Great North Museum: Hancock
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| Established | 1884 |
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| Location | Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Coordinates | 54°58′48″N 1°36′47″W / 54.980°N 1.613°WCoordinates: 54°58′48″N 1°36′47″W / 54.980°N 1.613°W |
| Type | Natural history museum |
| Visitors |
638,454 (2009) |
| Owner | Natural History Society of Northumbria |
| Public transit access | Haymarket Metro/Bus station |
| Website | greatnorthmuseum |
| Great North Museum | |
638,454 (2009)
The Great North Museum: Hancock is a museum of natural history and ancient civilisations in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The museum was established in 1884 and was formerly known as the Hancock Museum. In 2006 it merged with Newcastle University's Hatton Gallery to form the Great North Museum. The museum reopened as the Great North Museum: Hancock in May 2009 following a major extension and refurbishment of the original Victorian building. The museum and most of its collections are owned by the Natural History Society of Northumbria, and it is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums on behalf of Newcastle University.
The museum is located on the campus of Newcastle University, next to the Great North Road, and close to Barras Bridge. The nearest Tyne & Wear Metro station is Haymarket, and there is also a bus station at Haymarket.
One of the Second World War air raid shelter openings into the Victoria Tunnel is beneath the grounds of the museum.
The collection of the Hancock Museum can be traced to about 1780 when Marmaduke Tunstall started accumulating ethnographic and natural history material from around the world. He then brought his collection from London to North Yorkshire. In 1790 Tunstall died, and George Allan of Darlington purchased Tunstall's collection; and later in 1823 it was acquired by the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1829 the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne (now the Natural History Society of Northumbria) was formed as a scientific offshoot of the Literary and Philosophical Society. Amongst the founding and early members of the Natural History Society were Joshua Alder, Albany Hancock, John Hancock, Prideaux John Selby and William Chapman Hewitson.
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