The Museum in the Park
Local and Global History
‘Glocal History’
A Critique
Let me say at the outset of this critique that I absolutely love the Museum in the Park and I absolutely love visiting there to learn more about Stroud’s local history: my Stroud connections go back for generations and I’ve been a regular visitor to the museum as historian, teacher, father and grand-father for donkey’s years.
I cherish that feeling of losing myself in its successive cabinets of curiosities, rather like Alice through the Looking Glass.
The museum is indeed a treasure: it’s free; there are a variety of activities for children; the staff always welcome visitors, as do the initial notices: ‘Discover and Explore’; ‘Welcome to the Museum Wander whichever way you choose Look, listen, linger … Ask if you want to know more.’ Which is what I am about to do.
The museum is a wonderful example of how to exhibit local history and tell tales of local heritage. But I wonder if something is missing when we discover and explore and wander whichever way we choose, looking, listening and lingering … are the links between Stroud & district’s history and global history missing? How can the museum fill that gap?
Admittedly there is a room entitled Worldwide Impact; and, elsewhere, Home from Home Our Migration Stories with some contextual information about colonialism, empire, enslavement, migration, and another information board Missing Histories Black presence in Georgian and Victorian Gloucestershire – but it felt like a bit of a bolt-on to some degree. A valiant effort when space is at a premium, it is true, for it would be impossible to change the existing overall lay-out, but I ask: ‘Would it be possible to find space somewhere for a permanent display, or temporary exhibitions, so as to expand on that contextual information about colonialism, empire and enslavement, so as to give it some emphasis to their local connections?’
Talking of which, on the day of my visit in June 2026, I noticed an exhibit in a display case, Stroudwater Strip by Fay Allwood: ‘Contemporary artists and students are always being inspired by the Museum’s collection which is displayed in the old mansion house you see across the courtyard. This piece of textile art references the Wallbridge painting showing strips of red, blue and white cloth drying in green fields in the late 1700s. It also celebrates the teasel, a significant plant in local textile history.’
If you have created work inspired by the museum or garden and would like to show it here, please let us know! Email museum@stroud.gov.uk
Well, I suppose that is what I am doing as I write this critique.
But I have also, of course, created work in the past with colleagues at Radical Stroud about Stroud scarlet and its global links: exhibitions (with performance) at the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum (July-September 2023) and Stroud Valley Arts (November 2022). I have written extensively about this history at www.radicalstroud.co.uk and was a member of the original committee looking at the Black Boy Clock for SDC (as well as co-writing the script for Freedom’s Arch to celebrate the abolition arch with a performance at Archway School at the turn of the century). More recently, I teamed up with Black Ark Media and the GWR for the development of a Black History map linked to the county’s railway stations. Radical Stroud is also currently receiving support for permanent and temporary exhibitions at Stroud railway station, including:
‘A Pop-Up Museum: a temporary exhibition carefully created and curated but with changing displays created by visitors with a widening circle of participants: a sort of curated happening with serendipitous happenstance: an inclusive community show and tell with artefacts and memories and texts and photos and artwork.
We have created such museums in pubs and art spaces and churches before – we now intend to create a Railway Pop-Up Museum. Watch this space!’
Stuart Butler and Katie McCue
Here endeth chapter one of this critique. Thank you for reading it and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Chapter two – based on observations made at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum – to follow.
Chapter Two
The Museum in the Park
Local and Global History
‘Glocal History’
A Critique
An account of my visit to Kelvingrove: transcripts from information boards
Racism –
a legacy of Empire
Glasgow Life Museums has a legal and moral duty to play its part in eliminating the evil of racism in our city. Racism has its roots in transatlantic slavery and colonialism. Both systems have been crucial in the development of Glasgow as a city, as well as its museums. As museums engage people with the past, we can do more to build on understanding of how racism has developed as a legacy of colonialism.
Regardless of the colour of our skin, we should all have the right to access culture and heritage equally. That heritage should be presented as honestly and fully as possible, which involves confronting how racism is part of our history.
Some of our galleries, displays and narratives no longer reflect Glasgow Life Museums’ views or ambitions when it comes to tackling racism and addressing the legacies of slavery and empire. We know we can do more, and we are examining the museums service to identify how we need to change.
Language
Language is constantly evolving and we are reviewing the way we write and speak about racism, slavery and colonialism. Here are some of the key words that we think are relevant to this work, taken from sources such as Oxford Languages, Museums Galleries Scotland, and the Merriam-Webster dictionary. If you have any comments or would like to suggest other words, get in touch with us at VisitorStudies@glasgowlife.org.uk
Colonialism
The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
Legacies
Things transmitted by, or received from, an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. In this context, historic events which have had consequences that shape present-day societies.
Race
A social construct (that is, human invention) based on skin colour and facial features (shape of eyes, nose, lips, hair texture etc.). Even if it isn’t biologically ‘real’, its impact on people is very much a reality.
White supremacy
The belief that white people are a superior race and should dominate society, typically to the exclusion of other racial and ethnic groups.
Empire
An empire is where a central or main power rules over other territories outside of the main power’s original borders.
Chattel Slavery
A form of slavery in which the enslaved person is treated as a piece of property belonging to their owner. An enslaved person under this system has no rights, and they remain enslaved for life. Any children born to an enslaved person are also then enslaved for life.
Racism
A belief that one group of people is inferior or superior to another because of their race.
Scotland
and
Empire
Between the mid-1600s and the mid-1900s, Britain aggressively developed an overseas empire. People from all over Scotland were participants in, and drivers of, the British Empire both at home and overseas. They were politicians, enslavers, traders, colonial administrators, soldiers, missionaries, voluntary and forced migrants.
Scotland’s wealth grew significantly as a result of its involvement in transatlantic chattel slavery. This wealth was built on exploitation of, and violence committed against, people round the world. Money from slavery, and subsequently Empire, has been invested in many areas of Scottish society, such as industry, agriculture, railways, buildings and our museums. Resources from former British colonies fuelled several of Glasgow’s industries. Many of the counties that were exploited through colonisation remain economically underdeveloped as a result. Racist ideas were used to justify that exploitation, the legacies of which we are still grappling with today.
Have your say!
The aim of the Kelvingrove Museum of Empire project is to spark discussions about the legacies of slavery and empire, and how they can be represented in future displays in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
We’ve made temporary additions to existing displays throughout the galleries – have a look around and see if you can find them. Have they had an effect on how you look at things in the museum? We recognise that Kelvingrove’s current perspectives and the stories we tell will require change. How would you like to see us use the city’s collections and spaces to tell the history of slavery and empire?
Share your thoughts by scanning the QR code below or by emailing VisitorStudies@glasgowlife.org.uk
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum of empire. The original museum was housed in the former home of Lord Provost Patrick Colquhoun, a tobacco merchant, who was involved in the enslavement of African people. Wealthy individuals who made their money as a result of British colonialism donated works to the collection. For example: Still-life: Herrings, Cherries and Glassware, which you can see in the Dutch Art Gallery, was one of those given by Cecilia Douglas. Her family owned plantations in the Caribbean that were worked by enslaved people. Some other objects were looted by the armed forces of the British Empire. But there are few objects or artworks depicting Black, Asian and other minoritised people.
Glasgow Museums is exploring how Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum can better address the legacies of transatlantic slavery and the British Empire. We want to spark discussions around these legacies, to help shape future displays in Kelvingrove. Throughout the galleries, you’ll see that we’ve highlighted some of the untold stories behind the collections. However, there are many more stories to tell and we’re working towards better understanding how these stories can be told.
These words sit above ‘a painting by John Lavery of the 1888 International Exhibition … It was a celebration of Glasgow’s industries and the British Empire. The money raised from ticket sales went towards building the current Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.’
So far we have worked with
- the Shared Cultural Heritage Changemakers – a group of young people exploring the shared cultures and histories of the United Kingdom and South Asia
- Kelvingrove Museum of Empire Advisory Group:
Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, a strategic anti-racist charity based in Glasgow
Curating Discomfort – a project based at the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, looking at ways outside of traditional museum approaches to explore how we talk about collections, and which take us out of our traditional comfort zones, and
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in Scottish Heritage, University of Strathclyde, funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council
Glasgow – City of Empire
Slavery and colonisation shaped the world we now live in. Wealth flowed into cities such as Glasgow from the exploitation of enslaved and colonised peoples and lands, funding civic development and even the creation of museums such as Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
These displays were co-curated with members of Our Shared Cultural Heritage Changemakers, a group of young people exploring the shared cultures and histories of the United Kingdom and South Asia.
Let us know how you think Glasgow Life Museums should address the histories and legacies of slavery and empire by scanning the QR code.
Scan this QR code to listen to a free audio tour and learn more about empire and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
I include an example of a painting I saw on my quick visit in May 2026 as an example:
View of Glasgow and the Cathedral, about 1840
and placed next to the painting:
‘This painting shows Glasgow as seen from the Necropolis. The wealth of its donor, Alexander Dennistoun, came from cotton – an industry reliant on the exploitation of enslaved people until the 1860s.’
