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.
