24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Monkey 'Spy' Bone That Never Was - Now On Show At Curiosity Shop
By Alastair Smith
07/07/2005
Image: Shows a photo of a man holding out a long bone.
Peter Rowley Conwy, senior lecturer of Zooarchaeology at Durham University examines the much-talked about bone.
A mysterious "monkey bone" which offers a link to Hartlepool's prehistoric past is now on show at a travelling museum of curiosities in the town.
Rumours began to circulate that the bone found on the beach at Seaton Carew belonged to a monkey who, as legend has it, washed up in Hartlepool during the Napoleonic war and was executed as a French spy.
Experts from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Durham and Tees Archaeology confirmed that the 30-cm long bone was in fact from a red deer.
"We could tell straight away that the bone was ancient. It has a tell-tale black surface which suggests that it has come from a prehistoric peat bed,” said Peter Rowe of Tees Archaeology.
"It's also partly fossilised, which is something we don't often see - it could well be one of the oldest artefacts ever to be found on Teesside."
Image: Shows a photo of a man holding out a long bone.
For a while rumour was rife - but archaeologists settled the argument.
It is thought that the deer may have lived in the submerged forest near Hartlepool at least 6,000 years ago - a time when Britain was still part of mainland Europe and you could have walked from Hartlepool to Copenhagen.
Hartlepool Museums Service has acquired the bone and it is now on display at The Curiosity Shop in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre alongside other unusual objects including life-size Doctor Who models and a giant squid.
Over 50,000 visited The Curiosity Shop in Redcar and Stockton where they saw a furry fish, a hippopotamus skull and the world's smallest cat and dog.
The mobile institution celebrates the tradition of 'cabinets of curiosity' - collections of rare and unusual items, often assembled by nobility and wealthy merchants in the 18th and 19th centuries.
A desire to display these collections to the public led to the birth of museums as we know them today, though the practice of collecting natural history specimens began among doctors and pharmacists in the 16th century.
Image: Shows a photo of a man and a young girl looking at an exhibit at the Curiosity Shop.
The Curiosity Shop is now on its third venue and its popularity has so far exceeded all expectations.
Television personality Johnny Ball opened the museum in Hartlepool at the weekend.
Mark Simmons, Audience Development Manager for Hartlepool Arts, Museums and Events Service said: "One of the first sights that usually confronts visitors to The Curiosity Shop is a specially-produced movie presentation by Johnny Ball, but we are delighted to welcome him in person to the shop's official opening in Hartlepool.
"The number of visitors to The Curiosity Shop initiative has already exceeded our wildest dreams, and we expect it to be just as popular during its stay in Hartlepool."
The Curiosity Shop has also helped to redevelop town centres across the region by re-fitting disused retail units, often putting in electricity and new plumbing which has led to the Redcar shop being occupied after the museum moved on.
When the museum moves between venues it travels in a large articulated lorry and is assembled piece by piece like a giant jigsaw often confusing shoppers who see a polar bear being unloaded in the town centre.
Image: Shows a photo of a crowd of people at the Curiosity Shop.
Museums from across the region have contributed unusual objects to the travelling museum.
"The Curiosity Shop is like a bizarre blend of Changing Rooms and Antiques Roadshow," explained Mark Simmons, Audience Development Manager for Hartlepool Arts and Museums.
"We take an empty shop in a town centre and in less than two weeks turn it into an exciting place where you can see some of the unusual and wonderful objects from our local museum."
It is staffed by an experienced retail manager and is run more like a shop than a museum to encourage those who would rather browse round a shopping centre than an exhibition.
The Curiosity Shop is funded by Renaissance in the Regions, a Government funded scheme to create new ways for people to enjoy their local museums.
Led by Hartlepool Museums Service, the project is a partnership between 12 of the region's museums and galleries including Kirkleatham Museum, RNLI Zetland Lifeboat Museum, Billingham Art Gallery, Green Dragon Yard Museum, Preston Hall Museum, Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, Hartlepool Art Gallery and the Museum of Hartlepool, Guisborough Museum, the Ironstone Mining Museum, the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, and the Dorman Museum.
Admission to The Curiosity Shop is free and it's open in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Hartlepool six days a week from 9.30am to 5.00pm until August 29. From there it will move on to Darlington and Middlesbrough.
Image: Shows the Renaissance North East logo.
Alastair Smith is the 24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Writer in the North East region. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
Image: Shows the Renaissance logo.
