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Fine Art Collection

The museum has a large and important fine art collection. Most notably, there is the remarkable Cottonian collection, comprising small groups of ceramics, bronzes and paintings, several hundred old master and English drawings and watercolours, and a substantial body of several thousand fine and rare prints. In addition, there is a library of some 2000 volumes. This is the major strength of the museum and the collection is designated for its pre-eminent importance. Alongside the Cottonian collection, there are other important groups of work. There are paintings and drawings by the Plymouth artist Benjamin Robert Haydon; drawings and prints by the Plymouth artist Samuel Prout (1783-1852); and material by Plymouth artist Sir Joshus Reynolds is a strength, containing memorabilia as well as art works. The greater part of the painting collection is English from the 18th to 20th centuries, although there are Italian, French, Dutch and English paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries. There is a bias towards artists from Plymouth and its locality, and many topographical views from the 17th century to the present. There are many marine paintings. There is good representation of the Newlyn School of Artists, including works by Stanhope A Forbes, J Noble Barlow, Norman Garstin, Walter Langley, Henry Tuke and R H Carter. Also the Camden Town Group, including works by Ginner, Gore, Gilman, Bevan, Pissaro and Drummond. 20th century West Country artists are strongly represented in the collections, with work of many of the artists residing in St Ives and elsewhere in the region, including Peter Lanyon, Roger Hilton, Terry Frost and Patrick Heron. Watercolours and drawings are well represented in the collection, with the earlier works of 16th to 18th century date being mainly of continental origin. By far the largest single group is composed of 18th and 19th century English watercolours, with a small number of 20th century works principally of local origin. Although there are not many 18th century watercolours, there are a few important works by artists such as J M W Turner. There is a series of late 19th century English and French drawings by artists such as George Clausen, John Everett Millais, Sir E C Burne-Jones, Jena-Francios Millet, Jean Louis Forain and Edgar Degas. Local topographical watercolours are also held by artists such as Samuel Prout and Philip Mitchell. The later 20th century is represented by works by Claude Muncaster and John Piper. The collection of prints is extensive and important, comprising many fine and rare works from the 16th to 18th centuries, through to 19th century topographical engravings and 20th century works by some of the leading contemporary exponents of the art. They encompass a wide range of media from etchings, mezzotints, engravings and lithography, to examples of modern screen printing and photolithographic techniques, presenting a full history of the print. Aspects of the print collection are described with the Cottonian collection, though in addition to that collection, there is an important group of topographical views of Plymouth and the south west generally and a growing series of prints by contemporary British and other printmakers. There is a modest collection of sculpture and bronzes, the earlier material chiefly in the Cottonian collection, though later work by Jacob Epstein and Barbara Hepworth is held. There is a small, but attractive, group of largely 18th and 19th century miniatures including two by Richard Cosway. The Newlyn School collection Camden Town Group collection 20th century West Country artists. This is a truly remarkable collection of art, amassed by several generations of the Cotton family, though begun by Charles Rogers (1711-1784) in the 1740s who collected a substantial quantity of early prints and drawings. The collection was bequeathed to the City of Plymouth by William Cotton (1749-1863) of Ivybridge in 1863 and transferred to Plymouth Corporation in 1916 by an Act of Parliament. The collection comprises ceramics, bronzes, a library, paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints, and amounts to nearly 10,000 individual items. A unique aspect of the collection is its survival (albeit depleted by a 1799 auction) through three centuries of private owners and two periods on institutional ownership after the original collector. This fact, together with the survival of an archive of associated papers makes the collection as a whole a document of immense historic value. The print collection alone numbers over 6,000 items and is one of the finest existing collections representing many of the finest prits made in England, France, Italy and Germany between the 16th and 19th centuries. Highlights of the print collection include rare and important etchings by the German printmaker Albrecht Altdorfer. The prints are groups largely by school or subject and mounted in a series of large volumes. Paintings in the collection comprise important Italian, French, Dutch and English works from the 16th to 19th centuries. There is a very important group of old master and English drawings of the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, including examples of the Italian, Dutch, French and English schools, by artists such as Giorgio Vasari and Filippo Napoletano and many others. 18th century watercolours are represented by rare works by artists such as Paul Sandby. Bronzes in the collection are European and of 17th and 18th century date. Unusually, the art collection has associated with it an extensive archive of original letters, business and domestic account books, sale catalogues, wills, pedigrees, Custom House data and contemporary pamphlets and broadsheets, all giving an insight into the personalities and social world of those who created the Cottonian collection and their families. The papers cover the Townson, Rogers and Cotton families, many of which are of domestic interest. The museum holds a significant group of paintings and a number of documents and memorabilia relating to the Plymouth artist Sir Joshua Reynolds. These include: four family portraits; six other portraits; engraved works, both loose and in volume; various copies of the discourses; a small number of letters; his palette and painting stick; and a sitter book for 1755.

