| Administrative History | Derbyshire School Museum Service was established in September 1936 following a Carnegie Trust grant and inspired by a model observed in the United States by the County Librarian Edgar Osborne.
The School Museum Service was the first component in what was to become Derbyshire Museums Service. The other principal components were:
1: Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (founded in 1892 in the Town Hall, moved to Peak Buildings in 1928, transferred from Buxton Corporation to erbyshire County Council 1968).
2: Elvaston Working Estate Museum (founded in 1980 by Derbyshire County Council at Elvaston Castle Country Park).
3: Museum of Childhood at Sudbury (founded in 1974 by Derbyshire County Council in the Victorian wing of Sudbury Hall).
The Service was effectively wound up in 1991 and formally closed in 1992. Buxton Museum and Art Gallery continued to be managed by Derbyshire County Council, as did Elvaston Working Estate Museum until its final closure in 2001. The Museum of Childhood was transferred to the National Trust. The School Museum Service was mothballed for a time before being amalgamated into the Schools Library Service (see DCC/CL/4).
References:
Early history of the service: BR Winstanley Derbyshire Museum Service 1936-1957 (Derbyshire Education Committee, 1957)
Closure of the service: letter from former director David Sorrell to Museums Journal, Nov 1991
History of Buxton Museum and Art Gallery as part of the service: Collections Development Policy, 2014
Elvaston Working Estate Museum: https://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/features/tours/parks/derby/elvaston_history.shtml
Museum of Childhood: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sudbury-hall-and-the-national-trust-museum-of-childhood/features/its-all-change-at-sudbury-hall |