The Wilson

The Wilson, formerly known as Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was opened in 1899. It offers free admission, and has a programme of special exhibitions. It was rebranded The Wilson in 2013 after the building was extended.
The museum is housed in a Regency building on Clarence Street, designed as the Cheltenham Public Library by architect William Hill Knight, who also designed the Cheltenham Synagogue and Montpellier Walk.
Baron de Ferrieres, a former Mayor and Liberal MP for Cheltenham, gave 43 important paintings, mostly from Belgium and the Netherlands, to the town. He also donated £1,000 towards the building of a gallery in which to display them. The Museum was opened in 1907 in the adjacent former Schools of Art and Science. A major extension to the building by Hugh Casson was opened by the Princess Royal in September 1989, where the main entrance to the gallery is now situated.