Subjects

Watercolours; Culture; Literature; Sculpture; Paintings; Fine Art; Prints; Drawings

Decorative and applied Art Collection

This collection includes one of the most comprehensive assemblages of Plymouth porcelain; silver; glass; and furniture. A notable aspect is the Carpenter bequest (1926), a large collection of ceramics. The ceramics collection contains some rare and important items. Most is of British origin, though there are a substantial number of Chinese ceramics, some Japanese and some continental pieces. It is strongest in 18th century material and especially hard paste porcelain of this date. The collection also includes many examples of soft paste porcelain manufacturers, important for comparative and contextual purposes with the Plymouth porcelain. Among the 19th century ceramics are important holdings of works of studio potters, notably Martin Brothers and Bernard Moore. Most numerous among the 20th century ceramics are collections of work by Freda Dorothy Doughty and the Royal Worcester Porcelain Manufacture. The metalwork collection is mainly composed of silver, though there is some pewter and some Sheffield Plate (the Hurdle bequest). Plymouth silver is the most important aspect. In the 18th century silversmiths were particularly numerous in Plymouth and the collection reflects this volume of production at the expense of 19th century work. There is a sizeable collection of church plate, most on loan to the museum from several Parochial Church Councils, which includes some fine examples of Plymouth silversmith’s work. Two individual pieces are noteworthy, the Eddystone Salt, late 17th century work of Plymouth silversmiths, and the Drake Cup, by a Zurich silversmith, c.1595. The non-Plymouth silver collection is a small mixed collection of 18th and 19th century pieced, principally tableware. The glass collection ranges in date from 18th to 20th centuries and in type from purely ornamental to functional, originating from elsewhere in Britain and the continent. There are a few enamel snuff and patch boxes. Plymouth was the first place to produce a true of hard-paste porcelain, in a factory established in 1768 by a local chemist, William Cookworthy. 18th century porcelains, especially those from Plymouth and elsewhere in Britain, are a strength of the collection. The museum has the largest existing and most representative group of Plymouth porcelain, which is highly significant in terms of ceramic history.

Subjects

Ceramics; Decorative and Applied Arts

Geology Collection

There is an extensive representative collection of Devon rocks; and a large and scientifically important collection of some 10,000 mineral specimens, especially those of Devon and Cornwall. The mineral material is one of the most important collections of South West minerals in Britain. The major collections are: Sir John St Aubyn (1758-1839); Col Sir William Serjeant (1857-1930); Rene Gallant (1906-1985); and Richard Barstow (1947-1982). The fossil collection is small, but includes some significant Quaternary material from local caves and fissures; local reef limestone fossils; and an ichthyosaur from the Dorset Lias.

Subjects

Geology

Archaeology Collection

Prehistoric material from excavations and surface finds in Devon and Cornwall is the main strength of the archaeology collection, and includes the collections of the antiquarians Rev S Baring Gould (1899); Francis Brent (1903); A L Lewis (1921); and Sir W Serjeant (1924). The museum holds one of the major collections of prehistoric artefacts from Dartmoor. Late bronze age, iron age and Roman material from Mount Batten and Stamford Hill, Plymouth, collected in the first half of the 20th century has been supplemented by more recent research excavations, 1982-85. From the 8th century BC to the 3rd century AD, the Mount Batten peninsula was a focus of trade, both coastal and international. Medieval and post-medieval material is well represented from urban sites in Plymouth. Imported pottery of these periods from waterfront sites comprise a significant aspect of the collection. Finds from Plympton Priory; Okehampton Castle; Lydford; and Buckland Abbey are also held. Foreign archaeology is represented by a small collection of ancient Greek ceramics; bronze and stone implements from prehistoric Europe; glassware and ceramics from Cyprus; and some Egyptian material from the excavations of Sir W M Flinders Petrie.

