Seaside
towns have long been the place for unusual or eccentric attractions. The types of exhibits
and collections that were also part of the travelling fairground. Take for
example, the infamous Rector of Stiffkey – the defrocked clergyman who ended up
being mauled by a lion in a sideshow at Skegness.
Madame
Tussauds at Blackpool has kept up to date for its holidaymakers by including
likenesses of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. The Louis Tussauds Waxworks at
Great Yarmouth, however, was looking more than tired by the time of its closure
in 2013, with its replicas of Kojak, Mr Blobby and Samantha Fox.
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| The House of Wax, Great Yarmouth before it closed |
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| The House of Wax in 2016 - now closed |
The
Hippodrome Museum is also open to visitors after performances at the circus.
Before
you leave Great Yarmouth, you must make sure that you pay a visit to The David Howkins Museum
of Memories. Admissions here go to charity, and at the time of my visit (2016)
only cost £3 for an adult, and £1 for children. The contents of the museum are
eclectic. Some its exhibits look like small personal collections – such as the
cluster of Murano Glass clowns (familiar tourist souvenirs from the latter half of
the twentieth century), and some Royal memorabilia. There are also some dolls
houses (not antiques), and rooms full of teddies and dolls.
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| A fairground Aunt Sally - see if you can knock the clay pipe from her face... |
Of
particular interest however, are the Stamp Room and the Joseph Merrick display.
The latter includes a bust of Merrick, which is a replica of a plaster cast
taken of his head, kept in the London Hospital where he spent the last few
years of his life. Visitors can buy a booklet about the ‘Elephant Man’ at the museum.
The curator is keen to point out that the ‘true’ story of the Elephant Man is
that the showman Tom Norman was Merrick’s colleague and friend, and that,
contrary to the David Lynch feature film, Merrick tired of the medical inspections
instigated by the film’s ‘hero’, Frederick Treve. Joseph Merrick’s skeleton has
still not been buried, and it has recently been mooted that his remains should
be returned to his original birthplace, Leicester (in a similar vein to Richard
III’s).
The
member of staff on duty at the Museum of Memories was very eager for me to go
to the first floor to see the Stamp Room. This is a room with furniture and
artifacts completely covered in postage stamps. This display was created by Albert
Schafer who spent over 30 years fulfilling this self-imposed challenge.
The
museum is housed in an impressive building that used to be the local gas
showroom. You can walk a grand staircase – lit by a huge stained glass
window – leading up to the former gas offices on the first floor, which now house the Stamp
Room and toys. As you leave, you can buy a genuine seaside postcard from the
1950s as a souvenir.
The
Museum of Memories is memorably eccentric and unique.
