Thomas Bateman (1821–1861) was fascinated by the past and ahead of his time. A pioneering Victorian antiquarian, he founded a museum at his Derbyshire home presenting artefacts and specimens from across the globe.
Bateman’s extensive excavations in the Peak District expanded his family’s collection. When the museum closed in the 1890s, Sheffield joined some of the world’s leading museums in acquiring parts of its holdings. Today, much of the city’s local archaeology collection, as well as minerals, ceramics, metalwork and fossils, can be traced to Bateman.
Brought to Light will explore both Bateman’s legacy and the reality of how civic museum collections like Sheffield’s were established.