Exhibitions
Re-display of the period rooms
The ground floor of Normanby Hall has been refurbished and re-displayed to better reflect the use of the rooms during the late Regency period, when the Hall was first built.
Use the touchscreens in the rooms to discover more about Regency life, as well as more about the objects in the rooms. When you move to the first floor you can find out about the changes to the Hall that took place at the beginning on the 20th century.
Life Below Stairs
On the first floor, the ‘Life Below Stairs’ gallery illustrates life for the staff at Normanby Hall during the first half of the 20th century.
Photograph of domestic staff pictured close to the garden entrance to Normanby Hall, c. 1936-1938
Objects relating to the Normanby Hall servants are displayed alongside their first hand audio accounts on the touchscreen. There are also lots of photographs of the staff and the servants’ wing, which was demolished in 1949. This display complements the Servants Trail, which visitors can follow through the park.
Normanby and the Sheffields
This display in the Entrance Hall sets the scene for a visit through the house, outlining the history of Normanby Hall and its estate. Visitors can discover the history of the Sheffield family, owners of the house and estate for over 400 years.
The study at Normanby Hall
Normanby at War
This gallery on the first floor explores the period between 1914 and early 1919, when the Sheffield family volunteered Normanby Hall as an Auxiliary Hospital.
Here, soldiers convalesced after being treated for injuries received on the front line during the First World War. Photographs and autographs of the soldiers are displayed along with two original hospital beds, medical equipment and personal artefacts.
Visitors can also explore Normanby Hall’s role in the Second World War, when amphibious tanks were secretly tested on the River Trent at Burton-upon-Stather.
Innovate! The Domestic Industrial Revolution
Location: Normanby Hall
4 March – 5 November 2023
Discover the technology and inventions of the Georgian period in a domestic setting.
During the ‘Industrial Revolution’ in Europe and North America, technology enabled industrial growth. Businesses and industries grew due to new inventions such as steam power and innovations in production methods. The industrialisation of the economy touched every part of life.
Explore stories of technological invention and innovation through the objects highlighted throughout the ground floor of Normanby Hall.
That’s Not My Name, Tracy Satchwill Artist in Residence
Location: First Floor Gallery, Normanby Hall
4 March 2023 – 7 January 2024
Drawing on Normanby Hall’s Regency objects, furniture and interior, artist-in-residence Tracy Satchwill brings together a selection of films, large scale collages and AR experiences in her first major solo exhibition, ‘That’s Not My Name’.
During May 2023, Tracey updated the exhibit for our visitors.
Working primarily in collage, Satchwill reflects on the role, status, and identity of female domestic servants, in which maids intermingle with high-status objects and elaborate patterns. Satchwill says, “In That’s Not My Name, I wanted to explore the contrast between beauty and splendour and the female domestic servant, bringing them to the forefront and communicating their visibility and significance.”
This exhibitions is situated on the first floor of Normanby Hall, which is accessible by stairs only, however they will be added to the touchscreens in the Entrance Hall.
Regency Revolution
Location: First Floor, Costume Gallery, Normanby Hall
4 March 2023 – 7 January 2024
Normanby Hall was built between 1825 and 1830. Although this was during the broad Georgian era of 1714-1837, we know the Hall as a ‘Regency’ house because it was built in a sub-period known as the Regency era.
This exhibition looks at fashion from the 1790s to the 1830s, giving an idea of the style of clothing the residents of Normanby Hall may have been wearing during its early years. From the French Revolution to the influences of Greece, discover what caused such huge changes in fashion in such a short period of time.
The costume gallery is situated on the first floor of Normanby Hall, which is accessible by stairs only, however they will be added to the touchscreens in the Entrance Hall.
Muscle Mass by Laura Ellen Bacon
Location: Rural Life Museum
1 April – 1 October 2023
Laura Ellen Bacon creates large-scale work using natural materials in landscape, interior and gallery settings which have included Saatchi Gallery, Chatsworth and Somerset House.
Bacon was commissioned to make a piece for the Rural Life Museum. Inspired by historic photographs of North Lincolnshire and by horse collars from the Museum’s collection, she has created a unique art piece. It reflects the power of a working horse. Bacon used local material, such as reeds hand harvested at Alkborough Flats.
Aerial Photography by Jason Butler
Location: Rural Life Museum
1 April – 1 October 2023
Jason Butler uses drones to photograph the local area. This season we have a selection of his work on display at the Rural Life Museum.
Butler’s photographs show agricultural activity in the area around Normanby and Burton-upon-Stather. The enormous scale of modern agriculture is shown in the size of the fields and the machinery. It is of great interest to see how far agriculture has come, comparing modern day to the historic tools and machinery on display in the Museum.
