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Local History Museum Collection

Local studies and museum collections were first established in 1923 when a small library opened in Uxbridge. The objects collected were intended to form the basis for a future museum. From 1940 a local history display was provided and known as the Hamson Museum after H T Hamson, editor of the local newspaper and chairman of the library committee, to commemorate his commitment to developing local collections. This was closed down when the new Uxbridge Library opened in 1986 and the bulk of the collections have remained in store since then though temporary exhibitions are held from time to time. The museum collection comprises about 2,000 objects. It has good collections of domestic items, topographical prints, drawings and paintings. There are also collections relating to the Uxbridge and Harmondsworth Voluntary Fire Brigades, the Middlesex Yeomanry regiment, plus fire marks, christening robes and woodworking tools. There is also a small teaching collection of unprovenanced material, mainly Victorian and 1930s-40s items.

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

From 1995 the Museum has acquired, catalogued, conserved, stored and displayed in a proper manner, and interpreted objects, photographs, pictures, documents and books illustrating life in Hinckley and district. In this task the Museum has enlisted the help and guidance of Museum Mentors, Arts Council England and Museum Development East Midlands as appropriate.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2021

Licence: CC BY-NC

The principle areas of collection are:

Hosiery machinery and items relating to the local industry. Boot and shoe objects and items relating to the local industry.

“Man made” objects and items relating to the history of Hinckley and district.

A photographic archive that includes both old and modern photographs of the area.

Archival documents, books and other printed material relating to Hinckley and district.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2021

Licence: CC BY-NC

Science and Industry

The Trust holds an extensive collection of hand tools, machine tools and industrial equipment related to the shipbuilding process at Chatham Dockyard. The machine tools collection in particular ranges from the extremely large (a 200-ton Plate Bending Machine) to the relatively small. Miscellaneous equipment related to the dockyard has also been collected. The Trust is also responsible for a major collection of historic ropemaking equipment and machinery still operated ‘on display’ to visitors in the Ropery. In addition a further major collection of ironworking material remains, pending investigation and recovery in the No. 1 Smithery. This process is now underway and will be completed during 2001. Once completed it is intended to carry out an overall review of the Trust’s holdings in this area of collecting to identify any duplication and make any necessary recommendations for disposal.

Maritime

The Trust does not wish to acquire a large collection of ships or boats, but recognises that a small number of carefully selected vessels are essential elements of the interpretation of the site for the public benefit. It has therefore limited its aspirations to three large vessels – the former HMS Gannet, a transitional period sloop, built on the River Medway at Sheerness in 1878; the former HMS Cavalier, the Royal Navy’s last operational Second World War destroyer (now owned by a subsidiary Trust), and the ‘O’ class submarine Ocelot, the last warship built for the Royal Navy at Chatham and a small number of relevant smaller craft – for example a 1944 Harbour Service Launch. Three of these vessels have been recommended for inclusion on the National Historic Ships Committee’s proposed lists of vessels of national importance: Core Collection List: HMS Gannet Designated Vessel List: HMS Cavalier & Harbour Service Launch (HSL) 376(NB: HMS Ocelot falls outside the NHSC criteria on age grounds). The Trust has sought and collected significant examples of warship propulsion systems. The two main groups of equipment being a 1944 steam triple expansion engine and associated equipment and most recently a sectioned boiler, turbine and gearbox from a 1950’s Blackwood class frigate acquired from the Royal Navy’s engineering training school at HMS Sultan. Smaller associated items (condensers, thrust blocks, etc.) have also been acquired. An Admiralty Standard Range 1 (ASRI) diesel engine, designed and built at Chatham has also been acquired – fitted to the Submarine Ocelot. Models of items of naval, engineering, ordnance and architectural interest related to the Trust’s main areas of collecting both historic and modern manufacture are also held. In 1989, following the closure of the Merchant Navy College at Greenhithe in North Kent, the Trust took over responsibility for the collection of historic material, objects and some records relating to the Training Ship Worcester that were held there. Some items, principally decorative silver pieces are on loan from the Marine Society. The museum holds a small collection of miscellaneous items having a connection with the Trust’s areas of collecting which do not readily fall into other categories, most generally items made for or by dockyard workers, often from scrap material.

