Explore collections

Social History Collection

The collection contains objects relating to the history of Castle Donington. Local significance.

Subjects

Social History

Fine Art Collection

The collection contains paintings relating to Castle Donington, including oil paintings by A. Redgate. Local significance.

Subjects

Fine Arts; Paintings

Decorative and Applied Arts

The collection consists of ceramics originating in South Derbyshire which are domestic and decorative ceramics.

Subjects

Ceramics; Decorative and Applied Arts

Archaeology Collection

The collection contains objects relating to the archaeology of Castle Donington. Local significance.

Subjects

Archaeology

Decorative and Applied Arts Collection

Local significance. The collection consists of ceramics originating in South Derbyshire which are domestic and decorative ceramics.

Subjects

Ceramics; Decorative Arts

Library Collection

Local significance. The collection includes books and photographs relating to the history of Castle Donington, including items from the Jack Burton collection and the Elkington collection of photographs taken early in the 20th century.

Subjects

Books; Local History; Photographs

Archives Collection

Local significance. The collection includes documents (including wills), deeds, letters relating to the archaeology and history of Castle Donington. This includes deeds and printed ephemera from the Lilah Hooley collection, and family related documents, letters and printed ephemera from the Jack Burton collection.

Subjects

Printed ephemera; Local history; Documents; Archives

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

The collection has evolved from the original Bude–Stratton Folk Museum, set up during the 1970s. In the early 2000’s, a Heritage Lottery Grant was sought to develop The Castle, former home of Victorian Inventor Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, into a Heritage Centre. The funding enabled better storage facilities for the collection and the opportunity to expand.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2023

Licence: CC BY-NC

The geographic area from which the collection will be drawn is the twelve parishes, Bude, Stratton and Poughill, Jacobstow, Kilkhampton, Launcells, Marhamchurch, Morwenstow, North Tamerton, Poundstock, St. Gennys, Week St. Mary and Whitstone, comprising North Cornwall. The current collection has evolved over many years, mainly through donations and some purchases. Some artefacts originate from the original Bude – Stratton Museum situated on the Wharf.

Photographic Collection

From the invention of photography items relating to, social and industrial life, transport, military, maritime and local personalities. Including a collection of Thorn photographs.

Archive Collection

From the time of the earliest local written records – the archive collection is made up of documents, maps, and ephemera relating to the canal, ships and ship wrecks, ship building, railway, WW2 and local personalities. The museum also holds a range of reference books.

Works of Art

Mainly work from the nineteenth and twentieth century’s – landscape and maritime scenes by local artists, such as Charles Branscombe. Portriat of the Grenville regiment of the Sealed Knot by Robert Lenkiewicz

Social and industrial Life

Mainly from the nineteenth and the twentieth century – objects related to domestic and industrial change including the inventions of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, leisure and recreational activities and the rise of tourism, ship building, coastal trade, the Bude Canal, the railway and agricultural. Also including surfing and surf lifesaving.

Military

Objects relating mainly to WW2 and the home front with some Civil War items such as cannon balls and musket shot.

Transport

Objects prior to the last 40 years – items mainly related to the Bude Harbour and Canal Company and the railway including a restored tub boat.

Maritime

Objects prior to the last 40 years – objects related to maritime history with particular emphasis on ships and ship wrecks, local rocket brigade and lifeboat service.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2023

Licence: CC BY-NC

Social History Collection

Local significance. The collection contains a range of artefacts which relate to the history and industry of Castleton, in particular these relate to household artefacts, education, and 1st and 2nd World War memorabilia and the Garland Ceremony.

Subjects

Education; Domestic Life; Local History; Second World War (1939-1945); Social History; First World War (1914-1918)

Science and Industry Collection

Local significance The collection contains items relating to local industries, including items from a wheelwright’s workshop, a blacksmith’s workshop, lead mining, ropemaking.

Subjects

Lead mining; Wheelwrighting; Rope making; Blacksmithing; Science; Industry

Archives Collection

Local significance. The collection contains documents and copies of documents recording the history of the village including records of land ownership, population, societies and organisations.

Subjects

Villages; Local history; Land ownership; Societies; Population; Documents; Archives

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

Science and Industry Collection

The collections range from a 14 ton chlorine rail tanker to parts of a chemical plant and smaller objects depicting aspects of all types of chemical industries, mainly associated with the UK and covering a wide time span, from earliest times to present day. Industries represented include the production of basic organic and inorganic chemicals, industrial gases, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, soap and synthetic detergents, flavours and perfumes. The production processes, laboratories, research, materials handling, transport, workforce, publicity and environmental issues are also covered as topics in addition to ancillary industries such as makers of lab equipment and foundries producing specialist chemical plant and equipment.

