Collection: Bishop’s Waltham Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The Bishop’s Waltham Historical Collection opened in 1898 in the hallway of the Bishop’s Waltham Institute in Bank Street. It comprised items collected by local antiquarians, items from the parish council such as the bell from the demolished market hall, padlock from the local stocks and collected items such as prints, paintings, coins and locally made clocks. In the early days the objects were looked after by the schoolmaster. On his death they came under the care of the Parish Council and were renamed the “Parish Treasures”.

  Around 1980 a group of local historians got together to discuss the possibility of a proper museum in Bishop’s Waltham and the Bishop’s Waltham Museum Society was born. The members scoured the town for suitable premises for a permanent museum. They found a derelict outhouse behind Barclays Bank.

  After several months of discussions a lease was arranged at a peppercorn rent. The Bishop’s Waltham Museum Society became the Bishop’s Waltham Museum Trust a registered Charity. Extensive repairs and refurbishments were carried out by local traders and volunteers and the Museum opened at Easter 1987. For 15 years the museum opened regularly from April to October. The collection grew with donations from local people of social history until the room for display and storage was becoming a problem.

  In 2002 the opportunity arose to open negotiations once again with Barclays Bank on the possibility of leasing the adjoining kitchen. Barclays agreed that the Museum could lease the kitchen on the same terms as the Scullery. After 2 years of discussions with solicitors, consultants, builders etc. an archway between the two rooms was eventually constructed in February 2004. The new Museum re-opened in April 2005.

  John Bosworth was Curator until 2005 when he died after a long illness. John was responsible for the collection as it is now. He devoted his life to the museum, collecting artefacts and keeping a photographic testimony of the village life. With his death a lot of knowledge and information was lost. While the provenance of objects cannot be re-established, documentation has since been improved.

  In 2006, Barclays Bank building was sold and the peppercorn rent agreement expired. Search for suitable premises began. The only obvious building was the farmhouse within the grounds of the ancient Bishop’s Waltham Palace, one of the palaces of the Bishops of Winchester. Discussion with English Heritage started and an agreement was signed in September 2008 whereby the museum would be housed in the ground floor of the Palace Farmhouse. Under the present Maintained Property Agreement (MPA), the Museum has free use of the building, heating and lighting but contributes towards rates and water cost. In return the Museum Trust has the responsibility to open, close and inspect the Palace Grounds in addition to running the museum. The upper floor is reserved for English Heritage Palace exhibition, which was kept in the building after English Heritage vacated. This collection mostly comprises finely carved masonry from the palace buildings and a model of the palace.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2021

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The collection is comprised of artefacts and archaeological material covering pre-history through to the present day. The Victorian period is particularly well covered with exhibits of the local terracotta, brick and tile works and other local businesses, domestic and agricultural objects.

  The Parish Treasures

  The Parish Treasures are the original items in the collection. At present they are on long loan from the Parish Council but it is hoped they will be acquired by the museum in 2030.

  English Heritage Collection

  These items, mainly carved masonry, remain the responsibility of English Heritage but form an important display in the museum relating to the Palace itself.

  Archaeology

  The collection is comprised mainly of field walking materials and of finds from the Southbrook excavation. All the material is from within the Parish of Bishop’s Waltham. The period represented is from prehistoric to the early modern.

  Archive and printed ephemera

  The collection contains deeds and plans, maps, Parish magazines, business invoices, trade catalogues, pamphlets and many unrelated items from within the collection area.

  There is a small library of books and articles relevant to the history of Bishop’s Waltham but these are not part of the collection.

  Photographs

  The photograph collection of the previous curator is extensive and in the process of being catalogued. It includes copies of early photographs and postcards and his own personal photographs taken over decades. Over 2,500 photographs have been scanned and catalogued with approximately 500 to go.

  Social and Industrial history

  Domestic items are associated with the home, laundry, preparation of food, local pastimes and sport.

  Trade items are associated with Mrs Askew Shop, Gunners bank, Arthur Helps terracotta pottery, Blanchard brick and tile work, local mineral water and brewery businesses, Padbury clockmaker, Etheridge blacksmith

  Austin and Wyatt property management documents have been acquired as an archive and are in the process of being sorted before accessioning individual items related to the parish.

  Agricultural life

  The collection includes various tools and equipment used on local farms.

  Military History

  The collection consists mainly of material from the two World Wars and a small number of items related to the Bishop’s Waltham Palace and the Civil war.

  Art and paintings

  The collection includes eighteen century prints of BW palace, framed photographs and 19th century oil paintings representing the village square, and 20th century paintings of the town and station.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2021

  Licence: CC BY-NC