Arms and Armour

The Trust holds a large collection (c 100 items) of naval muzzle loading guns, many of which were gifted to it by the Ministry of Defence on the closure of the dockyard or have been recovered from the Chatham Dockyard site during the demolition of buildings prior to the re-development of Chatham Maritime. Subsequently further muzzle loading guns and a small number of more modern breech loading weapons have been added to the collection. The Trust also holds a small number of torpedoes and mines.

Oral History

A small amount of oral history material is currently held, mostly generated by others and copied for the Trust.

Costume/textiles

A relatively small quantity of items of clothing and personal equipment relating to dockyard workers – particularly protective clothing – and naval uniform.

Fine Art

In addition to a major ceiling painting attributed to Thomas Highmore and Sir William Thornhill, known to have been on board the Royal Sovereign in 1701 and now in the Commissioner’s House, the Trust holds a number of paintings of topographical and personality interest relating to the development of the dockyard at Chatham. Most important is a major work in oil by Elias Martin, an early Royal Academician and Sergeant Painter to the Swedish Court.

Archaeology

Current archaeological material held falls into two distinct groups – material related to the wreck of the Invincible, a 3rd Rate ship of the line which sank in 1758 (some 700 or so items collected between 1986 and 1990) and archaeological material which has resulted from archaeological investigations carried out on the Historic Dockyard site and the larger Chatham Dockyard site, since the closure of the naval base in 1984 as part of re-development and regeneration works.

Transport

Two of Chatham Dockyard’s railway locomotives (one steam and one diesel), together with two steam cranes and a number of railway goods vehicles are held by the Trust. In addition, a few examples of mechanised road transport vehicles are represented in the collections. and recent acquisitions include naval aircrafts – a Dragonfly helicopter and a Gannet AEW aircraft. Neither are unique specimens in their own right (both types are represented in other collections), but they have been acquired principally as ‘aids to display’.

Photographic

Two principal collections of photographs are held by the Trust. These are the Pembroke Studios collection of photographs relating to Chatham Dockyard and visiting ships during the 1950’s and the Reid collection of photographs of Royal Navy ships put together by a Chatham based officer. The Historical Society also holds considerable numbers of dockyard photographs – particularly those taken in collection with Periscope, the Dockyard newspaper during the period c. 1960-84.

Archives

8,500 volumes were donated to the Library by Mrs Joan Ashcroft in 1999, complementing the 10,000 volumes acquired following the demise of the Merchant Navy College at Greenhithe in 1989, and a major donation of 20th century Navy Lists. Over the past decade acquisitions have been concentrated on the key areas of interest outlined above and on the history and development of the Historic Dockyard. The Trust holds a few examples of original maps, plans and charts relating to the Chatham Dockyard site. Some historic drawings of buildings and structures at Chatham Dockyard are held directly by the Trust, others are held on loan from the National Maritime Museum, some of which are now held on microfilm as well. The Trust will collect reference material related to its main museum collecting themes, in particular: the design and construction of warships for the Royal Navy, particularly those built, repaired or refitted at Chatham and Sheerness; The history and topography of Royal Dockyards, particularly those on the River Medway at Chatham and Sheerness; Crafts, trades and skills of the dockyard worker; Personalities connected with the dockyard and naval base; Design and development of naval ordnance; General reference material relating to navies, shipbuilding, other dockyards and private yards; Development of Chatham Dockyard site after closure of the Naval Base.

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

The collection was started in 1984 by Dornoch Heritage Society and with community funding a purpose built museum to house the collection was constructed in 1997.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2024

Licence: CC BY-NC

Physical collection

The collection contains 15,129 objects, with the main components, photographs and archive material relating to the following themes:

• Agriculture and crofting
• Archaeology, brochs, earth houses and hut circles
• Craft and industry
• Commerce
• Communications
• Dornoch Burgh
• Dornoch Cathedral
• Dornoch Firth
• Family history and genealogy
• Fishing
• Golf
• Military history
• Natural history
• Railways, transport and communications
• Skibo Castle and Andrew Carnegie
• Social history
• Young Curators

The period covered by the collection extends from the earliest evidence ofhuman activity in the area, approximately 6,000 years ago, to the present day and fulfils the mission of the museum.

Digital collection

In some cases, objects forming part of the collection have been given to and are held by the museum in digital form only. This applies primarily to images but also to some documents and audio or video recordings. Documents acquired in paper format have been scanned to portable document format (pdf) for ease of reference by researchers. The past papers of the Dornoch Council form a significant collection in paper and pdf format. With the closure of the Dornoch Courthouse in 2014, the Court Service agreed to the scanning of Sassines to permit pdf copies to be included in the collection. When necessary, audio acquisitions are converted to MP3 and videos to MP4 formats as well as the Cataloguing Computer and back-up hard drive held remotely.

