Clifton Park Museum

The House has been a museum since 1893, and is the base of Rotherham Borough's Museums, Galleries and Heritage Service. Its collections aim to reflect the natural, social and industrial development of the town of Rotherham itself as well as the geographical area covered by the Rotherham Borough. Artefacts include a large collection of earthenware and porcelain made by the Swinton (later Rockingham) Pottery Works between 1745 and 1842.

Collection details

Agriculture, Archaeology, Architecture, Archives, Coins and Medals, Costume and Textiles, Decorative and Applied Art, Design, Fine Art, Inland Waterways, Industry, Land Transport, Law and Order, Medicine, Natural Sciences, Personalities, Photography, Religion, Science and Technology, Social History, Sport, Toys and Hobbies, Trade and Commerce, Weapons and War, World Cultures

Key artists and exhibits

• Key exhibits include 'Nelson', a Cape Lion specimen whom many people in the area regard as an icon for the Museum, and the 'Rhinoceros Vase', a massive showpiece made by the Rockingham Pottery Works in 1826. At over a metre tall, it was claimed at the time to have been the largest piece of porcelain ever to have been fired in one piece in England, and it demonstrates the variety of decorative and technical skills which the Works were capable of.

Getting there

The museum is located on Clifton Lane (A6201), approximately half a mile from Rotherham Town Centre. If traveling by car you can reach the museum from junctions 33. 34 or 35 of the M1, or junction 1 of the M18.
The nearest train station, taxi ranks and bus station are in Rotherham town centre. There is a bus stop immediately outside the museum.