The Museum

The Museum, located at 1605 Museum Terrace, was built between 1828 and 1829 as a museum, originally featuring only a central rotunda. This design was inspired by the Scarborough Philosophical Society, founded by William Smith, who is known as the father of English Geology. The architect was R.H. Sharp. In 1860, low wings were added to the structure.

The central rotunda is two storeys high, constructed of ashlar stone with a rusticated ground floor set on a moulded plinth. The upper floor features Tuscan pilasters, with blind bays alternating with small windows at attic level between the pilasters. It has a moulded entablature and a shallow stone domed roof topped with a stone lantern. The one-storey wings are each three bays wide and have segmental bowed ends, with a cornice that is crowned with stele ornament.

Inside, the original exhibition room of the rotunda is located on the first floor, accessible by a central spiral staircase. This room is fitted with delicately crafted original showcases that have glazed doors on narrow bars, veneered in mahogany. The upper angled sections of the showcases feature a simple glazing pattern of rectangles and diagonals. A small second spiral staircase leads to a narrow gallery for additional angled showcases. There is also a library-type step on wheels that can be tracked around the room. A frieze painted with examples of geological strata runs around below the cornice, and there is a coffered dome above with a glazed oculus.

The Museum is a notable and unusual building that was constructed during the same period as The Crescent Gardens development. The listed buildings in Museum Terrace create a cohesive group.