Cooper Gallery

About the museum

Cooper Gallery in Church Street, Barnsley, was created through the generosity of Samuel Joshua Cooper. He bought the building in 1912 to give the town a free art gallery. He died in 1913, and the gallery opened in 1914 under a board of trustees he had arranged. Lord Fitzwilliam performed the opening.

The building began life as a schoolhouse in 1660, built by Thomas Keresforth, which taught poor children free of charge. During the Second World War it served as an annexe to Becketts Hospital, and it reopened as an art gallery in 1957. The gallery was extended and refurbished in 2016, and in 2019 a cottage at the rear was turned into an artist studio and café.

The permanent collection of more than 400 works covers the 17th to the 20th centuries. It grew from Cooper’s own gift of 275 paintings and drawings, followed by gifts from the collector Sir Michael Sadler, from the Fox family of local brewers (who also funded the Fox Wing in 1934), the Addy Bequest of 1978 and pictures from the Sutherland brothers in 2001. The most recent addition is a group of studio pottery collected by Malcolm Whittaker. The gallery shows work by British and European artists, including Vanessa Bell, Prunella Clough and J. M. W. Turner, and by Barnsley artists such as Abel Hold and Madeline Moore.

Highlights

• Barnsley’s free art gallery, open since 1914
• More than 400 works from the 17th to the 20th century
• Drawings and paintings from the Sadler and Fox gifts
• Studio pottery collected by Malcolm Whittaker
• Café in a converted cottage at the rear

Permanent exhibition

• Permanent collection – British and European paintings and drawings from the 17th to the 21st century, arranged in themes such as portraits, landscapes and architectural views, with works from the Cooper, Sadler and Fox gifts.

Founded

1914

Operated by

Barnsley Museums

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free; donations are welcome.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

Step-free entry from Church Street and lifts to all floors and outside spaces. Seating is provided throughout, and portable seating is available. Accessible toilets are next to the café. The nearest Changing Places toilets are at the Town Hall, under half a mile away; a radar key is collected at Town Hall reception on weekdays or at the Experience Barnsley shop on Saturdays. Portable hearing loops are available at the front desk and films have subtitles. Audio descriptions are available for a selection of objects. Assistance dogs are welcome in all areas. Visual stories, a 360-degree online tour, free sensory backpacks and sunflower lanyards are available for neurodivergent visitors. Barnsley bus station is 0.3 miles away on an uphill route.

Kids & families

Free sensory backpacks with ear defenders, fidget toys and coloured filters can be borrowed from the shop desk.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Café inside the gallery, open Monday to Saturday; it takes cash only. The shop sells prints, jewellery, ceramics and stationery made by local artists.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit