Collection: Wrexham County Borough Museum and Archives

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Local historian, AN Palmer, campaigned for a museum for Wrexham throughout the 1890s and 1900s fearing that without one the town’s heritage would be lost. The library opened in 1907 and in 1924 it was agreed to establish a ‘museum room’ there. The museum room ceased to operate in 1938 and the Borough Council’s collection was put in storage. Much of the collection was later given away or had to be disposed of during the 1940s and 1950s owing to its deterioration. Only a few items from the original 1924 museum room collection survive.

  In 1982, due to a lack of museum provision in the area, a Museum Research Officer was appointed for Wrexham Maelor Borough Council and collecting was re-commenced. The Wrexham Maelor Heritage Centre on King Street was opened in 1988.

  In 1983 Clwyd County Council opened Bersham Heritage Centre in the Clywedog Valley as a museum to interpret the industrial history of Clwyd County with specific references to John Wilkinson and his ironworks. A separate collecting policy for Bersham Heritage Centre was established in 1986.

  In 1987 Clwyd County Council acquired the site of Wilkinson’s Ironworks at Mill Farm. A period of extensive excavation and restoration followed, with the site opening to the public in 1993.

  Excavations at Minera Lead Mines commenced in 1991 and the site was opened to the public in 1993

  Following Local Government reorganisation in 1996, the former Clwyd Council sites and associated collections of Bersham Heritage Centre and Ironworks, Minera Lead Mines and Wrexham Maelor Museum Service amalgamated to form the new Wrexham County Borough Museum Service.

  In 1996 Wrexham County Borough Museum moved to its current site at County Buildings, Regent Street.

  In 2000 Wrexham County Borough Museum received a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (then known as the Heritage Lottery Fund) to purchase a large private collection relating to Welsh Football. This initiated the development of the Welsh Football Collection.

  In 2004 a second grant was approved by the NLHF for the purchase of a large collection relating to football legend John Charles from his wife, Glenda Charles.

  In 2007 Wrexham County Borough Council and the Trustees of the Royal Welch Museum entered into a 25 year agreement, loaning the RWF Museum reserve collection to Wrexham County Borough Museum.

  2011 saw the reopening of the museum following a large NLHF redevelopment project. This redevelopment increased and updated the gallery spaces, allowing more of the collection to be displayed through themed cases and exhibitions with a regular changeover of display.

  In 2018 consultants were commissioned by the Welsh Government to produce a feasibility study looking at options for a Football Museum for Wales. After looking at the available options, and taking in to account the Welsh football collection owned by Wrexham County Borough Council, Wrexham County Borough Museum was recommended as the best location for a new Football Museum for Wales.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2020

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The object collections of Wrexham Heritage service can be divided into two main collections with two distinct collecting policies. These are the Wrexham County Borough Collection and the Welsh Football Collection.

  Wrexham County Borough Collection

  The Wrexham County Borough museum collection is relatively typical of a local authority county borough museum collection established in the 1980s/1990s. It currently contains around 16,000 objects which have been divided in to the following subject areas; Archaeology; Social History; Industrial and Economic History; Fine and Decorative Art; Military History and Natural Sciences. A separate collecting strategy exists for the football collection as detailed below.

  Archaeology

  The current collection is relatively small but includes a significant proportion of nationally and regionally important finds. The collection includes the Brymbo Man beaker burial, the Bronze Age Rossett Hoard, the medieval Bronington Hoard, Roman material from Plas Coch, and industrial material from John Wilkinson’s Ironworks at Bersham.

  Acquisitions are acquired through donation, purchase (normally in relation to the items declared as Treasure) and archaeological excavation.

  In the past, due to a lack of local museum provision until the 1980s, archaeological material from the Wrexham County Borough area was collected by other museum services, namely The Grosvenor Museum in Chester and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Items declared as Treasure through the Treasure Act and discovered within Wrexham County Borough are often acquired by the Amgueddfa Cymru- National Museum Wales.

  Social History

  Wrexham Museum Service has a well-established social history collection that aims to represent the daily life of the people of Wrexham County Borough. Themes covered by the collection include the home, religion, work life, sports and leisure pursuits, the stages of life, health, local clubs and societies. The majority of acquisitions to the collection are made through generous donations by members of the public.

  Although the social history collection is well established it often lacks the local provenance that is so important. In the past this essential information was often unrecorded, misplaced or, for items with no Wrexham connection, it never existed in the first place.

  A past eagerness to collect all items with any kind of link to Wrexham County Borough has resulted in a high number of duplicate items in the collection. With storage full to capacity, there is a need to consider rationalisation of the collection to ensure resources remain available for items that fill gaps in the collection.

  Industrial and Economic history

  The industrial and economic history collection is another well-established collection, with the majority of Wrexham industries being represented to some extent by artefacts. This includes; shops and businesses in the Wrexham area; pharmacy; brewing; coal mining; lead mining; clocks and watch making; iron and steel; local transport such as trams and buses; the bricks, tiles and terracotta industry; printing.

  The industrial and economic history collection suffers from many of the same problems as the social history collection; duplicate objects; lack of provenance; and a lack of suitable storage space especially for large objects.

  Fine and decorative art

  The current collection consists of fine and decorative art in a range of media including oils, watercolours, prints, sculpture, textiles and ceramics.

  Despite the art collection being small, storage space for framed items is nearly full to capacity. With grant support further framed storage space was developed with the redevelopment of the registration room into store 2 in 2018 but this only provides storage for existing collections rather than creating room for new acquisitions.

  Military History

  The collection consists of objects including firearms and weapons, uniforms, badges and medals that relate to the people of Wrexham County Borough who have served in the forces. Particularly strong areas of the collection include the military during World Wars I & II and the Royal Welch Fusiliers and their role in Wrexham town.

  Natural Sciences

  The museum currently holds a small collection of natural history objects in the form of preserved zoology and geology. There are a few items of geology associated with Brymbo Fossil Forest a SSSI in the county borough.

  Welsh Football Collection

  The Welsh Football Collection is a distinct part of the collection, with a focus on football across the whole of Wales, not just Wrexham County Borough. It is a strong collection and is the largest collection relating to Welsh football in public ownership in Wales.

  The Welsh football collection was set up in 2000 following successful grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The collection includes objects, textiles, works of art and archival material that aim to tell the story of football in Wales from its origins in the late 19^th century to the present day. The collection was further supplemented with the acquisition, again with the assistance of a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, of the John Charles collection.

  Unlike other areas of collecting, the Welsh football collection receives few items by gift or bequest and items are therefore acquired actively through purchase. The lack of gifts and bequests is due in part to a lack of awareness of the collection by both the public and other museum services.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2020

  Licence: CC BY-NC