Resources: Town Museum
A small part of the collections relating to Ludlow is on public display in the historic Buttercross in the centre of town facing down Broad Street.
The Building. The Buttercross
This building was designed by William Baker of Audlem and was built in 1743–46 to replace the 16th Century New House, where the Corporation held its meetings. It was originally the site of the High Cross, which was the official centre of the town. The building was originally constructed of Cornbrook Sandstone from up on Clee Hill a few miles to the east but later partly rebuilt using Grinshill Sandstone from north of Shrewsbury, some 40 miles to the north. More recent repairs have utilised Carboniferous Sandstone from Derbyshire, of similar colour but a quite different texture.
Access
The museum is accessed either by the narrow staircase off the pedestrianised Church Street or by the lift located within the open space on the ground floor. It is now open regularly, 3 days a week 10.00-16.00 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday; special arrangements apply on Bank Holidays; refer to the Town Council web site for further information, by clicking here). Andy Boddington, a local councillor, has written a review of the open day here.
Click here to see the Facebook page for the Ludlow Town Museum
What's on display?
The displays in the Buttercross museum focus on:
•Social History
•Archaeology
•Geology
For background information on the Geology, click here, and on the fossils, click here.
Publicity
The Friends sponsored a poster to advertise the reopening of the Town Museum in 2016 (see below).
It can be downloaded as a pdf by clicking here.