Subjects

Archaeology

Biology Collection

The most important collection of lepidoptera in the museum is the George Carter Bignell (1826-1910) material. Bignell, a native of Devon, collected not only the adult of each species, but also the egg, larva and pupa, making the collection a particularly valuable source of reference material. The Keys collection of British coleoptera (beetles) is magnificent in its size and comprehensiveness. James H Keys (1855-1941), a Plymothian, made many contributions to the understanding of beetles. George Carter Bignell, having amassed his collection of butterflies and moths, turned his attention to wasps, bees and ants (Hymenoptera) and went to contribute significantly to this science. Within 15 years he had collected 51 species new to England and 19 which were totally new discoveries. Outside the British Museum (Natural History) the Bignell collection of parasitic Hymenoptera is one of the most important reference collections in the UK. Plymouth has been associated with many outstanding naturalists, some of whose collections are in the city museum. The biology collection includes zoology and botany. In the field of zoology, the museum has some 800 specimens of British birds, both mounted and cabinet skin specimens, representing 229 species on the British list. Many are specimens from the following collections: Elliot collection (19th century); Collier collection (1870-1905); Penrose collection (prior to 1914); Perks collection (1880-1890); Hingston collection (1897); Brooking Rowe collection (1909); and the Chichester collection (1933). There are three major collections of butterflies and moths (lepidoptera). The Bignell collection is the most significant, and a strength. The Keys collection of British beetles (coleoptera) is of national importance and another strength of the collection. The collection of bees, wasps, ants, etc (hyneboptera) represents another highly significant strength of the museum. The museum also had herbaria representing some 1514 species of British flowering plants (angiosperms). There are two particularly notable collections, the T B Fisher (1817-1899) herbarium and the Thomas Bruce Flower herbarium of plants from Somerset and Wiltshire collected during the mid 19th century. There are also mosses and liverworts (bryophytes); and lichens collected throughout Devon.

Subjects

Natural Sciences; Insects; Biology

Ancient Egyptian Collection

The museum holds 1,500 ancient Egyptian objects which are part of the Archaeology collection. Classes of objects represented in the collection include: amulets; canopic jars; coins; flints; glass vessels; jewellery; metal figures; animal remains (mummies); human remains (mummies); pottery; relief sculpture; scarabs/sealings; shabtis; cosmetic palettes; stone vessels; textiles/leather; toilet articles; tools/weapons; wooden figures. Objects are known to have come from the following locations in Egypt (with the name of the excavator/sponsor and year of excavation given where possible): Badari (Brunton – British School of Archaeology in Egypt, 1922-1925); Beit Allam; Fayum; Gurob (possibly Loat – Egyptian Research Account, 1903-1904); Luxor; Antaeopolis (Petrie et al. – British School of Archaeology in Egypt, 1923-1924); Tarkhan (Petrie et al. – British School of Archaeology in Egypt, 1911-1913); Thebes(?).

Subjects

Antiquities; Ancient civilizations; Antiquity; Archaeological sites; Archaeological objects; Egyptology; Archaeological excavations

Arms and Armour Collection

There are guns and other finds from the 16th century Cattewater wreck from Plymouth Sound.

Subjects

Arms and armour

Social History Collection

Much of the collection has a Plymouth or south western provenance, and includes items dating from the last 400 years, but is not comprehensive in any one area, other than the collection of domestic equipment, particularly skillets, given by Mrs Eckett Fielden (1959); the Harmsworth collection of ship models.

Subjects

Social History

Ethnography Collection

There are artefacts from Oceania, Africa, America and Asia. The Carwithen (1899) and Brent (1903) collections concentrate on Fiji and Polynesia; and the Dauncey collection (1909, 1917, 1923) from New Guinea comprise the bulk of the Oceanic collection. The New Guinea collection is particularly comprehensive. Miss Gertrude Benham (1934), a pioneering explorer, bequeathed much of the African and Indian material.