Areas of strength and significance

Golf, with an ever growing collection of historical photographs and documents acquired from the Royal Dornoch Golf Club and its members past and present.

A significant collection of golf photographs and documents from Elizabeth Shapiro, daughter of Donald Ross, native of Dornoch and notable golf course designer in North America.

The golf / Donald Ross collection is to be strengthened by new links with Tufts Archive in Pinehurst, North Carolina.A significant collection of military uniform and accoutrements, photograph albums, documents and the WW1 personal War Diary (29 July – 16 Oct 1914) from the descendants of Captain Ronald Hugh Waldron Rose, The Cameronians. The transcribed war diary, with additions of photographs and maps, has been a widely appreciated feature of the Historylinks Museum Website since 2008.

Since the introduction of the Historylinks online archive in June 2008, which provides public access to an image, catalogue description and other basic details of all objects in the collection, the museum has benefited by interactive comments, providing factual detail or social history context. To date 1,400 comments have been vetted by the museum, approved and published, with relevant amendments or additions to the catalogue records.

The Dornoch Provost Robes and regalia together with the 1628 Dornoch Royal Charter are held at the museum and, in April 2024, were put on public display for the first time.

In overview, the current collection provides coverage of the architectural, archaeological, commercial, domestic, social, recreational, transportation, education, law, militia, clan, and local government heritage of the Dornoch area. With a constant, steady stream of acquisitions from various local sources, there can be consolidation in the breadth and timespan of the collection. The museum is keen to embrace all forms of technology to enhance the consolidation procedures.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2024

Licence: CC BY-NC

The first stirrings of interest in the history and heritage of hockey by English hockey’s national governing body occurred at the men’s World Cup in London in 1986. Then President of the Hockey Association, Phil Appleyard OBE, asked Mike Smith, David Wareham and Ken Howells to mount an historical display in the Exhibition Hall at the Willesden Stadium. Following this event, Phil Appleyard ensured that a display was incorporated into the plans for the National Hockey Stadium that was being planned at Milton Keynes. The National Hockey Museum was formally set up in 1992 and Mike and David made plans for the display of various memorabilia, archives and illustrations in fourteen display cabinets in two function rooms of the stadium. The stadium opened in 1995. Sadly, it was a short-lived facility which closed in 2003. Upon closure, the memorabilia and some of the donated collections were rescued by Mike and David, together with Pat Rowley and Dil Bahra. The material was put into storage, primarily in the warehouse of Mercian Sports. Mercian also provided an office to house the library and playing records that were regularly viewed by hockey enthusiasts and students.

The four enthusiasts (Mike, David, Pat and Dil), who were later to be founding trustees of THM, held occasional meetings to discuss any possibilities for creating a permanent home for a hockey museum. In 2007 England Hockey (EH – the present iteration of England’s governing body) set up the Archives Steering Group (ASG), partly to recognise the efforts of the four volunteers and in the hope that a museum reincarnation could happen. In setting up the ASG, the EH Finance Director Ian Wilson joined the founding four. History and heritage enthusiast and former international player Katie Dodd also joined the group during this period and was voted in as Chair. She had the very useful credential of being an EH Board member. Unfortunately, this was a period of serious financial constraints for EH and no further initiatives were forthcoming from the governing body. The ASG met regularly but there was little to report.

Prior to this, in May 2005, EH discovered that it still possessed the archive from the All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA). Realising its importance, they entered into a partnership with the University of Bath for the professional storage and cataloguing of the AEWHA paper archives. In return, the university would store on loan and provide access to the archives for twenty years. Although the ASG knew absolutely nothing about the setting up of this arrangement it has proved to be a very valuable association, one that THM has inherited and developed.

In 2011, following discussions between Mike Smith and Woking Borough Council, The Hockey Museum was offered empty premises near Woking town centre. In June the Butts Road offices became the Museum’s first proper home and the ASG members started to move in all the collected artefacts, objects from various lofts, garages and the Mercian warehouse. Additional volunteers joined the team and work started to sort the items already in store and those now beginning to arrive from around the country.

