Mapping Melton Mowbray
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2023 - Sat, 16 Dec 2023
Melton Mowbray's long and celebrated history is brought to life in a new exhibition, with the magnificent Latham map as its centre piece.
Through colourful graphic panels showing annotated maps of Melton Mowbray since the late 18th century, an information filled flip book and a fascinating map animation film, this exhibition explores how Melton Mowbray Town has changed and evolved through time.
In the panels, the small and large changes seen in the town are highlighted on some of the many maps of Melton Mowbray held by the Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
The centre piece of the exhibition is a reproduction of the stunning 1871 Lordship map produced for the town by local solicitor William Latham. This was created as a public record of who owned what in and around the town in 1871 and gives us lots of useful information.
The Melton Museum Research Volunteers have searched the archives to enable us to paint a picture of what life was like in Melton Mowbray in 1871. A series of graphic panels and a flipbook explore themes of 1871, including the markets, places to stay, notable residents of the town, the hunting and racing scene, schools and places of worship, landowners and William Latham himself.
The short, animated map film, created through volunteering by the design team from Edmentum, shows the history of the town from Medieval times to the present day.
Alongside the panels, interesting and lovely objects are on display, which help to further tell the story of the mapping of Melton Mowbray. Within the main galleries, which tell the wider history of the Town and Borough, there are mid 20th century maps for visitors to either show where they have come from in the area or try and find the location of their own homes – some of which won't have existed at the time of the map.
The exhibition will run until mid December and the Museum team is planning a series of map related activities and history days throughout the rest of the year. Visit www.meltonmuseum.org.uk