Subjects

Ethnography

Medals Collection

Most medals known to have been issued to commemorate local events are represented in the collection; others are not local. There are several outstanding non-local items presented by local people, notably a gold medal of the Royal Society, 1777; and another of Pope Pius VII, 1815.

Subjects

Medals

Costume and Textile Collection

Though small, this collection includes some items of special quality and interest. It consists largely of female clothing of the 19th and early 20th centuries, although there are some fine and important 18th century items. The most numerous group is of infant’s clothes, especially Christening gowns. There is little occupational or working clothing and very little male costume. The textile collection comprises lace and some household linen. Costume accessories are represented by fans, jewellery, purses, etc. mainly from the 19th century.

Subjects

Costume and Textile

Numismatics Collection

This collection is strong, with an almost complete series of British copper coins; there are over 260 English silver coins from Ethelred II to George VI, of which there are examples of Anglo-Saxon silver pennies from the Devon mints (Exeter, Totnes, Lydford and Barnstaple); some English gold coins; 17th and 18th century Devon tokens, including the unusually comprehensive Hooper collection of 335 17th century halfpennies and farthings; British Commonwealth coins; and small foreign and Roman coin collections.

Subjects

Numismatics

Photographic Collection

There is an extremely strong and large group of local photographs and those of local events and personalities. Particular collections are: the Tripe collection (1850s); the Rugg Monk collection (1890s); the Astor collection (20th century election campaigns of Nancy Astor); and the City Engineers’ collection (1946-1970 unique record of war damage to the city of Plymouth and its reconstruction).

Subjects

Photography

Archives Collection

The collection includes maps, plans, charts, broadsheets, newspapers and documents. The most important single group is that of documents, printed books and pamphlets related to Sir Francis Drake and his descendants. There is an extensive archive attached to the Cottonian collection which is described under that collection in the fine art category. The manuscript material is normally deposited for specialist storage at the West Devon Record Office.

Subjects

Archives

Other

Agriculture; Maritime; Medicine; Music; Personalia; Transport; Oral history; Science and Industry

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

Medicine Collection

This is the core collection of the museum and comprises the contents of a pharmacy business, the Christopher pharmacy, which operated in Bradford on Avon for over 120 years and well into the 20th century. There are also documents and artefacts relating to R T Christopher, one of the proprietors.

Subjects

Medicine

Other Collections

Subjects

Agriculture; Archaeology; Archives; Costume and Textile; Fine Art; Medals; Music; Numismatics; Personalia; Science and Industry; Social History; Transport; Decorative and Applied Arts

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

The founding collections came into being upon the discovery of a Roman Villa at Brading in 1879 by Captain John Thorpe and from its extensive excavation from 1880-1883 by F.G. Hilton Price and John E. Price. Visitors were encouraged to view the villa at an early period and in 1908 a cover building was erected to help preserve the site and its remains. No major interventions were undertaken again until the 1980s and 1990s, several of which were directed at helping preserve the site which had been affected by flooding. These interventions added to the collections. The most significant additions to the collections in modern times came in 2008, 2009, and 2010, when Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe undertook excavations over the 3 summer seasons, the results of which were published in a comprehensive monograph in 2013.

A major collections documentation project was undertaken in 2006-7 which saw the entire collections computer catalogued, and a second project in 2008-9 saw the database enhanced and transferred to MODES for Windows, and thereafter to MODES Complete.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2018

Licence: CC BY-NC

99% of the accessioned collections come directly from the Villa’s land, so their relevance to the Villa’s history is self-evident. As in most archaeological archives from a single site, a relatively small proportion of finds provide outstanding examples of a particular object type, and the Victorian collections have limited contextual data (a state of affairs that changed markedly in more recent excavations). As such, finds from the modern excavations have a greater “value” in terms of what they tell us about the site than the older collections, and are backed up by a wealth of additional contextual data in photographs, drawings, plans, sections etc.

