Art and the Army in Bury

In Brief.

The Fusilier Museum captures the history of the Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment, which turns out to have served in a huge variety of places and conflicts during its history.  The substantial museum primarily traces its history chronologically, with descriptions of deployments, personal stories and artefacts such as uniforms, letters and weapons.  Adjacent to the Fusilier Museum is the Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre, which features exhibits from the town's own collections as well as evolving exhibitions.

The Fusilier Museum and memorial garden.

What's Here?

The current Royal Regiment of Fusiliers can trace its ancestry back through the Lancashire Fusiliers to Peyton's Regiment of Foot in 1688.  As a result, the regiment has had deployments in a diverse collection of settings, as varied as the Battle of Culloden in Scotland and the Battle of the Somme in the First World War. Thus there is a lot of history to report on, and the museum contains informative displays and illustrative artefacts to capture key elements from this history. There are also dedicated areas that include a a reconstructed trench and details of contributions to early special operations units in Burma in the Second World War. 

Bury Art Museum

The imposing Bury Art Museum is across the road from the Fusilier Museum, with exhibits across three floors. The upper floor contains samples from the town's own collection, in a large, airy space (as shown). On my visit, the display there was explicitly diverse, so there was likely something for everyone. The middle floor contained a temporary exhibition of colourful but baffling sculpture, and the lower floor contained cabinets of unexplained odds and ends. As such, at least the top floor was worth visiting, and the art shop contained interesting collectables.

Also with a base in Bury and featuring in this blog series is the East Lancashire Railway.

Practicalities.

Distance from Manchester Town Hall: 12 miles

Drive Time: 40 minutes

Price: Fusilier Museum: $; Art Museum: Free

Parking: There is lots of parking in the town centre, all at a fee and quite full on market days

Food and Drink: The Fusilier Museum has a popular cafe; I had a pleasant tea and cake.

Retail therapy: The Fusilier Museum has a compact gift shop; the Art Museum has an interesting art shop with art and craft based products, plus a more conventional card and gift shop. The town centre is nearby, with an airy modern shopping centre and a bustling densely packed market.

Child Friendly: Not explicitly.

Toilets: In both places.

Do it justice in: Fusilier Museum: 90 minutes; Art Museum: 1 hour.

Inside-Outside: 90:10


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