Chapter Three
The Museum in the Park
Local and Global History
‘Glocal History’
Some final brief thoughts
There is now an information board opposite the Black Boy clock in town with directions for a walk to the unique abolition arch at Paganhill. I suppose in an ideal world in the future there might be directions from there to the Museum in the Park with its linked exhibitions/exhibits.
The west country stretching from Bristol and Bath northwards through Gloucestershire was, of course, populated by a large number of enslavers who benefitted so much from abolition of chattel slavery. The Stroud area, too, of course. It might be salutary, I think, to see that information somewhere. But where?
Similarly, some Stroudwater mills did very well out of their contracts with the East India Company. Again, I think it would be educative for people to be able to discover this easily.
Then there are the connections between the cloth trade, uniforms, war, the British Empire, colonialism and the locality. I have written extensively on these topics at www.radicalstroud.co.uk and even started to develop educational resources at https://radicalstroud.co.uk/decolonising-stroud-and-the-five-valleys/
As regards migration and railways, I noticed the old sign post for the crossing at St Mary’s at Chalford – there is a fascinating history here that could, perhaps, feature quite soon. The following family history has been created into a collage with the family and that collage would be a brilliant addition: it’s a unique tale.
Roydel Duncan and Zettelyn Duncan
Life on the Railway
Roydel Clifton Duncan (Roy):
Dad came to England from St Catherine Jamaica in 1956. He started working for British Rail in the early 1960’s at Stroud station as a station porter. He also did ticket office and shunting work and lighting the signal lamps. Dad would walk from Stroud Station through to Sapperton short and long tunnels. Dad had to leave his railway job because the wage was not sufficient for the family of my mum, my older brother and my sister.
Zettelyn Duncan
Zettelyn Zoana Duncan (Zetty):
Mum came to England from Westmoreland Jamaica in 1962.
Dad was notified of job vacancy on the railway. British Rail wanted a resident crossing keeper at St Mary’s level crossing. Dad and Mum were living at Horns Road Stroud at the time with my brother Carlton and sister Sharon. Mum was expecting a third child: brother– Tony in 1965. Tony would join Network Rail in 2001, based at St Mary’s level crossing and then Alstone Level crossing.
But Mum decided to apply for the job. The interview was at Bristol. British Railways accepted Mum’s application for the job. Mum would work at St Mary’s level crossing for the next 43 years under the guises of British Rail, Railtrack, and Network Rail. Mum worked the Crossing 24/7 except Thursday, when the railway gave mum a few hours off duty- what they called shopping hours. They would get a colleague to cover the Level crossing. Mum worked day and night all seasons, sun, rain or snow, working with levers to control the semaphore to Annetts Keys. She saw the change of the railway from steam trains to diesel trains operating on the railway lines.
Mum went to Railway Management about her working conditions; they eventually changed her working hours. In 1991 Mum got a 25th Anniversary award. Mum was presented with a clock by the British Railway regional manager. When Mum retired in March 2009, I took Mum’s position and presently work and live at St Mary’s level Crossing.
Isaac
Isaac Duncan
Back to overall context: obviously, the last thing I want to do is to create traction for any ‘culture-wars’, I’m just trying to see how a few gaps might be filled in the heritage jigsaw: I wonder if we could create a pop-up museum and seek funding from somewhere alongside Black Ark Media. Perhaps SVA could provide space … thoughts for the future.
I conclude with an article from Good on Paper that I wrote for our exhibition at SVA. I use much of this piece as an introduction to talks I give to local history societies and other groups.
Thank you for your time,
Stuart
Stroud Scarlet Exhibition SVA November Radical Stroud
I can’t truthfully say I’m a local. I wasn’t born here. My gran was in 1891, though, and Granny Bingham’s family stretch back to Steanbridge and Slad and the early 18th century. They were handloom weavers and spinners – so I suppose you could say that my family have been connected to Stroud scarlet for centuries. It was family history that brought me to Stroud: I like to feel connected to a place through time.
Then when I read about weavers’ strikes and direct action and how Lieutenant Wolfe (the future General Wolfe who would be killed in the redcoats’ storming of Quebec in 1759) led redcoat soldiers against the people who made the cloth for their redcoats, my interest in the world-famous Stroud scarlet took me way beyond the familial and the parochial. To the global.