In modern times the museum has begun to acquire, on a small scale, Roman material from the Island reported through the Portable Antiquities Scheme in order to place the Roman Villa in a wider Island context. We have also acquired fine examples of Roman objects (originals and replicas) to make up for the fragmentary nature of most of the Villa artefacts. These are used in displays and in education programmes.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2018

Licence: CC BY-NC

Photography

An important collection of photographs of local interest relating to Braintree, Bocking and the District. The Friends of Braintree District Museum own a collection of 2108 photographic prints, slides and negatives of reproduction views and people of Braintree, Bocking and District from 1880 to the present, including the Alf Whybrow Collection, which are licensed to Braintree Museum. Photographs collected since 1996 belong to Braintree District Museum. A cine film collection of 800 films created by Nick Williamson from the 1950s.

Archaeology

Braintree District Museum holds archaeology collections from throughout the District and some foreign material but mainly from Braintree. Small collections are held from excavations undertaken by Rev. Kenworthy at Skitts Hill, Braintree in the 1890s and Mr. M J Kenworthy, at Stebbing and Kelvedon, 1945-1975. Braintree Museum currently holds two major collections awaiting publication (see below). The sites represent material from the prehistoric to the late mediaeval period: Prehistory. A small local and British collection of stone tools. Pottery from all periods, most found within the District. Roman. A small collection of material from published local excavations within the District of Braintree and some foreign material. The Brain Valley Archaeology Society and Braintree District Council undertook a series of excavations in Braintree in the 1980s that form one of the best records of a small Roman town in the country. The Braintree Roman Town Post Excavation Publication Project aims to bring this archive into the public domain. Medieval. A small collection of local material. Braintree Museum holds the archaeological archive from 18 years of excavation at Cressing Temple. The 13th century wheat and barley barns at Cressing Temple are of national and international importance being the finest remaining pair of medieval barns in Europe. The Essex County Council Heritage Advice Management and Promotion Section are committed to the publication of the archive to allow the local and in part nationally important collection, to become accessible to researchers and members of the public. Archaeology archives from excavations in the District of Braintree before 1993 were accepted by the Chelmsford and Essex Museum, Colchester Museum and Passmore Edwards Museum (incorporating the Essex Field Club). Following the closure of the Passmore Edwards Museum the collections from sites within Braintree District were transferred to Braintree District Museum. Both Colchester and Chelmsford Museum Services have accessioned sites from Braintree District into their collections.

Numismatics

A collection of about 600 coins, trade tokens, and jettons of all periods, some minted locally. A small collection of foreign coins. Small collection of items of local significance.

Local and Social History

A documentary and photographic collection of material relevant to the local wool trade. Important collections relating to Crittalls, manufacturers of metal window frames, and to Courtaulds (mourning crepe and man-made textiles) and Warners (Royal silks, cotton damasks and printed cloths and wallpapers). Clockmaker’s tools and clocks, watches and instruments of local significance, including 18th century clocks by Joseph Fordham and Joseph Fordham Jnr. a significant collection of jacks, tools and garage equipment made by Lake and Elliot and tools made by Swinborne. The Stanley Smith Collection of 110 agricultural tools collected by Stanley Smith of Cressing. The Heritage Trust Library (HTL) is a collection of over 2000 items relating to the history of Braintree and the District. It includes a comprehensive collection of brochures, programmes and other ephemera relating to the major events in Braintree as well as reference or research material. The collections include some individual papers, but no large scale archives of individuals or organisations. In most cases the items held relate to local businesses, but do not constitute a record of their dealings, and as such can be considered under the heading of social history. The social history collections include a large number of craftsmen’s tools, including those used by wheelwrights, blacksmiths, mouldmakers and straw plaiters, trade and retail material. Community Life: Items relating to education within the District, particularly the history of Manor Street School, Braintree, the home of Braintree District Museum. This collection comprises mainly of documentary material and photographs. A small collection of medical equipment from Black Notley Hospital. Tools and everyday products from the Home Front during World War II in Braintree. Domestic and Family Life: A collection of local household equipment including sewing machines, kitchen utensils, writing and stationery, smoking and drinking. Personal Life: A collection including toys and games, spectacles, smoking and drinking materials. Small collection of 19th and 20th century costume; sewing equipment and materials; samplers; lace and crochet equipment; Victorian beadwork. The 13th century wheat and barley barns at Cressing Temple are of national and international importance being the finest remaining pair of medieval barns in Europe.

