We’ve been to Northampton for the special exhibition I blogged about, This war painted: an exhibition by Ukrainian artists, and I wanted to make another post about two free museums in the city, but with 13 pictures only for the first one, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, I will talk about the second one in another post that will follow next.
Northampton is a lovely city, well worth going to on a day-trip if it’s close enough or for a weekend away and see a bit of the surroundings as well.
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is in the city centre, but there is parking nearby. It looks lovely, so if you have the time, do take a stroll in the city.
There is a huge cafe in the museum. It’s gorgeous. This is the view from the cafe. I didn’t take pictures of the cafe as there were people there.
Besides the special exhibition they have, there are a few exhibition rooms for their permanent display.
This is the art gallery. It offers different insights into portraits, of whom they are and how perceptions about them changed through time. I think it was nicely presented and thought provoking.
The most intriguing exhibition must be the one on shoes. There are hundreds of shoes on display, including their history and details on the local connections.
Shoes for animals, such as dogs and horses, another fascinating display. I loved that these shoes were included.
The whole exhibition takes about 40-45 minutes to see properly.
There is also a local history exhibition, History of Northampton. As expected it moves chronologically through time. It has what is to be expected from a gallery on local history. What was interesting to learn is that there was the Great Fire of Northampton, in 1675, less than a decade after the Great Fire of London.
It was also interesting to see why Northampton was bypassed by the canals and the railways and consider how that affected the industrial development of the city.
I highly recommend visiting this museum. While I didn’t share pictures, there are things that would be suitable for younger children to enjoy as well.
The entire museum looks interesting, but I’d really enjoy seeing the shoe exhibit. I especially like the view you shared from the cafe, too.
Kelly recently posted…Instagram photos #30
That shoe exhibition was amazing. I saw on their website that there is a permanent display on shoes, but never imagined it’s so big and detailed. Fascinating stuff.