Today marks Salford Museum and Art Gallery’s 172nd anniversary, after it was opened alongside Great Britain’s first ever unconditionally free library.
After Salford City Council sanctioned the use of Lark Hill Mansion as an educational site in 1849, the museum opened its doors originally as a library in November 1849.
It then opened as a public museum and art gallery in January 1850, with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert being its first patrons.
In 1851, three of the East rooms in the museum were knocked into one and the area became the Art Gallery known today.
Large extension work began in 1852 with a large reading room on the ground floor and a room for further exploration upstairs.
Seven years since the museum opening, daily visiting figures reached an average of just over 3,500.
Local cotton-trader, Edward Langworthy left £10,000 to the museum and library when he died in 1874. With his money, the building of the Langworthy wing which was finished in 1878. The wing now works as the museum’s entrance.
The official opening was on 14 August 1878 and a grand ball was held in the museum that evening to celebrate.
In 1936, the foundations of what once was Lark Hill Mansion was deemed structurally unsafe, and was reconstructed in a similar style to the Langworthy wing. Opened two years later, the museum gradually increased visitors, within five years reaching 1.6m.
Today, Salford Museum and Art Gallery is considered a Grade II listed building, featuring ceramics, art pieces and local history archives.
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