Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery

Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery sits in Riversley Park, a green space in the centre of Nuneaton. Three galleries show temporary exhibitions that travel from other museums. One gallery is kept for George Eliot, the novelist who grew up nearby. Another gallery shows local history, and a third displays fine art. A small case holds items once owned by the comedian Larry Grayson. The building was a gift from Edward Ferdinand Melly, who was born in 1857. He moved to Nuneaton to run the Griff Colliery Company. In 1913 he promised to pay for a museum and gallery in Riversley Park, which he had already given to the town. Plans were drawn up and the museum opened on 1 April 1917. During the Second World War a bombing raid in 1941 killed Melly and damaged the building. After the war the gallery stayed closed for many years. It reopened fully in 1960 once repairs were finished. Visitors today walk through the same rooms where the first displays were shown. The park around the museum has wide paths and mature trees. On fine days the lawns fill with people reading or playing.