Textiles and Costume

A collection of textiles and related equipment, particularly from the local factories of Courtauld and Warner. A collection of textiles, a loom and associated equipment is on loan from Halstead Museum. An important collection of textiles is on loan from Warner Fabrics plc that covers their involvement in the manufacture of luxury cloths and in particular Royal Silks used at Coronations and other state events The Metson Collection of around 1,000 mainly 20th century items of costume and costume accessories relating to the Metson family of Brook End.

Decorative Art

A good collection of 18th century porcelain which includes Bow, Caughley, Liverpool, Lowestoft soft paste porcelain, Worcester and Chinese. An interesting collection of pottery and porcelain jugs; 18th century earthenware, lustreware; early saltglaze stoneware, cabbage leaf, a monteith and Staffordshire pottery figures including Toby jugs and animals. Also blue and white transfer ware of the 1820s. There is also a significant collection of Castle Hedingham pottery made in the district by Edward Bingham including some dated pieces. The Louisa Lowe collections of over 370 pieces of bead jewellery collected by a member of the Courtauld family during her travels around the World.

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

Joseph Mayer donated his collection of artworks to the Corporation of Newcastle under Lyme in the 1880s.

When the museum was first opened in the Lancaster buildings in 1943 these artworks were central to the displays. Other items included the Borough Council’s historical documents and objects as well as interesting and locally significant items donated by local people such as local historian Thomas Pape, Alderman Wain, Mr Warrilow, and the Harrison family.

The initial intention was to collect and display the history of the Borough. However over time the museum became a depository of ‘old things’ from the Borough.

This was partially due to the lack of policy and also because some curators began collecting items from their area of expertise, personal interest and perhaps what they thought the public would like to see. This accounts for some weaponry, ethnography, geology, scientific instruments and electronic devices and other items with little or no connection to Newcastle other than perhaps being donated by local people.

In some areas much duplication is evident as there was not a full catalogue until 2009.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2016

Licence: CC BY-NC

The aim of the Brampton Museum and Art Gallery is to hold items related to the current boundaries of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, from pre historic times to present.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2016

Licence: CC BY-NC

The collections at Brantwood are subdivided into two major categories. The Brantwood Collection is wholly owned by the Brantwood Trust. It has grown by a steady process from acquisitions and gifts since the creation of the Brantwood Trust in 1951.

The Whitehouse Loan Collections are part of a single collection, the Whitehouse Collection, now owned by Lancaster University. It constitutes the largest collection of Ruskin-related material in the world. It was formed by John Howard Whitehouse through purchases at the Brantwood dispersal sales in 1931. This collection and subsequent additions were mostly removed from Brantwood and housed at Bembridge School on the Isle of Wight. In 1996 the school closed and the collection was moved to the purpose-built Ruskin Library at Lancaster University, a subset of the collection being placed on permanent display at Brantwood. In 2018 Lancaster University became the legal owners of the Whitehouse Collection, with a binding agreement for continuing loan collections to be housed at Brantwood.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2024

Licence: CC BY-NC

The collections at Brantwood are primarily composed of items which were in Ruskin’s possession at the time of his death, together with wider Ruskin-related materials and memorabilia. Material relating to Brantwood’s history both before and after Ruskin’s time is also kept. The collections in the museum are:

The Brantwood Collection

A collection of several thousand items owned by the Brantwood Trust – known as the Brantwood Collection, together with items loaned by the public on condition that they remain at Brantwood.

Whitehouse Loan Collection

A collection of 300 objects, chiefly Ruskin relics and memorabilia from the Whitehouse Collection, on permanent loan to the Brantwood Trust from Lancaster University.

Short Term Whitehouse Loan Collection

A selection of pictures and objects is on short term loan to the Brantwood Trust from the Whitehouse Collection. This is a rotating selection of pictures and objects on temporary loan to the Brantwood Trust from Lancaster University.

Temporary Whitehouse Loan Collection

Fixed term loans of Whitehouse Collection items displayed in a series of special exhibitions and displays.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2024

Licence: CC BY-NC

Subjects

Agriculture; Archaeology; Arms and Armour; Costume and Textile; Fine Art; Geology; Maritime; Medals; Medicine; Numismatics; Oral history; Personalia; Science and Industry; Social History; Transport; Decorative and Applied Arts

Archives Collection

There are copies of parish registers from the 16th century onwards and other documents of local interest.

