Shrewsbury artefacts moved to new museum home

Artefacts were crated up by museum staff before being lifted out through a first floor window and slowly lowered to the ground in the painstaking operation yesterday.

The items included an Irish elk head with hefty antlers. They then made the short journey from the museum in Barker Street to Shrewsbury's new £10.5 million Museum and Art Gallery in The Square.

Workers from Crown Fine Art were on hand to help museum staff with the task.

Items such as the Roman Hadrian inscription from Wroxeter Roman City were boxed up as part of the removal operation.

The transfer of the larger objects marks the start of the final phase of the collection's move to its new home. It involved artefacts being transferred from the first floor of the building through a space where a window had been taken out on to a temporary platform.

A cherry picker then lowered the items so they could be loaded into a lorry.

Emma-Kate Lanyon, team leader for collections and curatorial services, said: "It has been an exciting day for the museum team to see some of our iconic objects leaving the museum.

"Staff and volunteers have been watching with bated breath as the Hadrianic inscription was carefully removed from the wall of the Roman Gallery and as the huge crates were removed through the window. Crown Fine Arts have been excellent to work with."

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council's Cabinet member responsible for visitor economy, added: "We look forward to opening the doors of the new museum to the public, and sharing this fantastic new facility for Shrewsbury and Shropshire with local residents and visitors."

There is still no official opening date for the new museum, but it is expected to finally open to the public in the next few months. The first and second floors of Rowley's House closed to visitors earlier this month, with the ground floor gallery and Visitor Information Centre remaining open.