Kirkleatham Museum
Kirkleatham, Redcar, TS10 5NW, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, England
Open: April-September
Tues-Sun 1000-1700
Bank holiday Mon Open
October-March 1000-1600
Closed: Mon except Bank Holidays.
Christmas through to New Year.
Billingham Art Gallery, Stockton On Tees
Queensway, Billingham, Stockton On Tees, TS23 2LN, Cleveland, England
Open: The gallery is open Monday to Saturday 10:00am to 4:30pm.
Last Admission 4:15pm.
Closed: Closed Sunday and bank holidays
Green Dragon Museum
Green Dragon Museum, Theatre Yard, Off Silver St, Stockton On Tees, TS18 1JZ, Cleveland, England
Open: Monday to Saturday - 9am to 5.00 pm
Closed: Bank Holidays
Preston Hall Museum
Yarm Road, Stockton On Tees, TS18 3RN, Cleveland, England
Open: Daily 1000-1730
Head of Steam - Darlington Railway Museum
Head of Steam - Darlington Railway Museum, North Road Station, Darlington, DL3 6ST, Durham, England
Open: April - September
Tues - Sun 10.00 - 16.00
October - March
Tues - Sun 11.00 - 15.30
Closed Mondays except for Bank Holidays.
Closed: Christmas Day, Boxing Day and January 1st
Hartlepool Art Gallery
Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EQ, Cleveland, England
Open: Tues-Sat 1000-1730
Sun 1400-1700
Closed Mon
The Museum of Hartlepool
Jackson's Docks, Maritime Avenue, Hartlepool, TS24 0XZ, Cleveland, England
Open: Daily 1000-1700
Guisborough Museum
Sunnyfield House, 36 Westgate, Guisborough, TS14 6BA, Cleveland, England
Open: April-October
Thurs Sat 1000-1600
November-March Closed
Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum
Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum, Deepdale, Skinningrove, TS13 4AP, Cleveland, England
Open: Open Daily: 1st April until 31st October, 1pm until 5pm (Last admissions at 3:45pm).
Please note: As the museum relies on volunteers to open, it may be necessary to call us on 01287 642877 to confirm that we are open before travelling a long distance.
Closed: Closed: 1st November until 31st March except for school visits and special bookings.
Captain Cook Birthplace Museum
Stewart Park, Marton, Middlesbrough, TS7 8AT, North Yorkshire, England
Open: Mar- October Tues-Sun 1000-1730
Nov - Feb Tues - Sun 0900 -1600
Last admission 45mins before closing.
Closed: Every Monday
24-28 December
1 January
3-7 January for annual maintenance
Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough
Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, TS5 6LA, England
Open: March - October Tues-Sun 1000-1730
November- February Tues-Sun 9.00-16.30
Closed: Monday
Christmas Day
Boxing day
New Years Day
Closed 3-7 January for annual maintenance
Related Articles
News In Brief - Week Ending April 20 2008
Darlington Railway Centre Relaunches As Head Of Steam
£6.6m Refurb Planned For Preston Hall Museum, Stockton
Archaeologists Reveal Jewels Of An Anglo Saxon Princess At Kirkleatham Museum
News In Brief - Week Ending June 17 2007
News In Brief- Week Ending February 25 2007
Steve McCurry's Faces Of Asia To Visit Hartlepool Art Gallery
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
Blitz And Dunkirk Veteran Thames Fireboat To Be Restored
News In Brief - Museums, Galleries And Heritage News
Massive Ted Hughes Archive Acquired By British Library
Art Fund Donates £1 Million To Save Titian's Diana And Actaeon
Youngsters Win Battlefield Trips To Mark 90th Anniversary Of Armistice
SEIZURE: Roger Hiorns And The Art Of Disappearing
Archaeological Dig To Uncover The Mysteries Of Carisbrooke Castle
Culture Secretary Andy Burnham Launches Library Debate
The Sackler Centre - The V&A's New Centre For Arts Education
T.M. Hemy Mauretania Oil Painting From QE2 Handed To Discovery Museum
English Heritage In Nationwide Search For Young History Presenter
National Trust Wades Into The Water And Flood Management Debate
Sir Christopher Frayling: 'Unlock Creative Potential Of Collections'
New Their Past Your Future Projects Bring Generations Together
News In Brief - Week Ending October 12 2008
Two Of Britain's Roman And Maritime Heritage Sites Get Major Funding Boost
Winners Of Young Archaeologist Of The Year Awards 2008 Announced
Shock And Gore - Controversial Artwork Opens Brighton Photo Biennial
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.