Collections and archives continued to arrive as the hockey world began to learn of the museum’s existence. Major collections arrived from the Nevill Miroy and Mary Russell Vick estates and from the major personal collections of Mike Smith and Pat Rowley. The museum moved into new premises in Poole Road two years later and subsequently, having proved to the local council that larger accommodation was needed, the museum moved into its current home in the High Street in 2018. Offers of collection material continue to arrive and to date the museum has collected approximately 80,000 objects and archival items relating to the history of hockey.

The museum was constituted as a Charitable Trust by a Trust Deed dated 11 July 2012, with the assets and operations later transferred to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which was formed on 4 January 2017 for that purpose. Each structure recognised that the history and traditions of the sport of hockey needed to be preserved for the benefit of future generations. The museum is supported by England Hockey and has a close working relationship with the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

The Hockey Museum was awarded Full Museum Accreditation by Arts Council England in May 2018.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

The Hockey Museum is a relatively young organisation whose aim is to preserve, share and celebrate the rich heritage and history of the sport of hockey in keeping with its Vision, Mission and Charitable Objects.

The museum is home to the world’s largest collection of hockey and pre-code hockey material, in both physical and digital form, from the 19^th, 20^th and 21^st centuries. In addition, there is evidence of stick and ball games going back thousands of years on five continents.

Although the focus of the collection is hockey, the museum provides a fascinating insight into the social history and influence of team sport in popular culture. The collection includes hockey memorabilia and souvenirs reflecting the passion and involvement of players and supporters of the game.

The collection is divided into several areas; examples of key sections follow.

Archive

Perhaps the single greatest resource of hockey history drawn from many varied collections of paper-based material. Rule books, fixture lists, scrapbooks, press cuttings, match and tour reports, minute books and accounts dating from the mid-19^th century to the present day. These span the history of the sport and chart its development from amateur status to the semi-professionalism of today. Of outstanding archival importance are the game’s first written laws, dating from 1874, the first minutes of the founding clubs, of the first Hockey Association, of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), and of the Hockey Rules Board. The archive also holds the official minutes, accounts and other records of National, Regional, County and Umpiring Associations.

Key archives held by The Hockey Museum include those from:

• Patrick Rowley
• Marjorie Pollard
• Peter Luck
• Patricia Ward
• Mercian Sports/ Michael Smith
• Mary Eyre
• Nevill Miroy
• The Hockey Association/England Hockey

Art

The art collection includes paintings, sculpture and textiles pieces, limited-edition prints and mass-produced engravings and posters. Two important acquisitions are the oil paintings by Aubrey Sykes: one depicts two artisans from the Indian sub-continent hand carving hockey sticks from wood; the other captures the final of the 1986 men’s Hockey World Cup, contested by England and Australia. Another is a limited-edition print of a female hockey player by the Spanish artist Jordi Alumà, donated to the museum by FIH past President Leandro Negre. The museum also holds in its collection a five-part applique quilt by Pat Deacon which depicts Home Nation and Great Britain Olympic medal successes.

Badges and pins

There are approximately 2,000 pin badges, keyrings, cloth badges, medallions and tie pins in the museum collection. The largest numbers of badges are from England and Great Britain, but there are a variety of international badges represented. The earliest Olympic pin badge is from the 1948 Games in London. There is a smaller collection of tournament and championship badges which include the World and European Championships, Commonwealth Games and Champions Trophy, as well as badge collections chronicling international hockey tours showcasing club hockey from around the world.

Equipment

Spanning the technological advancement and innovation in goalkeeper equipment, hockey sticks and balls since the 1870s, from when the game was played on grass to its current use of artificial pitches. The evolution of sticks, balls and goalkeeper and outfield protective equipment reveal how the sport has become faster, more powerful and more technical. The collection also includes umpiring paraphernalia such as whistles and cards, as well as training and match equipment such as corner flags.

Film and video

The cine film reels in the collection cover a range of topics from events and matches from the 1930s-1970s. Examples include the 5^th International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) Triennial Conference and Tournament played at Folkestone in 1953, and women’s internationals played at Wembley Stadium, to educational film loops produced by the HA and AEWHA. The museum has a collection of VHS and Betamax videos. These cover matches and hockey season highlights, as well as technical and coaching themes. They range from home recorded events to professionally produced tapes. Additionally, the museum also holds an archive of performance analysis tapes used by England Hockey in the 2000s.

