Niche museums, built on the bedrock of an individual enthusiast’s collection, can often be among the most atmospheric – an uncompromising devotion to the minutia of their subject running through every inch of memorabilia-lined wall space. Ulverston’sLaurel and Hardy Museum, a proud outpost of the genre, recently moved into a new home in the back of the town’s Roxy Cinema, and – not inappropriately – now occupies a space on the old stage.
There’s an extra resonance here, for this small market town nestling between the sands of Morecambe Bay and the peaks of the Lake District was where Stan Laurel – Arthur Stanley Jefferson – was born in 1890. The museum was founded by a former mayor of the town, whose collection of photographs soon grew first to fill a room, then a small museum, then an extension, and now this larger (though still cosy) one. It charts Laurel’s career, from his first forays onto the stage, to moving to America and understudying Charlie Chaplin, to eventually meeting Oliver Hardy. Developing and honing their double-act formula, the pair went on to make over 100 films together.
There’s plentiful correspondence – Laurel replied to every letter he received, addressing his fans as fond friends – and pictures. It’s also in many ways a microcosmic insight into the film industry of the era, its ambitions, expectations and frustrations. In one corner a 15-seat replica 1930s cinema shows restored films all day. I watched two: The Finishing Touch from 1928, and Dirty Work from 1933, the earlier a silent film, the latter a talkie, both displaying the slick slapstick of the perpetually bemused for which the pair became, and remain, world famous.
Ulverston wears its place in cinematic history gently but fondly. Characterful statues of the pair now lean against a lamppost outside the Coronation Hall, while the nearby Stan Laurel pub sells both souvenir cards and a pleasing array of locally-brewed ales, doffing its bowler hat to both camera and Camra, we might say.
For more information: Laurel and Hardy Museum, Ulverston
Mr Phoebus 