History

The Friends of Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery (FPCMAG) was founded on Tuesday 27 November 1951 with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT as patron.

The group was originally named the Friends of Buckland Abbey and Plymouth Museum and the Buckland Abbey and Plymouth Art Collections Fund. The first President was The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, the Vice President was Sir Harold Harmsworth and Viscountess Astor accepted an invitation to be a Committee member.

On 7 March 1986 at an Extraordinary General meeting our name was changed to The Friends of Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery and the National Trust resumed responsibility for Buckland Abbey.

The object of the fund was to enrich the collections in the City Museum and Art Gallery and Buckland Abbey by the acquisition of suitable works of art and other appropriate material. Since that time we have raised several thousand pounds to support the work of Plymouth’s Museum service. The acquisitions that our support has helped with include:

• paintings and sketches of local scenes by famous Westcountry artists
• a Victorian longcase clock by a Plymouth clockmaker
• 18th century silverware by Plymouth craftsmen
• the Barstow collection of minerals from Devon and Cornwall
• locally discovered treasure items
• exhibition cases and gallery seating by Alan Peters OBE

Along the way we have also enjoyed a number of social events and activities both in and out of the Museum! These include private views, exhibition launches, visits to country houses, art galleries and museums.

We will be in our 60th year in 2011 and continue to raise funds for acquisitions and support and serve the Museum and Art Gallery.