Read our blog and follow us
on Facebook and Twitter:

‘FLOG IT!’ STAR UNVEILS CENTURY OF TRAMS EXHIBITION

Celebrity auctioneer and star of BBC’s Flog It! and Cash in the Attic, James Lewis was guest of honour at the opening of a new exhibition at Crich Tramway Village, home of the National Tramway Museum.

Thanks to grants of over half a million pounds, curators at the National Tramway Museum have created an exciting new ‘Century of Trams Exhibition’ tracing 100 years of tram history, from the earliest horse trams of the 1860s, through the steam years and on to the end of the electric tram era in the 1960s.

Commenting on the project, Glynn Wilton, Museum Curator said “For the first time we can tell the complete story of Britain’s Tramways in one place, and particularly the era of the electric trams. Displayed together for the first time are the UK’s first and last electric trams. We have the only surviving example of the earliest electric tram which ran in Blackpool in 1885, and the last electric tram to run in Glasgow in 1962 which marked the end of the glory days for Britain’s tramways.

“Many of the exhibits have not been on public display before. Visitors will be able to discover the stories behind the objects, like the Leamington Warwick tramcar, a horse tram which dates from pre 1900 and which was found in an orchard.”

Opening the new exhibition with a rap of his auctioneer’s gavel, James Lewis said, “It’s a great honour to be able to open a new gallery in a national museum and a museum that has the best collection of trams in the world. What makes it even more of a privilege is that Crich is right at the centre of my home turf. How fantastic it is that the museum is expanding and encouraging even more tourism to the area.”

The new Century of Trams Exhibition will also host a changing series of exhibits on loan from other museums including the UK’s only surviving double deck horse tram on loan from the National Museums of Wales. Plans are in place for other visiting exhibits from the Science Museum in London and the Birmingham Museum.

See our blog for photos.

Additional Information

1. The current Exhibition Hall was opened in 1992 and had many shortcomings in its interpretive solutions and the limited number of artefacts it interpreted. The new exhibition will increase the amount of interpreted exhibits by 75%.

2. The project is being fully financed by grant funding from the Wolfson Foundation (£150k) and the Derbyshire Economic Partnership, DEP (£350k)

3. The Wolfson Foundation supports projects across the fields of science and technology, medical research and health, education and the arts, currently allocating some £35 million per annum.

4. DEP works in Partnership across Derbyshire to stimulate, develop and bring forward a range of sustainable economic opportunities and improve the prosperity and overall environment for businesses, communities, individuals and visitors. www.derbyshireeconomicpartnership.org.uk.

5. The aim of the project is to enrich the Museum experience for all visitors. Modern design approaches will provide greater learning outcomes and increased intellectual, sensory and cognitive access to the Museum’s collections and in a way that is appealing to children and adults.

6. The design includes environmentally sustainable photovoltaic cells (solar panels) which will help to offset the power consumption.

7. James Lewis is a director of Derby and Matlock based Bamfords auctioneers and valuers. He has appeared in a number of TV shows including ‘Cash in the attic’, ‘Flog It!’ and ‘Put your money where your mouth is’.