The Bacup Natural History Society and Museum, has had several
homes over the course of it’s history. Records show the first home was
at number 17 South Street Bacup, the second home was situated in the
home of a man named Nicholson at Hempsteads in Burnley Road.
Follwoig a move to the tea rooms of the Co-op store on Rochdale Road,
in 1879 the society was offerd free use of a cottage known as Willow
Cottage, owned by Dr J H Worrall, who lived two doors away. The
cottage was demolished in order to build the Maden baths. It was at this
time that the society recived the name we know today, previous to this it had been known as The
Bacup and Rossendale Field Naturalists Club. Members being encouraged to bring in natural
history or fossil specimens collected during thier Sunday rambles a popular Victorian pasttime.
During the 1880s the club was open from 7 pm till 10 pm on weekdays, and from 2 pm till 11pm
on Saturdays. A visitor to the town in 1903 asked a resident where he would find the Nat
museum. After some questioning the resident replied “Oh! It’s the Muck-Flea Club yo
want”,whilst others called it the “ bug club”. From 1889 until 1936 the Nat was based at 6 St
James Square, moving from that location in 1937 to the Sunday School rooms of Zion Baptist
Chapel. In 1947 the committee decided to rent the former Hare and Hounds public house at 24
Yorkshire Street, buying the property for £370.00 in 1951.
Over the years the focus of the museum and the society in general has switched from natural
history to local history. The museum began with items brought in from the local hills or mines
sometimes b society members, sometimes by well disposed members of the public. This is why
our collection is so ecletic; not one persons vision but the intrests of a whole town.
ot everything however was local, many of the wealthier inhabitants of Bacup who travelled to
others parts of the world would bring back items from the wrappings of an Egyptian mummy to
Stone Age implements from Yorkshire and Norfolk,
or recived donations such as Blodwen our Bronze
Age Skelton, found on the Little Orme in North
Wales.
Another aspect of the Bacup Nat was that many of
the members were part of what would become
known as the Bacup Camera Club. Members had
for many years shared thier intrests in photography
but it wasn’t until March 1920 that the members
actually deicded to make the Camera Club a
formality. On the 2nd March a meeting was held in
the society rooms where about 100 lantern slides
were shown. The Camera Club was officially
opened on May 18th 1920 by Councillor Baron, and
was known as Bacup Naturalist Camera Club.
History