Subjects

Chemicals; Industry and commerce; Science and Industry

Costume and Textile Collection

A small collection of costume and textiles.

Subjects

Costume and Textile

Fine Art Collection

A small collection of fine art.

Subjects

Fine Art

Maritime Collection

Maritime material connected to the transport and other production processes of the industry.

Subjects

Maritime

Photographic Collection

An extensive collection of (mostly local) photographs relating to the chemical industry in the North West, including video recordings.

Subjects

Photographic equipment

Social History Collection

Local history and wider and social history material is acquired by the museum where it has a direct link to the chemical industry.

Subjects

Social History

Oral History Collection

Oral history recordings relating to local industries.

Subjects

Oral history

Archives Collection

Peter Spence archive and original research for the museum project regarding the chemical industry in the North West and various other documents. NB: Large-scale company archives are not held by the museum.

Subjects

Archives

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

CCH was founded in 2006 to take a private collection into the public sphere. Appeals were made for donations and several thousand new objects have arrived into the Centre’s care in the last decade.

Since CCH focuses on having as many displays switched on as possible in order to better explain the history of computing to our visitors, many of our display items are duplicates of items in our properly recorded collection. We receive many donations of historic items that are not suitable for accessioning- such as vintage TVs and monitors that we put to use in our displays.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

The collection at CCH includes computers, computer peripherals, electronic or mechanical computing devices, software, books and media. The collection also contains articles regarding the history of computing which can be in any of the following formats: hand-written manuscript, printed information, photographs, computer generated items, records, and audio-visual materials, such as film, video, and digital and analogue recordings.

As of June 2022, the Archived Collection contains around 1,200 computers, 320 games consoles, 14,200 games, 4,500 software packages, 2,700 books and 10,000 magazines, amongst many other objects. Calculators in the collection date back to the 1920s, and the core computing collection from the 1950s. Our exhibits allow us to demonstrate the advance from paper tape to cloud storage, and from vacuum-tube systems to microscopic silicon chips. We also have displays focused on gaming, connectivity, and the social impact of computing. Areas of significance include our collection of Acorn Computing machines (which tell a story of importance both locally in Cambridgeshire and to the UK at large) and our extensive games archive.

Although the focus of CCH’s collection is computing hardware and software, we do have extensive archival holdings. These come in the form of documentation, manuals, promotional material, magazines and more. A significant amount of this collection is in digital form, which is CCH’s preferred form of storage. Our goal is to make as much of the archival collection available online as possible, taking into account copyright issues etc., in order to broaden access.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

Ceredigion Museum is part of Ceredigion County Council.

Ceredigion Museum was established in 1971 under the aegis of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society, and was run by a committee that included representatives of all the local authorities in Cardiganshire. It was financed by contributions from those local authorities and the Welsh Church Fund. A Museums officer was appointed in 1972. The object has always been to collect items depicting the life of people in Cardiganshire (Ceredigion) throughout the ages.

In 1972, Aberystwyth Borough Council provided a rent-free, pleasant Regency house, No 14 Vulcan Street. The museum moved to The Coliseum, Terrace Road in 1983, which now houses the main collection and displays. There are displays at Cardigan, New Quay, Lampeter, Tregaron and Borth. Two Ceredigion Museum sites, the Tudor Hall ‘Y Neuadd,’ the earliest known example of a ‘chimneyed’ house in Ceredigion, and the 19th Century ‘Llanon Cottage,’ a rare example of a typical two-roomed 19th century Ceredigion cottage, with a straw rope underthatch,’ are in the village of Llanon.

This policy applies to all the museum collections owned by Ceredigion County Council. Ceredigion Library and Ceredigion Archives also collect some of the categories of items that Ceredigion Museum collects: these will be consulted when items of mutual interest are considered for acquisition.

Ceredigion Museum has a collection of about 65,000 items mostly collected from the County of Ceredigion. The majority of specimens are domestic and craft items that were made or commonly used in the County between about 1850 and 1950. The majority of specimens are donations. About 2% of the collection are items which have been accepted on loan. About 22% of the collection has been purchased.

The collections include objects transferred to Ceredigion Museum by the National Museum of Wales from R.J. Thomas’ (Tre’r Ddol) collection (1974 items) and the Treen collection given to Ceredigion Museum by the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth (333 items).

