ABSTRACT
Liverpool’s National Conservation Centre opened in 1996 as a communal institution, serving all seven museums of National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, Liverpool. Its residence was the former building of the Midland Railway Goods Offices, which provided the physical space for all conservation and preservation activities, making these accessible to a wide audience. The Centre succeeded in building a bridge between scientific work and public education by showing what curators and conservators do and why they do so. Its Display Gallery functioned as a museum with full public services: demonstrations, lectures, live-video-link-sessions and guided tours: an eye-opener to behind the scenes without becoming too technical and scientific. Financial cutbacks caused the unfortunate decision to close the Display Gallery in 2010.
