaeology. It explores the world of ballooning in Victorian and Edwardian Britain leading up to those 1906 Stonehenge images and at some of the discoveries made from the air over the past 100 years.
The Myth of the North
Saturday 30th June - Sunday 4th November 2007
The Lowry, Manchester
The NMR has contributed photographs to the Myth of the North which takes a tongue-in-cheek look at stereotypical views of Northern-ness. Over 100 exhibits including photographs, films and artefacts are displayed that have all helped to create an indelible image of Northern Life since the turn of the 20th century. The exhibition explores, reflects and celebrates the diversity of the North's people and places - from Yorkshire miners to Wigan mill workers, Blackpool beaches to Bolton pubs, and Salford street urchins to Jarrow marchers. For more information contact the Lowry.
Bygone Banbury
21st April - 17th June 2007
Banbury Museum, Spiceball Park Road, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 2PQ
This exhibition consists of a mixture of photographs supplied by the National Monuments Record and paintings from the museum's collection of the town of Banbury. The paintings date from the 18th to 20th centuries, and are juxaposed with contemporary views offering an opportunity for children to compare the town 'now and then'. The photographic images offer a view of life in and around the town during the late Victorian and Edwardian periods.
Snapshots in Time
8 April - 17 July 2006
Craven Museum & Gallery, Town Hall, Skipton
The people and places of Craven are explored through the eyes of three local photographers and the work of the NMR's photographer GB Mason. The exhibition contains historic and contemporay photography.
Forgotten Treasures: Public Sculpture in Manchester
7 April - 19 May 2006.
Manchester Central Library
Photographs of public sculpture in Manchester taken by the NMR and the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. The Portico Library and Gallery, 57 Mosley Street, Manchester. Tel 0161 236 6785.
This is the second showing of this popular exhibition which has now moved to Manchester Central Library.
For further information contact The Portico Library and Gallery.
Benjamin's Britain
1 October 2005 - 8 January 2006
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester
Poet and Author Benjamin Zephaniah has brought together a group of photographs, drawn from four themes, that have particular meaning for him - A National Portrait Gallery exhibition including images from the NMR and other sources.
Repairing War Torn Bath
1 - 25 November 2005, Tuesdays to Sundays 10am - 5pm.
No 1 Royal Crescent, Bath.
An exhibition hosted by the Bath Preservation Trust that looks at the Baedeker air raids on Bath in April 1942. The exhibition features images held by the NMR that help illustrate the effects of the war on the buildings of Bath and the emergency repair work that was required in the city.
Blitzed! War Artist in Bath
April - July 2005
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
A major exhibition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The exhibition features the work of wartime artists and photographers including images taken by the National Buildings Record.
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