Maidstone, Kent - Museum - Empire series postcard c.1905-10

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^{Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :}

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^{Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery a local authority-run museum located in Maidstone, Kent, England, featuring internationally important collections including fine art, natural history, and human history. The Museum is one of three operated by Maidstone Borough Council. Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery is Grade II* listed.[1]}

^{n 1855 Thomas Charles, a local doctor and antiquarian, left his collections of art and antiquities to Maidstone Borough Council,[1] requesting that his executors, “make such arrangements as they should think fit for the permanent preservation thereof in the town of Maidstone, and the same to be called the Charles Museum.” The Council subsequently acquired Charles’ house, Chillington Manor,[1][2] from his executors and, in 1858, opened it as the Charles Museum, later renamed Maidstone Museum.[3] The Museum was one of the first to be opened as a result of the Museums Act (1845) and was a founder member of the Museums Association (1909).[3]}

^{The Museum's central core consists of an Elizabethan manor house, formerly known as Chillington Manor,[2] completed in 1577 with earlier Tudor buildings to its rear. In the early 18th century a substantial wing was added to the west of the Tudor house. Upon the death of Thomas Charles an in accordance with his estate, Maidstone Borough Council purchased the building in 1856 for the sum of £1,200, investing a further £300 for repairs.[1] On 20 January 1858, the Museum opened as one of the UK's first local authority-run museums, appointing Edward Petty - a friend of the late Thomas Charles - as the museum's first curator in September.[2] After its opening as a museum, the building was further extended to house the growing collections. A new east wing was added in 1869, matched by new wing to the west in 1873 made possible by donations from Julius Brenchley.[1]}

^{The eastern elevation was extended in 1889 to accommodate the Bentlif Art Gallery funded by Samuel Bentlif to house the art collection amassed by his brother, George.[4] On the western side, the Victoria Gallery, housing the town’s library, was built between 1897 and 1899 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.[4] The Bentlif Wing was extended in 1923.[4]}