But before that, here are some observations from Colonel Wolfe about our locality: ‘The people are so oppressed, so poor and so wretched, that they will, perhaps, hazard a knock on the pate for bread and clothes.’ ‘The poor half-starved weavers…beg about the country for food…the masters have beat down their wages too low to live upon, and I believe it is a just complaint.’ ‘Those who are most oppressed have seized the tools and broke the looms of others who would work if they could.’
Now to the global – I began to wonder if Stroud scarlet might have been carried to Bristol and then on to Africa as part of the Atlantic slave trade. I knew the cloth had been traded with the Iroquois; and traded with other First Nations peoples, way beyond the Mississippi, and was fundamental to the dark arts of the East India Company on the other side of the world. But it was difficult to categorically prove that Stroud scarlet went directly to Africa even though it felt counter-intuitive that it would not have done. After all, coaches and carts travelled from here to Bristol, and vessels from Gloucester to Bristol: and Bristol was for a while in the 18th century, the foremost port involved in the enslavement of African peoples.
But my focus shifted after reading more widely on enslavement, the enslaving plantocracy in the West Indies, and the military infrastructure that ultimately underpinned plantocratic power in the British colonies in the Caribbean via martial law. For not only would you have found regiments clad in red – but plantation owners and the like would often deliberately wear red clothing to intimidate the enslaved. Vincent Brown in his Tacky’s Revolt The Story of an Atlantic Trade War mentioned the observations of one James Knight: ‘’When [the slaves] see the White People Muster or Exercise, it strikes an awe or terrour into them.” ‘Brown wrote that ‘Slaves generally avoided anyone wearing a red coat, like those worn by grenadiers’ … and in consequence “some Gentlemen put on a coat of that Colour when they Travell” to deter trouble on the roads.’
Further, it is a salutary thing, perhaps, to reflect on the following when visiting the abolition arch in Paganhill: the enslaved were not free immediately after the 1834 Abolition Act; instead, a four year ‘apprenticeship’ followed. Direct action followed from freedom-seekers in Guiana, Montserrat, Nevis, and Jamaica, and as Padraic X. Scanlon reported in Slave Empire How Slavery Built Modern Britain ‘redcoats’ were used as last resort to quell these demands for freedom: for example, in Jamaica, the 39th Regiment was called into action: two companies under the command of Sir Henry Macleod: ‘The strikers, faced with ranks of armed redcoats, returned to work, and Macleod left behind one of his two companies to maintain order.’
The 18th and 19th centuries were a time of almost endemic war for this country. Warfare against France; warfare against other European powers, war at sea, war on land, and colonial warfare across the globe. Our exhibition will reflect this age of imperial expansion – not just by remembering Stroud scarlet cloth and redcoats, but also with poems from Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipliing and Sir Henry Newbolt. It might have been said that ‘The sun never sets on the British Empire’ but as the Chartist poet, Ernest Jones commented, ‘And the blood never dries.’
Our exhibition reflects this interweaving of the local, the national, and the global (can such a thing as ‘local history’ really exist?) and will also advert to the age of the Anthropocene, the Capitalocene, and Ecocide. The dye for the Stroud scarlet cloth came from the cochineal beetle: a sessile parasite that lives on the moisture and nutrients of cacti, that die when removed from the prickly pear, to be dried for the resultant carmine dye. And all that meant ‘slash and burn’ in the Americas, so as to cultivate the prickly pear, so as to extract the carminic acid from the female cochineal beetle (about one fifth of the body weight), by immersing the female cochineal in hot water, steam, ovens or sunlight in an exploitation of both fauna and flora: One lb. of carmine dye needed 70,000 insects.
Our exhibition will reveal this broad canvas of history, with contributions from Charlotte Rooney, Jon Seagrave (aka Jonny Fluffypunk), Paul Southcott, Deb Roberts, and myself. The exhibition is on at SVA from Friday November 11th – Saturday November 19th (10-3pm; closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) . There will be a spoken word event on Friday 11th at 7.30 in the bar; a walk (meet at SVA) Sunday November 13th 11-2, and a talk in the gallery Wednesday 16th November 11 a.m. Full details at https://www.sva.org.uk/events/stroud-scarlet-war-and-empire
Stuart Butler
Addendum
Thousands of artefacts from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania are stored here at The Box. Most of them arrived in Plymouth in the late 1800s and early 1900s, at the height of the British Empire. If objects could speak, every one of them would have stories to tell about who made them and why they were significant to their community, and also about colonial violence, racism or exploitation. But their story has often been told from just one perspective – that of the colonisers. We want The Box to be a place where we explore different stories. What can we learn from our shared global past to create a better future together?”