Southend Central Museum

Central Museum, Southend
Central Museum, Southend
Location Southend-on-Sea, Essex
Type Local history
Website http://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/
A close up of the Central Museum, Southend

The Central Museum is a museum in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The museum houses collections of local and natural history and contains a planetarium constructed by astronomer Harry Ford in 1984.[1]

The museum was opened in April 1981 in a Grade II listed building that was previously Southend's first free public library. The library service had moved to a new purpose built site on Victoria Avenue, which opened on 20 March 1974.[2]

The building

The Museum was originally built in 1905 as a free library, with £8000 of funding from Andrew Carnegie. The architect was Henry Thomas Hare.[3]

The collections

The Museum features a collection of original Ekco radios, manufactured by E.K. Cole & Co. Ltd. (or 'Ekco') formerly based in Southend. In the 1930s, this company was one of Britain's largest radio manufacturers.

The displays also include local and natural history and archaeology.[4]

Additional photographs

References

  1. ↑ Visit Southend Museums (leaflet)|format= requires |url= (help). Southend on Sea: Southend Museums Service.
  2. ↑ "History of Libraries in Southend". Southend on Sea Borough Council. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  3. ↑ English Heritage. "British Listed Buildings (Public Library, Southend)". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Southend Museum Service (Central Museum)". Southend Museum Service. Retrieved 12 March 2013.

Coordinates: 51°32′32″N 0°42′38″E / 51.5422°N 0.7106°E / 51.5422; 0.7106


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