Photographic Collection

This collection is of great local interest, with good representation of images of the Great Field and the local river trade.

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

The foundations of Brent’s heritage collections were laid 120 years ago, when the first Willesden Green librarian, Frank Chennell, encouraged notable local residents to donate historical material. An important founding collection for Brent Museum was bequeathed to the Borough of Wembley in 1937 by the owner of the Express Dairies, George Titus Barham, along with his home and its grounds (now Barham Park). First opened to the public in May 1977 as The Grange Museum of Community History, the renamed Brent Museum moved to Willesden Green Library Centre in 2006. Most items in the collection relate directly to the history of the borough and its predecessors, and over the past forty years the collection has developed largely through donations and bequests.

The museum’s collection largely reflects working and domestic life in Brent from around 1850 to the present day, broadly comprising artefacts, video and oral history recordings, extending to some 10,000 items. There are some older items but the majority relate to this period. In recent years, a structured collecting policy has been implemented, placing greater emphasis on collecting material that represents the diversity of the borough’s population in the twenty-first century.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: Not known

Licence: CC BY-NC

The Museum’s collections reflect working and domestic life in the London Borough of Brent from about 1850 to the present day. The collection broadly comprises artefacts, video and oral history recordings and extends to some 10,000 items.

Brent Museum’s collection strengths can be summarized as follows:

Costume: A large collection of a late nineteenth/early twentieth century costume, largely women’s. A significant part of an interior of an Edwardian draper’s shop including the contents.

British Empire Exhibition: Extensive collection of ceramic and other souvenirs, badges, tickets, gramophone records etc. from the British Empire Exhibition, 1924-25.

Wembley Stadium: Later collecting from the site of the Exhibition includes material around Wembley Stadium, including old seating and items connected to events there such as a 1948 Olympic torch, concerts, sporting events.

1990s community items: A mixed selection of items contemporary to the early and mid-1990s, specifically collected for community focused temporary exhibitions produced by the Grange Museum.

Barham collection: This is an antiquarian collection ranging from classical antiquities to ceramics and furniture of the 17^th to 19^th centuries. It comprises over 500 pieces, bequeathed to the Borough in 1937 by Joseph Barham, local businessman, collector and philanthropist. It is a large representative sample from the collection of Titus Barham, founder of Express Diaries and an eclectic collector of antiquities, books and curios.

Individual strong points are:

• British Military Medal – Napoleonic Wars–WWI
• Ceramics – Dutch, British, Chinese, c. 16^th–18^th centuries
• Egyptian antiquities
• c.51 northwest Indian tradesmen
• Seventeenth century cuirassier cavalry amour and pot helmets
• Ferneley painting of a racehorse

Art: Local paintings and prints, mainly of the area before suburbanisation. Also Ferneley racehorse painting mentioned above. To a lesser extent, sculpture, in the form of 2 x Tonelli busts and Rasta Boy figurine.

Children’s Objects: Some Victorian/Edwardian dolls. Other toys and dolls houses. School materials from various epochs and various medals.

Inter-war suburbia: A significant amount of inter-war standard social history material, ranging from furniture to birthday cards.

WWI & WWII: Reasonable collection of material on WWII, largely home front items with some interesting Jewish refugee items. WWI collection small but interesting and strong on postcards (held by Brent Archives).

Industries/work: Various objects and documents from local employers and employees covering a wide variety of occupations. Strong on hairdressers and barbers. A small acquisition connected to Jayaben Desai, leader of the Grunwick Strike in the late 1970s.

Domestic work c.1870-1945: Generic social history items such as mangles, washing machines, sewing machines, cooking equipment etc.

Furniture:A selection of furniture from various periods which used to dress the period rooms at the Grange Museum.

Contemporary Collecting: A selection of items collected in the mid-2000s specifically in partnership with the Polish and Brazilian communities in Brent to reflect their experiences of migration, settlement and their respective cultures and customs. We have recently re-visited the Brazilian contemporary collection with a community co-curated exhibition in the summer of 2016 which involved a number of new acquisitions from the Brazilian community.

