Tomb Raider memorabilia to go on display

A historic house in Derby is being transformed into Croft Manor to mark the anniversary of the release of the original Tomb Raider.

The Lara Croft: 30 Years On exhibition opens at the Pickford's House museum in Friar Gate, Derby, on Friday.

The free exhibition will be a homecoming for the archaeologist-adventurer star of the PlayStation title, as she was designed yards away by Core Design at its then-headquarters in Ashbourne Road.

Luke Earle, a video games producer whose 400-item Tomb Raider collection forms part of the displays, said Derby-born Lara was "a fully formed character" and "a global icon in her own right".

The exhibition will feature merchandise, mannequins and costumes, with the computer Core Design used to build the first five games in the series as its centrepiece.

Earle said: "I first got into Tomb Raider in 1996 when my dad started playing a game and from the very first minute I was hooked.

"What made it more special was that I went to Ashgate Junior School at the time and we walked past 55 Ashbourne Road every day.

"Thirty years on, I don't think anyone could have imagined that the game would have become so popular.

"There was so much detailed work and imagination went into the Tomb Raider games. That attention to detail made her stand out."

Exhibits including special edition Lucozade "Larazade" bottles, Japanese game posters, letters from the producer of the Tomb Raider films starring Angelina Jolie, and the 1997 copy of The Face magazine with Lara on the cover show how the character transcended video games to become a global cultural icon.

Lara Croft has also left her mark on her home town, with part of the city's inner ring road from Osmaston Road to Burton Road named Lara Croft Way in 2010, and an annual Lara Croft Day being held in the city since 2021.

The new exhibition replaces Dracula Returns To Derby: 101 Years and Counting at the museum, which saw a 15% increase in visitor numbers.

Derby Museums events programmer Dan Webber said: "Lara is one of, if not the most, recognisable female characters in video game history and a British cultural icon, and one of the most important cultural creations to have come out of Derby.

"Her success and her legacy are extraordinary and it's amazing to know that hundreds of people make a pilgrimage to Derby every year to visit the place where she was created."

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