Buxton Museum and Art Gallery reopens to visitors

The museum is now open from Tuesday to Friday with half-hourly timed slots available for small groups of up to six people, between 10am and noon and 2pm to 3pm. This allows visitors about an hour to enjoy the galleries while still being able to socially distance from each other.

Visitors are expected to wear face coverings unless they are in an exempt group, and museum and art gallery staff will be managing social distancing and providing hand sanitiser at several points.

Entry to the museum and art gallery remains free, but a major change is that people must pre-book tickets, which they can do online via www.derbyshire.gov.uk/buxtonmuseum

Staff at the Terrace Road premises worked hard for weeks to ensure that the town’s only museum complied with public protection guidelines. Their efforts helped the attraction to achieve a Visit England `Good to Go’ award.

Derbyshire County Council leader Councillor Barry Lewis said: “We’re really pleased we’re now in a position to reopen the Buxton Museum and Art Gallery.

“The museum and art gallery team have worked incredibly hard while it has been closed, ensuring more resources are available online and entertaining people virtually with a number of initiatives.

“However, it’s really important that people can visit in person and see for themselves what is on offer.”

Visitors are still able to see displays such as the Wonders of the Peak and Between Two Worlds, an exhibition of artworks reflecting the consequences of world wars and colonialism on people’s lives.

New additions include a painting by Martin Olsson called Buxton 2020, made for the museum during lockdown, with support from the Arts Council England Emergency Response Fund.

A newly acquired sketchbook by Mary Twopenny includes a view of the Orphanage House at Litton Mill, already derelict when the artist visited in 1828.

Also on display is photographer Nick Lockett’s landscape images, inspired by the collections of hoards that the museum looks after.