Close to the bone... away from home
Alan Turner has turned his hobby into something on a much bigger scale. Phil Penfold paid a visit to the intriguing Yorkshire Skeleton Museum. Pictures by Tony Johnson.
in their work. You only have to go to an art gallery anywhere and you see the human skull in so many paintings. Obviously, it’s there as a metaphor for the fact that we each of us only have a certain span of time. But artists also use it as a tool to figure out the structure of the human form. And it appears in so many tattoo designs as well. You cannot avoid it.”
Working as a tattooist led Alan to start thinking about what lies beneath the skin. He began doing research so that he could learn the craft of skeleton reconstruction and (more recently) of taxidermy, which has, apparently, made something of a return to fashion in recent years, having shed its old-fashioned, and perhaps slightly creepy, image.
It became a hobby that Alan found was increasingly taking up more of his time. Though his enjoyment in the skills of reconstructing a skeleton is not, he readily admits, shared by his wife Tracy, or his daughters Stacey and Abbie, who have told him in no uncertain terms that he is not to bring anything home with him.
“They’ve firmly put their feet down on that one”, he laughs. “They don’t get on with the whole thing really... I’ve tried pointing out that a beautiful sea shell is only another example of a skeleton, but they aren’t having it.”
Though the family home is in Goole, Alan opened his tattooing business in South Yorkshire. “I looked around and came up with Dunscroft. I commute to and fro every day and this then became the obvious base for the museum – which suits the family nicely as it means my hobby is kept completely separate.”
Piecing together a skeleton again is something of an art form. “I always say that reconstruction is a little bit like Lego – only that there isn’t a book of instructions. It’s part memory, part intuition and part a ‘feel’ for that particular creature. And there are infinite permutations”.
There are now more than 250 skeletons housed in the museum, ranging from simple domestic creatures through to dinosaur bones. There are even insects in the collection, and Alan explains that the “skeleton” of these creatures is similar in many respects to a sea shell.
There are many more examples stored away carefully and Alan admits that he is beginning to run out of space. Every exhibit has an information label, and he is nearly always on hand to offer more information.
The museum is a like a cross between a natural history museum and a curiosity cabinet and has reopened again following the lockdown with opening hours and contact details on its website.
Alan says he isn’t geared up for school parties, but is keen to have visitors - though people are advised to contact him in advance.
“I find that people ask a ton of questions. Nearly everyone is really intrigued and, I hope, they all go away a little wiser about the animal world around them.”
So does he have a favourite exhibit? “It’s a giant anteater. Anatomically, all I can say is that it is a weird creature, but when I got it all together it looked fantastic, very sculpture-like.”
From small beginnings, Alan has built up his collection which he believes is among the largest private collections on display in the country.
And when you ask what the chief requirement in his profession is, he says simply: “It’s a bit like creating a tattoo on someone. You need infinite patience.”
That and an enquiring mind, and no shortage of skill. “I always want to find out the why and the how. What I like with this is that I’m always learning something new. People are sometimes surprised at what I do and what the collection is all about. But I think it’s nice to be a bit unconventional...”
Yorkshire Skeleton Museum, 243 Station Road, Dunscroft, Doncaster DN7 4DY. For contact details and more information about opening hours call 07976 763164 or visit the website https://skeletonmuseum.co.uk/