Collection: Worthing Museum and Art Gallery

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Worthing Museum and Art Gallery owes its origins to Dr Howard Nicholls who in 1900 offered to lend his collection of British birds, all of which he had shot and stuffed personally, to the town. The Council accepted his offer and the birds were displayed in the former Council offices in Rowlands Road.

  In 1906 the town’s Librarian, Marion Frost, persuaded Andrew Carnegie to pay for a new library. An anonymous benefactor later identified as Alfred Cortis, the first Mayor of Worthing, paid for a museum to be built as part of the library construction on the corner of Richmond Road and Chapel Road which opened in December 1908

  Frost with the help of her deputy (and later successor) Ethel Gerard expanded the collections, organised regular temporary exhibitions and displays. In 1935 Harry Hargood bequeathed money to the museum for the construction of the Hargood Room to house his family’s navel archive.

  Following Ethel Gerard’s retirement in 1949 Len Bickerton was appointed as Librarian and Curator. Gradually the museum’s role expanded taking on responsibility for archaeological excavations in the area and the collections grew accordingly. He also supported the development of the costume collection and is responsible for the museums fine collection of glass ware.

  In 1972 the library service was transferred to the newly created West Sussex County Council and a new library was built in Richmond Road. Worthing Borough Council retained responsibility for the museum and appointed the first full time Curator, John Norwood. The museum was scheduled to expand into the former library, but this was deferred. The ground floor of the library was used as council office space. The Council retained its commitment to completing this plan and has achieved most of the original plan in phased development. The museum now has the green light to develop all of the building and finally complete the plan to occupy both the original 1908 museum and library building.

  Significant developments have included a Sculpture Garden in 1993, an additional art gallery and picture store in 1994.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2018

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  ARCHAEOLOGY

  From the 1930s to the 1970s the Worthing Archaeological Society was responsible for a number of major local excavations. During the 1960s these were under the direction of staff at Worthing Museum. From the early 1970s most excavations in the area have been carried out by professional archaeological units. Material from all this work is housed in Worthing Museum. The collection also includes chance finds and material from field walking.

  The Museum collects material from within the Worthing and Adur administrative districts. For historic reasons we also have material from an area between the River Arun and River Adur and south of a line from Pulborough to Upper Beeding, with the exception of the parishes of Littlehampton and Rustington.

  The archaeology collection is extensive and includes both excavated material and stray finds of all periods from the Palaeolithic to Post-Medieval.

  The strengths of the collections include Neolithic, Bronze Age, Romano-British, early Anglo- Saxon, Saxon, Medieval, Post-Medieval and the Patching Hoard.

  COSTUME

  The Museum has been acquiring items of costume and textiles but did not actively collect until the 1950s-60s, transforming it into one of the most important collections of its kind in the country. The Council has made a commitment to building on the collection’s excellence.

  Since the 1960s the collection has grown to approximately 40,000 items of British clothing, accessories and ephemera – used and worn by both sexes, all ages and social levels.

  The costume collection contains – men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories of any class – couture, dressmaker made, home-made and High Street which is why the dress collection is so diverse. The collection has a very early jacket from с1615, the bulk of the collection dates from 1750 with good examples of dress styles and accessories from the second half of the 18th century. The 19th century dress collection has excellent examples of dress from regency to late Victorian, including a cape worn by Queen Victoria in 1897. The 20th century collection is enhanced with a concentration on ‘make-do-and-mends’, home-made and shop bought, which is backed up by the ephemera collection that includes photographs, fashion magazines and patterns.

  The strengths of the collection include women’s clothing, 18th century men’s clothing, fans, women’s shoes, hats and bonnets from 1700, wedding dresses dating from 1800 and swimwear from 1900 as well as ephemera, jewellery.

  Important collections include Gooch (jewellery); Guermonprez (assorted); Ridlington (hats);Barr/Prentis (assorted); Coules (assorted); Frost (assorted); Jones (assorted); ‘Golden Boot’ (unsold stock from shoe shop); J.A.C. (unsold 1930s handbags from this London company), Chadwick (silver buttonhooks); Ida Pritchard (fashion drawings), Winn (children’s clothes).