Education Handling Collection

This comprises of some 700 objects that have been acquired specifically for educational purposes, such as handling or school group sessions, but not school loans. Managed by the Learning Officer, these objects are appropriately stored and handled to ensure they have a reasonable lifetime within the context of their educational role. This material is recorded separately outside the accession register and treated as unaccessioned material. The education collections have important potential for collections study by non-school groups, such as adult learners.

Source: Collection development policy

Date:

Licence: CC BY-NC

Local and Social History

Social and domestic items including toys and games, personal items, ceramics, kitchen and laundry apparatus, nursery furniture, audio and visual apparatus, typewriters and other office equipment, heating apparatus, cameras, sewing machines, household sundries and memorabilia from two World Wars.; Documentary material relating to the history of Brentwood.

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

The core collection can largely be divided into two groups; the original buildings and machinery of the factory (steam engines and brickmaking machines) and all the other objects that have been acquired since the Brickworks was restored in the early 1990s. Early key influences on the collections were the involvement of Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust and a previous museum director.

The influence of HBPT was to collect more broadly in terms of buildings than simply objects relating to brickmaking. Various architectural objects were collected such as window frames and doors and even a large, oak bell frame. Most of these were never accessioned into the collection but were housed on site.

Since 2013 with the arrival of the Collections Manager some of these items have been disposed of as they no longer fit with the focus of the museum collections. With agreement from HBPT, objects such as rock samples with no labels and timber with active furniture beetle were discarded. Others were offered to more relevant museums such as a lime kiln truck to Twyford Waterworks. The previous museum director’s personal interests did to some extent influence the HBPT collection. A small number of his objects are still on active loan.

More recently the collections have been shaped by the Collections Development Policy written in preparation for Accreditation (2017) and the establishment of Bursledon Brickworks Museum Trust. The focus is now on artifacts that reflect the history of bricks and brickmaking, and careful consideration is given to the long-term implications of acquisition. As the museum has begun to gain recognition over the past decade, private individuals and museums have donated collections of bricks and/or archives to TBM. In addition to the accessioned core collection, there are objects that have been obtained to dress the visitor experience during the last 10 years, such as items in the period room displays. These are held as non-accessioned objects.

More detail about the collection can be found in the Documentation Plan contained within this overarching Collections Management Framework. Two documents in Appendix A give an insight into the major acquisitions and the focus for the collections in the mid-1990s. It is hard to accurately date many of the acquisitions pre-2013 due to lack of documentation. From 2007 until 2013 the museum had an entirely volunteer workforce, with no museum professional in post. This has also had some impact on the development of the collection. Copies of past Acquisition and Disposal policies have also been included in Appendix A.

Major acquisitions since 2017 include an oil portrait of Robert Ashby, Jane Wight’s collection of objects and archive, a silver 25-years’ service medal, a selection of bricks from Derby Museum, the Stubbs brick collection, a clay head made on site, the Sawtell brick collection and the Pat Ryan collection of objects and archive.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2023

Licence: CC BY-NC

The prime focus of the site is the buildings, original brick making machinery and steam engines. The steam engines, one in its original location and the other taken from the Northern complex prior to demolition, and brickmaking machinery are operated regularly for visitors. The restored brickmaking machine remains in-situ, but the brickmaking machine from the Northern Complex, in unrestored condition, is in a former drying shed.

The rest of the core collection includes bricks (predominantly from England, from the Roman period through to present day) as well as ais a large collection of wooden brick moulds illustrating a vast range of special shapes employed for creating brick architecture. The museum also holds several examples of brick and tile making technology that represent developments in the industry over the last 200 years (including running-out machines, pug-mills, and cutting-tables). Some of these were acquired as individual items, while others came as a group of objects from a works when closed.

There is also a significant collection of products from related clay-based industry including tiles, chimney pots, land drains, garden path edging representing both local and national manufacturers. The majority of these were acquired before 2013.

The museum also holds groups of archival material. These include original and copied photographs, documents including letters and receipts, maps and plans as well as audio-visual recordings.

This archival material can be grouped into three categories:

• Items relating to the history of Bursledon Brickworks and its buildings, products and workforce.
• Items which relate to the wider brick industry in the United Kingdom.
• Personal archives of brick collectors and researchers. Some of these archives relate to donated collections of bricks included in the museum’s collection.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2023

Licence: CC BY-NC