Dudley Museum and Art Gallery
Dudley Museum and Art Gallery was a public museum and art gallery located in the town centre of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It was opened in 1883, situated within buildings on St James's Road, and remained at that site until its closure in 2016. Some of the museum collections have since been relocated to the Dudley Archives centre on Tipton Road. History The building was originally planned as a Free Library and School of Art by Dudley Borough Council. The foundation stone was laid on 3 July 1883 by Earl Beauchamp, the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire. Although an art gallery was included in the design, it did not open for another five years; the gallery was officially opened on 1 August 1888 by Mayor of Dudley Benjamin Hingley. In 1906, Dudley Council entered an agreement with the Dudley Geographical Society to take over their collection of fossils and other materials with a view to displaying them in a museum in the town. In 1911, it was announced that this collection had been installed in what had been the lending department of the Free Library with a view of displaying it to the public in 1912. The Brooke Robinson