Honours caps

A collection of honours caps formerly belonging to individuals who earned distinction at club, county, territorial and national level. Honours caps have been awarded inconsistently at international level and following work to create definitive statistical records for Great Britain (GB) and England, The Hockey Museum is engaged in a project to recognise and award honours caps to current and past GB and England players or their families.

Kit and clothing

Reflecting fashion and ergonomic developments from across 150 years of the ‘modern game’ as well as the sport’s ‘amateur’ history. The kit and clothing collection includes many male and female Olympic, Commonwealth Games, international, county and club playing kits (including shirts, blouses, pinafores, shorts, skirts, skorts and tracksuits), playing shoes and boots, and uniforms (including blazers and ties) for players, officials and umpires from the 1900s onwards.

Library

Books, magazines, handbooks and publications relating to the history, coaching and umpiring of the sport from the 1890s onwards. There are around 1,500 book titles represented in the collection covering aspects such as coaching, biographies and obituaries, official club histories, umpiring and tournaments including the Olympic Games. The ambition is to collect copies of every hockey book in existence.

Oral histories

Capturing the lived experiences of prominent hockey players, administrators and officials, spanning grassroots to international level. Their recollections are recorded and preserved for the education of current and future generations and to encourage greater awareness of, and participation in, hockey. The museum uses the Oral History Metadata Synchroniser (OHMS) software to index its interviews and present them online in word-searchable, accessible form.

Philately

Stamps – the hockey stamp collection is mounted in volumes. Over 250 stamps featuring the sport have been issued by 115 countries since the first hockey stamp was issued by Japan on 27 October 1951 for the 6^th National Athletic meeting at Hiroshima. The collection covers issues from around the world and is probably 95% complete. The stamps in the collection might be mint (unused), postally used, or First Day Cover with the envelope itself often depicting a hockey theme. There are also, if available, other variations such as special hockey postmarks, miniature sheets etc.

Postcards – hockey postcards were first produced in the early 20^th century with caricatures and cartoon images often of children playing or posing holding a hockey stick. The collection, spanning hundreds of postcards, includes many team photographs, showing men’s, women’s, mixed hockey and military teams, or individual players.

An extensive collection of photographs (printed and digital), slides and photographic negatives depicting matches, teams, individuals, dinners, official presentations and more. The images range from personal snaps to professional photography and includes photographs of the first club and international sides. Photography gives a fascinating insight into the development of the game and the people that have played, officiated and supported it. There is a multitude of action shots and portraits received via donated collections, from clubs’ histories or from retired or current players.

Programmes and brochures

Hundreds of match programmes and tournament and festival brochures covering club, county, regional and international level hockey, both outdoor and indoor. The Hockey Museum holds a complete set of programmes for ladies’ international matches played at Wembley Stadium between 1951 and 1991. The collection also includes schools and youth hockey programmes, programmes for the annual Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity match, and several overseas programmes.

Statistics, playing records and club histories

The Hockey Museum holds the most extensive database of playing records and statistics for hockey internationals and playing records for England and Great Britain national teams since the 1890s. The museum collects information about all forms of the game and at all levels. It seeks to hold information on approximately 8,000 English clubs that have played since organised hockey began. The museum encourages hockey clubs to provide information to verify and enhance their club histories, but actively advises clubs on how to best preserve their own history.

Tableware and earthenware

Non-trophy cups, plates, bowls and cutlery (often memorabilia, sometimes artistic) relating to hockey teams and events, from club to international level.

Trophies and presentations

The traditional trophy or presentation piece might be a cup, bowl or a shield and the museum has a range of these, but trophies come in all shapes and sizes: plaques, vases, scrolls, swords, plates, statues, flasks and decanters, honours boards and flags. The oldest trophy in the collection is a cup from 1913.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

Fine Art Collection

The collection has a strong representation of 16th to 18th century Flemish, Dutch and Italian painting, and early 18th to early 19th century British painting. Among the British painters are Raeburn, Ramsay, Romney, Stubbs, Zoffany and Gainsborough, who spent 16 formative years in Bath. The paintings collection is particularly rich in portraiture and genre, but also contains religious subjects and a small important group of Dutch Italianate landscapes. Notable pieces include ‘Dr Rice Charleton’ by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), oil on canvas, c.1764; ‘Reverend Robert Carter Thelwall and his family’ by George Stubbs (1724-1806), oil on panel, signed and dated 1776; and ‘Rosamund Sargent’ by Allan Ramsay (1713-1784), oil on canvas, signed and dated 1749. The collection of watercolours and drawings is comparatively less significant, but includes a landscape by Gainsborough and ‘View of Pembroke Castle’ by J M W Turner, as well as substantial groups of drawings by Sir George Clausen and Sylvia Gosse. The important collection of miniatures includes 16th and 17th century Flemish, German and Italian examples, but is substantially representative of the 18th century British school, containing a number of Bath-based artists. There are miniatures in watercolour and enamel, as well as silhouettes, and a rare group of 17th century portraits by Thomas Forster of notabilities in plumbago (black lead) on vellum. Bath connections are well represented by Angelica Kauffmann’s (1766-1808) portrait, c.1777, of 11-year-old Henrietta Laura Pulteney, heiress to the Early of Bath; Richard Cosway’s portrait of Elizabeth Linley; and Nathaniel Hone’s (1718-1784) miniature in enamel of Beau (Richard) Nash (1674-1762), signed and dated 1750. Sculpture is chiefly represented by small bronzes ranging from antique to Italian and French 16th to 19th century pieces. and including Far Eastern examples. Amongst the post-classical pieces is one piece of outstanding quality, ‘Woman Bathing’, c.1580, by Susini. An important marble group, ‘Diana and Endymion’ by Joseph Plura made in Bath in 1752, was purchased in 1997. The important fine art collection is a strength of the museum.

Subjects

Watercolours; Sculpture; Paintings; Art and Design; Fine Art; Drawings; Prints

British Portraits

Seventeenth-century and eighteenth-century British portraits from the collection of Sir William Holburne (1793-1874) and later gifts including works by Cornelius Jonson, Allan Ramsay, Thomas Gainsborough and George Stubbs. Portraits relating to C18 Bath acquired by the Holburne Museum, including works by Angelica Kauffman, Henry Walton and Bath artists William Tate, Thomas Beach, Thomas Barker and William Hoare. The collection includes long-term loans of important Bath-period works by Gainsborough, most notably The Byam Family. The Museum also has a small group of C18 pastel portraits, and about 200 portrait miniatures and silhouettes, mostly C18 and early C19, with an outstanding group of 12 plumbago (graphite) drawings c.1700 by Thomas Forster, and works by the all the principal Bath miniaturists of the Georgian period, including Jagger, Daniel, Rosenberg, Spornberg and Humphry. A small group of miscellaneous portrait drawings, including early C20 studies by George Clausen and Oswald Sickert. The Holburne Museum has recently received the Frank Brown collection, a legacy of prints and drawings related to music and theatre in C18-19 Bath, most of them portraits. Since the initiation of the Holburne Contemporary Portrait Prize in 2001, the Holburne has been commissioning a series of new portraits by local artists, choosing sitters from among people who have been influential in the cultural life of the South West.

Decorative and Applied Art Collection

The silver collection is the most significant of the decorative art collections. It contains a wide range of 17th to early 19th century English and Irish domestic silver and a strong representation of 17th century continental silver-gilt pieces. Notable items include a Jacobean bell salt of 1613 and a large group of 16th and 17th century Apostle and seal top spoons. The ceramic collection is particularly rich in 18th century British porcelain, including fine and representative examples from Chelsea, Bow, Longton Hall, Worcester, Derby, Swansea, Plymouth and Bristol. The collection also contains a good representation of porcelain figures, notably Chelsea, Bow and Derby. Notable items are some 40 pieces of 15th to 17th century Italian maiolica including a dish of c.1480 from Siena or Deruta. It is tin glazed earthenware with a scene of Diana and Actaeon within an Italian inscription. There is also a strong group of early Meissen including a rare and fine bottle and cover c.1724-5, hard paste porcelain painted in underglaze blue: stopper mounted in silver. The silver and ceramic collections are the major strengths of the decorative art collections. An important addition to the decorative art collections was the acquisition in 1972 of Edwardian and Victorian items from the Handley-Read collection. It includes furniture by Bath cabinetmakers and fine pottery, porcelain and silver. The glass collection is substantially English and Irish 18th to early 19th century table glass, but includes 17th century Bohemian glass. Furniture is represented by a good collection of chiefly English pieces from the late 17th century to the early 19th century. There is a collection of seals and cameos ranging in date from Roman to Renaissance to 18th and 19th century examples.

Subjects

Ceramics; Metalwork; Decorative and Applied Arts; Art and Design; Silver

Archaeology Collection

This small collection chiefly comprises Roman glass, seals and cameos.

Subjects

Archaeology

Medals Collection

There is a collection of mainly British medals of 17th to early 19th century date.

Subjects

Medals

Numismatics Collection

The coins are mainly British and chiefly date from the 17th to the early 19th centuries.

Subjects

Numismatics

Music Collection

There are a few interesting musical instruments, notably a fortepiano of c.1795 by Johann Schantz of Vienna; a harp by Sebastian Erard of 1802; and a Steinway piano once owned by Rachmaninov.

Subjects

Music

Costume and Textile Collection

This collection is largely from the British Isles. It includes several fine pieces of 17th century embroidery; excellent examples of raised or stumpwork; a collection of 18th and 19th century baby clothes; and a small group of fans.

Subjects

Costume and Textile

Other

Archives; Costume and Textile; Ethnography; Maritime; Medicine; Photography

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC

In 1974, Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) purchased the house where the composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934) was born and established it as a museum. It was administered by the Council from 1975 until 1999 when it was closed because of budget cuts. However, the museum was re-established under the supervision of a new independent charitable trust, The Holst Birthplace Trust, incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee in 1999 and as a Registered Charity from the year 2000. The collections, for the most part given by Holst’s daughter Imogen Holst, were loaned from CBC to the Trust as part of a Service Level Agreement (SLA). They remain on loan to the Trust as part of an updated Loan Agreement with The Wilson – Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, (The Cheltenham Trust), who administer the collection on behalf of CBC.

The Holst Birthplace Trust began collecting Holst related material from 2000. This collection is distinct to the CBC collection and is accessioned and stored separately.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

The Holst Birthplace Trust collection comprises items relating to the life and work of the composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934). It comprises 684 accessioned objects, with approximately 300 still to be accessioned. It is a significant collection and includes items such as autograph manuscripts, published music scores, letters, photographs, portraits and paintings as well as other personal memorabilia. Noteworthy items include four Holst autograph manuscripts: I’ll Love My Love, Folk Songs of Somerset, Two Songs without Words and a sketch from Beni Mora; correspondence relating to his work with the YMCA on the Macedonian Front during WW1; the Holst family gramophone; a gouache set design for Holst’s opera The Perfect Fool, and an oil painting of Holst’s wife Isobel by the artist Millicent Woodforde. The Trust collection also contains items relating to Holst’s daughter Imogen, his great-uncle Theodor von Holst and his friends Ralph Vaughan Williams and Vally Lasker.

1. The Holst Birthplace Trust collection also contains a small selection of domestic items illustrative of Victorian life.
2. The collection spans the early 1800s to the present day.
3. The collection spans a wide geographical area with items from across Britain, for example Cheltenham, London and Thaxted, all places where Holst lived. There are also items from Greece, Turkey and the USA, reflecting Holst’s travel abroad.
4. Approximately 100 items have been entered onto Adlib, the museum’s collections management software. It is hoped that the museum will build on this transfer of paper-based to computerised records within the next three years.
5. In addition, the museum cares for a number of items on loan from CBC. The Holst items form a highly significant collection and include 11 autograph manuscripts; Holst’s scrapbooks, and letters and photographs including rare carte-de-visites of Holst and his family in 1870s Cheltenham. The museum also holds on loan a small collection of Theodor von Holst artwork, namely a painting of Macbeth and pencil sketches from private collector Max Browne.
6. Furthermore, the museum has a small collection of unaccessioned items it uses for education and interpretation, for example Victorian domestic objects for its learning sessions, and Victorian books, costume and ceramics to enhance the museum’s room settings, known as ‘set-dressing.’ There is a separate inventory for these items.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

Social History Collection

There are kitchen and domestic items; trade tools, among them thatching tools, and tools of the blacksmith and cobbler; and weights and measures. Most notably, there is the railway engine ‘Holsworthy’ sign which is on loan from the town council.

Subjects

Social History

Agriculture Collection

This is a collection of agricultural implements.

Subjects

Agriculture

Photographic Collection

There is a small collection of local photographs and postcards.

Subjects

Photography

Archives Collection

This collection comprises books and ephemera.

Subjects

Archives

Other

Archaeology; Arms and Armour; Costume and Textile; Maritime; Medals; Medicine

Source: Cornucopia

Date: Not known, but before 2015

Licence: CC BY-NC