The award-winning Tullie House Museum explores the history of Carlisle from prehistoric times to the present day.
Galleries
The Border Galleries are home to a large number of interesting exhibits. The Prehistoric Hut houses a number of pre-Roman artefacts including tools, flint arrowheads and knives, and pottery. In the Social History Gallery there’s a collection of biscuit tins made by Carr’s, founded in Carlisle in 1831. There’s also the Wildlife Dome, a series of dioramas housing exhibits from the museum’s natural history collection, and the Railway Gallery, a display of objects relating to the city’s rich railway heritage.
A new Roman Frontier Gallery is opening at the end of June 2011. It will tell the story of the Roman occupation of England, Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman Empire.
Old Tullie House, the original part of the museum, showcases a nationally important collection of Pre-Raphaelite art. Highlights include works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Ford Madox Brown.
The Millennium Gallery opened in 2001 and features many beautiful Cumbrian minerals. An adjacent public walkway links Tullie House to Carlisle Castle and includes the Bishop’s Stone, a sculpture inscribed with Archbishop Dunbar’s curse on the Border Reivers.
Events & Exhibitions
Tullie House offers an extensive programme of events and exhibitions. Exhibitions scheduled in 2011 include Ergonomics: Real Design, Gadgets & Gizmos Inventions and Devices from 1852 to 1951, and Lines of Flight Mervyn Peake, the Illustrated Work.
Alternative films are shown on Monday evenings. All screenings start at 7.45 pm.
For details further details visit the official website.
Opening Hours & Admission
Tullie House is open every day of the year except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.
Opening hours between April 1 and October 31 are Monday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. Between November 1 and March 31 the galleries are open Monday to Saturday 10 am to 4 pm, and Sunday noon – 4 pm.
Entry costs £4 for adults, 50p for children, and £2.50 for concessions. Children under 5 enjoy free admission.
Other Facilities
Other facilities at Tullie House include the fabulous Garden Restaurant, and a gift shop selling souvenirs, jigsaws, CDs and DVDs, hand-crafted jewellery, silk scarves, maps, plus books about local history, Hadrian’s Wall etc.
Location
Tullie House is situated on Castle Street, opposite Carlisle Castle. The nearest car park is the pay-and-display car park on Devonshire Walk just west of the castle.
To reach Tullie House from the car park/castle cross Castle Way using the footbridge at Devonshire walk or the underground passage near the castle entrance.
History
In 1893 Carlisle Corporation extended a Jacobean house in the centre of Carlisle and established the museum. Further expansion work was carried out in 1989 and 2000.
Weddings
Tullie House has two rooms licensed for civil wedding ceremonies. The Victorian Theatre can accommodate wedding parties of up to 100 while the Morning Room can seat 30.
Wedding receptions are also catered for.
It is a very nice place and the cafe serves really nice beans and toast!
They’ve done a great job here. One of the best museums I have been to. Lots of interesting, interactive exhibits. Not boring like many town centre museums.