Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery is housed in a beautiful Arts and Crafts style building in the town centre. Opened in 1872, originally as both a museum and a library, the Museum houses several collections. The Hart Collection has more than 10,000 rare coins, 500 rare books and illuminated manuscripts; The Lewis Collection over 1,000 Japanese prints; one of the largest collections of religious icons outside London; a superb collection of Victorian oils and watercolours and the South Asian Gallery which outlines the culture of Pakistan and India as a reflection of the history and heritage of Blackburn’s South Asian population. Finally, there is a selection from the town’s social history collections as well as items from the East Lancashire Regiment collection.