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Costume From The Classics

Our Museum has become a backdrop to a movie set!

Our latest blockbuster exhibition features magnificent dresses and exquisite suits, classic literature, and unforgettable period drama.

Included in the displays are costumes from films such as The Duchess worn by Keira Knightley and The Danish Girl, worn by Eddie Redmayne alongside blockbusters made for TV including Queen Charlotte – A Bridgerton Story and Murder on the Orient Express.

Admire the detail and beauty of the Oscar-winning garments up close, which were made for the stars who wore them. If you’re a film buff why not revel in the costume made especially for Hollywood superstar, Bette Davies for her part in Death on the Nile, or the dramatic gown from the Duchess.  Have a unique opportunity to see how they capture the essence of the story, reflect the characters, and represent the times they lived in.

Little movies stars can step into the spotlight in our new interactive space, created as part of our latest exhibition! Tred the boards and imagine you are on the silver screen.

Dress up, act out and become the main part in one of our very special performances! There is everything you need for your starring role including dressing room, stage, scripts, costumes and props!

If you need a break from the action, why not relax in our hidden reading space, where you can browse through books and magazines about film and fashion. It's the perfect place to unwind and escape to a world of glitz and glamour.

John Spencer's Library

The exhibition is inspired by John Spencer’s library, following a programme of cleaning the books on the shelves, and conservation of the Dutch still life painting ‘Still Life with Dead Game’ 17th century, Dutch School over the fireplace, kindly funded by Barnsley Museums & Heritage Trust. The conservation was completed by Critchlow & Kukkonen Ltd. 

This painting is particularly important to Cannon Hall Museum as it has been in this position above the fireplace for at least two hundred years. The library was built by John Spencer in the 1760s with John Carr of York as his architect. John Spencer was particularly keen on his collection of books and catalogued them each year. The painting shows a hunting dog, a hunter’s satchel and dead game. The theme of hunting was very popular for paintings in country houses as it was an activity regularly enjoyed by gentry families. John was well known for owning exceptional horses and liked riding and hunting.

The 1820 inventory of Cannon Hall lists a painting, ‘1 Dead Game’ above the fireplace and the painting was still in situ by the time of the 1914 inventory when it was described as, ‘Gallery Painting over Mantlepiece Dead Game’. As many of the contents of the Hall were sold off in the late 1940s it makes this painting a rare survival of the original contents.

Videos From The Classics

We've searched YouTube to put together a playlist of videos that feature costumes which appear in the exhibition which you can watch on our YouTube channel