  TEXTILES

  The textile collection is catalogued in four main groups’ needlework, household linen, domestic furnishing and fabric samples.

  Collection Strengths

  • Needlework collection which is international consists of embroidered/silk pictures from 1600, samplers from 1664, needlework specimens from 1800, embroidery fragments/samples from 1700, patchwork from 1800, quilting from c1750, suffragette banners, and lace from 1600.
  • Household linen which is mainly British consists of bedding from 1900, towels from с1850, tableware (cloths, napkins etc.) from 1700, cushions/covers from с1850.
  • Domestic furnishing collections also British consists of mirror surround c1660, hangings from 1680, curtains/blinds from с1850, bell pulls from с1850, furniture covers from c1850.
  • Fabric sample collection is mainly British and Western European containing lengths and fragments of dress and furnishing fabrics from 1700.

  The collection is supported by associated ephemera (British and International): Magazines, patterns, manuals, and trade catalogues.

  DECORATIVE ART

  The decorative art collection includes some fine examples of earthenware, stoneware and porcelain from the principal English factories as well as Sussex Ware and regional contemporary studio pottery. The collection dates from 1600 and includes some medieval examples and is particularly strong in nineteenth century wares, commemorative and souvenir pieces.

  Ceramics

  The ceramics collection consists of mainly earthenware, stoneware and porcelain pieces from 18th century to modern day, representing most British manufacturers of decorative and functional wares. Examples include rare pieces of Rockingham, Brameld & Co 1831- 42, early examples of Bow & Minton porcelain and Royal Doulton stoneware, and some fine pieces of Longton Hall, Worcester, Wedgwood and Spode.

  Sussex pottery dating from medieval wares through to 19th & 20th century rustic functional pieces are well represented as are Sussex and Worthing souvenir china, and royal and general commemorative wares. Special pieces include mugs designed for the last two coronations by artists Dame Laura Knight and Eric Ravilious.

  There is an extensive collection of Staffordshire figures and dogs, as well as toy and dolls house china some of which was catalogued under ceramics rather than juvenilia for historical reasons. A fine, if relatively small, collection of Studio ceramics from the 20th and 21st centuries bring the ceramics collection up to date, including work by Peter Layton, Ray Marshall, Reginald Wells, Maggi Giles and Yvonne Hudson.

  Glass

  The glass collection reflects the collecting interests and expertise of one of the previous Principal Curators, Len Bickerton, who wrote definitively on English 18th and 19th century drinking glasses. Many of the drinking glasses have some fine air twist stems. The star of the glass collection has to be the Steyning Bowl, c1790, made for a local merchant and was purchased with help from the Friends of Worthing Museum and Art Gallery in 1979.

  Collection Strengths include English drinking glasses, 18th and 19th centuries Miscellaneous domestic glassware, Contemporary studio glassware and European glass, 18th and 19th centuries.

  Silver

  The silver collection comprises a small collection of mainly domestic items.

  FINE ART

  The Museum has built up an extensive topographical collection of paintings, prints and drawings dating from 1800 to the present day. It also has a fine body of oil paintings by the British Post Impressionist painters who were members of the Camden Town Group.

  Oil Paintings

  Within the Modern British section, the Camden Town Group is well represented. This collection includes works by Harold Gilman, Spencer Gore, Charles Ginner, Lucien Pissarro and Walter Sickert. Without doubt, the most famous picture in Worthing’s collection is Bianca, a rare Shakespearean-inspired portrait, by William Holman Hunt, a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The collection also includes a small number of works by influential foreign artists such as Meindert Hobbema, Jan Wijnants and Nicholas Roerich

  Collection Strengths include English school from 18th century onwards, Works of Sussex subjects and by artists with a Sussex connection and Modern English painters and in particular the Camden Town Group.

  Watercolours

  The watercolours include works by some of the main watercolourists working from the eighteenth century onwards.

  Within the watercolour collection, there are examples from the main exponents of this British medium: JMW Turner, Paul Sandby, Samuel Palmer, Myles Birket Foster and many more.

