About Waterford Co. Museum - Waterford County Museum

Organisation :	Waterford County Museum
Article Title :	About Waterford Co. Museum
Page Title :	The Museum Building
Page Number :	2
Publication Date :	31 December 2013
Expiry Date :	Never Expires
Category :	About Us
URL :	https://www.waterfordmuseum.ie/exhibit/web?task=Display&art_id=377&pagenum=2&lang=en

In 1999 the Museum moved to a larger space in the old Town Hall in St. Augustine Street. This building was originally a grain store built by Thomas Buckley, a local merchant, in the late 18th century. By the mid 19th c. it was almost a ruin. In 1871 the Town Commissioners acquired it for conversion into a 'Town Hall And Public Library.' The work was complete by 1876 when the Commissioners were in residence. In 1909 the front facade had to be demolished and rebuilt to its present appearance. A new council chamber and Theatre were also created.

The building had various uses over the years. In 1875 the Augustinians opened a school upstairs in the theatre. They were forced to leave in 1880 because the pupils were being constantly disrupted by travelling opera and theatre companies wishing to practice. The ground floor was used as a butter market. It also housed the town fire engine and in the early 1900s it was used by Sheehan & Co. as a poultry market. In 1922 the building was occupied by British troops for several weeks and the U.D.C. later put in a claim for damages.

The U.D.C. vacated the building on 16 April 1999. The museum moved into this building in the same year and it opened to the public in 2000. After extensive refurbishment of the Town Hall the museum re-opened as Waterford County Museum in 2009 with a larger display area.