'It's our city's history NOT Birmingham' - reaction to proposed police museum move

West Midlands Police is planning to move all memorabilia to a new museum in Birmingham

Bookmark
Share

Laura HartleySport audience and content editor

13:23, 16 AUG 2019
Updated13:27, 16 AUG 2019

They are bidding to keep it open — Coventry Conservatives at the police museum (Image: Gary Ridley)

Plans to move police memorabilia to a new museum in Birmingham have come under fire from the people of Coventry.

A £1.2million plan could see Coventry's historic police museum shut down, and there's been mixed reaction from CoventryLive readers.

The site, based at Little Park Street police station, was founded in 1957 and contains memorabilia of some of Coventry’s more gruesome past – including the ‘death mask’ of the last woman to be hung in Coventry in 1849, Mary Ball.

It could shut under West Midlands Police 's plans to move exhibits to a new ‘central museum’ in Birmingham, but the city’s Conservative group believe Coventry’s history should remain in the city.

Police unveiled plans for a single force museum to be based at the Victorian Lock-Up in Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, earlier this year.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands police also explored moving the museum to an unused set of rooms at Coventry Council House , visiting the venue last year.

People have been reacting on CoventryLive's social media about what they think of the possible move.

Several people have been outraged that something of Coventry's history could be moved to Birmingham, but a fair few people didn't know the museum was there.

poll loading

Should the police museum relocate from Coventry to Birmingham?

500+ VOTES SO FAR

Take a look at some of the comments below:

Lisa Dundas: "Fascinating place, always open on Heritage days to the public, vote with your feet and go see it, it's a little gem. It does need a bit of updating and TLC, but should be kept in Coventry."

Susan Hoult: "For goodness sake it’s our city’s history NOT Birmingham !"

Shane Robson: "Who knew we had one?"

Ross Harrison: "As long as it stays within the West Midlands why does it really matter? Birmingham has greater footfall and higher tourism so the museum will be more widely visited thus giving Coventrys history more publicity."

Julie Ne Na Nelmes: "Didn't even know Coventry had a police museum."

Sharon Totten Ne Squires: "What is wrong with our councilers they will empty coventry of all our historic buildings soon ther will be nothing left for visitors to see soonthey are making this coty a laughing stock by letting our historic buildings go swhere else."

Matty Elston: "Didn't even have clue it was there lived here all of my life so far will not miss it!"

Simon Edwards: "Maybe if people from Coventry even new about the museum IV no Idea we had one when is it open how much is it ect ?"

Mike Quinn: "If people knew about it, they'd go. I went with school years ago and it was fascinating. So much history of incidents in Coventry."

Andrew Webb: "Or better still - move the items to the Herbert? Didnt even know Coventry had a police museum."

Plans to close Coventry’s museum has further accelerated rumours Little Park Street station could be the fourth to close, although police say – whatever happens – they want a city centre site to remain.

A police spokesman added: “A review into where the Coventry central site will be, if changing from Little Park Street at all, is ongoing but it is unlikely any change will take place before the City of Culture in 2021.”

We also posted a poll in our story for people to vote if it should move to Birmingham.