  Collection Strengths includes a comprehensive representation of the English school, 18th century onwards, topographical collection relating to Sussex and the Worthing area.

  Drawings, miniatures, and pastels

  Among a number of the smaller collections there are several highlights. Stanley Spencer’s pencil study for the oil portrait of The Furnace Man is a very fine example.

  Prints

  The print collection is rich and diverse, showing not only the wide range of printmaking techniques, such as engravings, etchings, lithographs and woodcuts, but also the many accomplished and well-known. For example, the print collection features the work of Graham Sutherland, William Nicholson, Augustus John and Hubert von Herkomer.

  Collection Strengths include English engravings, etchings and woodcuts, mostly early 20th century, Topographical collection relating to Sussex, Worthing and Brighton, 18th-19th century.

  Sculpture

  The sculpture collection is relatively small but no less significant. Three-dimensional works by such artists as Philip Jackson, John Skelton, Dora Gordine, Anthony Stevens and Jon Mills provide an interesting mix of 20th century sculptural styles.

  JUVENILIA

  The juvenilia collection has been one of the museum’s strengths since the 1930s, it is one of the largest collections of its kind in the UK outside London and includes pieces of superb quality and interest. They include English wax dolls, early paper dolls, dolls houses, clockwork toys, card, table and optical games as well as educational games and books.

  Dolls

  This extensive collection includes a complete cross section of all types of production techniques and key French, German, American, and British manufacturers with a particular focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. It also includes a small number of handmade dolls of a local provenance and social history.

  Collection Strengths includes Examples of rare paper, wax and bisque dolls, the Dicey- Williams collection of needlework dolls, most main types of doll produced during the last 250 years, a considerable collection of dolls’ clothing, accessories and furniture, and Several fine dolls houses and a large amount of furniture and fittings dating from the 19th Century.

  Toys and Games

  A large and varied collection of toys and games including: Card and table games; Clockwork toys; Puzzles; Railway toys; Educational toys; Optical toys; a number of fine teddy bears including early examples made by Steiff.

  Children’s books

  Collection includes early educational volumes as well as a large number of illustrated fictional works.

  Childhood

  There is also a small collection of nursery equipment and ephemera associated with maternity and childhood.

  SOCIAL HISTORY

  In general the Social History section covers all historical material that is not specifically covered by another section. It is, therefore, large and varied. There are extensive collections of material relating to domestic, social, corporate, commercial and occupational life.

  Each of the main areas within the Social History section is supported by large holdings of printed ephemera and photographs. The collections relate primarily to English Social History and to the Worthing area in particular.

  There is a collection of over 6000 topographical photographs which illustrate how the area has developed and provide a wealth of information.

  Collection Strengths are agriculture, domestic crafts, shepherding (Barclay Wills Collection), War memorial, WWI & WWII related ephemera, Worthing souvenirs, Worthing residents and history of the borough.

  NUMISMATICS

  Coins

  Collection Strengths include Iron Age and Roman coins, British coins of all periods as well as those from British overseas territories and a small but significant collection of tokens from Sussex as well as others from the rest of Britain

  Medals

  The medal collection includes commemorative medals from Sussex and commutative medals marking events of national importance. The collection includes British service and campaign medals and a small collection of British orders and the Hargood Medal.

  GEOLOGY

  Collection Strengths include a comprehensive and representative collection of rocks and minerals from south-east England and especially from Sussex. A general mineralogical collection includes the Gooch collection of cut and uncut gemstones. A fossil collection consisting mostly of Cretaceous fossils from south-east England and especially Sussex and including the E.C.Martin collection of material from the Upper Chalk.

  COLIN MEARS BEQUEST

  A unique collection of items bequeathed in 1999 by a local collector, which span several major collections including Decorative Art, Local History and Juvenilia.

  Collection Strengths include children’s books and work by children’s illustrators (including Kate Greenway, greetings cards and postcards, Vogue magazines, Local ephemera and Children’s china.)

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2018

  Licence: CC BY-NC