Discover Ancient Egypt

 

Free Entry

Monday – Saturday. 10am – 4pm.
Closed Sundays & Bank Holidays.
Plan your visit here.


Let us take you on a journey back to ancient Egypt

Our stunning Egyptology museum takes visitors on a journey through what life was like in ancient Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs, showcasing Anne Goodison’s personal and wide-ranging collection in an interactive display. Mrs Goodison was one of a handful of wealthy Victorian ladies in the North West who were fascinated by ancient Egypt.

The Goodison collection is both varied and well preserved. It illustrates the rituals that were at the heart of Egyptian beliefs, as well as the creation of personal beauty and communication through language & imagery. The collection also tells us about everyday life and allows us to imagine life as an ancient Egyptian, rich and poor.

Visitors can see an intricately decorated coffin lid, the Mummy of Nes-Amun, a wooden Ba-bird and rare paddle dolls, amongst many other artefacts. A range of interactive displays include the ‘Weighing of the Heart’ ceremony, X-raying an Ibis mummy and a hieroglyphic jigsaw wall. Choose an outfit from the dressing up box and take a selfie; in Ancient Egypt mirrors were treasured and thought to be magical! Visitors can also take part in a new A.R. experience, The Ba Bird Tour, bringing artefacts to life by scanning the QR codes in the museum with a phone.


Goodison Collection on display in Bootle Museum

About Mrs Goodison’s Egyptology Collection

Anne Goodison was one of a handful of wealthy Victorian ladies in the North West who were fascinated by ancient Egypt. As the wives or daughters of wealthy industrialists, these women had financial independence. They could travel abroad and fund the work of archaeologists. They met explorers and made friendships with museum curators, sharing adventures and knowledge. Their passion for collecting enabled them to satisfy their curiosity and demonstrate their status in society.

Anne was married to a successful civil engineer, George Goodison, who devised the drainage system in the Everton area of Liverpool. EFC’s football ground was later named after him. Anne was a student of hieroglyphics and an avid collector of Egyptology. She put together a wide ranging collection which presents a snapshot of her view of Egyptian life and exhibited it in her own ‘Museum Room’ in her home in Waterloo, Liverpool.

Sadly Anne’s husband did not share her interest in the collection and he offered it for sale to Bootle Museum after her death in 1906 aged 61. Eventually it was purchased by a local man, Mr Davies, who had spent his working life in Egypt and who presented it to Bootle Museum. After the museum closed in 1974, the collection remained in storage until 2014, when Heritage Lottery Funding allowed The Atkinson to develop an Egyptology museum.


Digital Activity: Gold and Grime

Discover the story of Ancient Egyptian treasures collected by Victorian women in the North West using our online resource Gold and Grime. Uncover extraordinary stories across five museums in the North West by clicking the image below. Created in collaboration with Blackburn Museum, Towneley Hall (Burnley), Bolton Museum and Macclesfield Silk Museum.

gold-and-grime

goldandgrime.co.uk


LEGO Animation

In 2021 we commissioned Morgspenny Productions to create a LEGO animation of our Egyptology museum with a grant from the Culture Recovery Fund. Locked in The Atkinson after hours, two visitors stumble into the Egyptology museum and awaken the mummy of Nes-Amun who transports them back to Ancient Egypt…


Museums for Learning

If you are a school or college, find out more about the variety of resources we have available. From loan boxes to plays, we will bring the museum alive for you. More information here.