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2018

Licence: CC BY-NC

Designated Collections

Agriculture (about 3,500)

Ceredigion Museum has a comprehensive collection of agricultural tools and equipment except the very large items. The Geller Jones (of Cardigan) collection of agricultural equipment, including large items such as tractors and hay lifts, was acquired by the National Trust and is now stored at Llanerchaeron, near Aberaeron.

Archaeology (about 330 specimens)

Ceredigion Museum collects and borrows archaeological objects from the county. Nearly all the known archaeological items from Ceredigion are in Ceredigion Museum except for those in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.

The Dyfed Archaeological Trust and other official excavators generally offer archaeological finds discovered during the course of excavation within Ceredigion to Ceredigion Museum provided the owner agrees. Original site records including notebooks and photographs are deposited with the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historic Monuments.

Books and Documents (about 5,000 specimens)

Ceredigion Museum has a collection of books and documents, some of which relate to the collection.

Coins, Tokens and Banknotes (about 1000 specimens)

Ceredigion Museum has a collection of coins that were in common currency in Britain from Mediaeval times to the present. It also has a collection of local bank notes and coins minted in Ceredigion during the Civil War.

Costume and Fabrics (about 3,500 specimens)

Ceredigion Museum has a good collection of costume, mostly women’s best wear but including ‘traditional’ Welsh costume. The collection also includes Welsh tapestry, uniforms, accessories, particularly shawls, shoes, hats and handbags, quilts and blankets.

Crafts, Trades and Industries (about 2,000 items)

Ceredigion Museum has a good collection of tools of most craftspeople who worked in Ceredigion, particularly carpenter’s, wheelwrights, cobbler’s and blacksmith’s tools. Many of sets of tools came from one source. A number lead miner’s tools and equipment and tools and items made or purchased by seamen are in the collection.

Firearms (43 specimens)

Ceredigion Museum has a Museums’ firearms and shot gun licence and has been allowed to keep a small collection of historic guns in secure conditions under the relevant regulations.

Geology Specimens (about 60 Specimens)

Ceredigion Museum has a small collection of geological specimens which illustrate the geology of the county: most of these are on display.

Maps and Charts (about 250 specimens)

These are maps of the County and charts that were used by local sailors.

Medals and Medallions (about 250 specimens)

Ceredigion Museum has a collection of medals and medallions which relate to local events or local celebrations of national events (coronations, centenaries etc.) and military medals awarded to people with local associations.

Natural History Specimens (about 100 specimens)

The Museum has a small collection of animals and birds that were mounted by local taxidermists, (mostly the work of the Hutchings family of Aberystwyth). There is a small collection of birds’ eggs, some of which were confiscated from illegal private collections by the police and transferred to the museum.

Pictures and Prints (about 1820 specimens)

Ceredigion Museum has a collection of prints and pictures (drawings, watercolours, oil paintings etc) of Ceredigion subjects.

Photographs (about 20,000 specimens)

The Museum has a large collection of photographs of Ceredigion subjects, all of which are fully indexed on computer and digitally scanned. It also has some copies of photographs and pictures of Ceredigion subjects that are in private and public collections.

Social History (about 25,000 items)

Most of Ceredigion Museum’s collection comprises social history objects (including furniture), and it is now thought that the museum has at least one good example of most types of domestic items commonly made or used in Ceredigion between 1850 and 1950. There are several collections of house contents, including ephemera, popular ornaments and mass-produced items.

Non-Designated collections

Handling material

The Museum has developed a reputation of making good-quality collections available for use in educational sessions, reminiscence sessions and public events, and we make a clear attempt to do so wherever possible, we recognise that some material is not robust enough to withstand regular use. To encourage the fullest access to collections for public enjoyment and benefit, we acquire small numbers of objects that are used in ways that would not be appropriate for accessioned material. These are not accessioned in order for them to be usable in the fullest range of educational sessions and public events.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2018

Licence: CC BY-NC

Decorative and Applied Art Collection

The Chapel houses a specially commissioned life-size statue of St Chad, and colourful carved wooden panels depicting scenes from his life. As part of the restoration of the Chapel, Stockport MBC commissioned Kate Davies and Ian Hartless to create ‘The East Window’, which reflects both the histories of the Chapel and life in the local community at the end of the 20th Century.

Subjects

Decorative and Applied Arts

Social History Collection

An outstanding collection of musical instruments and memorabilia including the ‘Archinto’ viola by Stradivari, scores by Henry Wood and a collection of Cremonese stringed instruments. Collections include the original bell and coat of arms and locally associated items.

Subjects

String; Woodwind; Percussion; Music; Social History; Musical instruments; Brass

Archives Collection

Collections include archives relating to the site.

Photographic Collection

Collections include photographs relating to the site.

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC