The Dormouse Team visited a fantastic exhibition at the award winning Gallery Oldham this week.

Home is Where the Hearth is, recalls a time when the focal point of a room was the fireplace rather than a television.  As part of the exhibition visitors can see two of Gallery Oldham's most impressive artefacts the infamous devil's fireplace and a traditional kitchen range made by Hollinwood company Spencer and Co Ltd.

The devil's fireplace once stood in the Abbey Inn in the centre of the town.  The landlord of the pub was somewhat eccentric and had rebuilt the inn and filled it with unusual antique furniture and commissioned the fireplace as a centrepiece.  It really is a sight to see, tales are told that it was a rite of passage for local children to have their picture taken next to it.
The exhibition also includes a number of paintings from the galleries collection and a specially commissioned series of photographs by the Oldham Photographic Society.

Gallery Oldham is open Monday – Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm.

The exhibition ends May 8.