New display highlights significant Victorian collector

Caroline Birley was a respected collector of minerals at a time when women were under-represented in the sciences.

Bolton Museum staff set up a case displaying a mineral collection A case on the museum balcony has been emptied recently as on-loan plant fossils returned to their home at Rochdale Museum.

Bolton Museum geologist David Craven decided to replace it with a display on the mineral collector Caroline Birley. David has been gradually researching this remarkable woman over the past two years, and decided this was the ideal opportunity to share his findings.

In addition to the display, David has written a biography of Caroline Birley for the website.

David Craven and museum technician Stephen Booth have been preparing the case and installing the objects over the last two weeks. Here you can see them applying the final touches, positioning the labels in the case.

This is actually one of Stephen’s last jobs at Bolton. He leaves for pastures new on the 8th June. We all wish him the best.