Collection: Fleur de Lis Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The collections owned by the Museum have been accumulated by the Faversham Society over the last 70 years, mostly through donations from the general public, but also through targeted acquisitions and occasional purchases.The collection has grown to over 50,000 objects and archival artefacts and represents the largest and most significant collection of material culture in the Borough of Swale.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The collection relates to the history and archaeology of Faversham and surrounding area with particular reference to the local industries of agriculture – especially fruit and hop-picking, brewing, brick making, ship building and explosives manufacture.The collection also includes domestic social history material; a significant collection of photographs, slides and photographic equipment; telecommunications equipment; and a substantial archive of documentary evidence from varied sources.

  Museum Material is also held on display at Chart Gunpowder Mills and the Society also has material on display relating to Maison Dieu Museum in Ospringe.

  At present, the Museum’s collections can be divided into the following subject areas:

  General social history

  c. 5,000 items including items from domestic and personal life, various industries: railways, brewing, explosives, shipbuilding, agriculture (especially hops), as well as wartime/military items.

  Costume

  c. 1,000 items.Large amount of costume from 1900’s.Collection also includes a Polonaise Dress (18th century) and a court dress from the late 19th century.

  Photographic collection

  c. 5,000 photographs, also glass negatives, slides, cameras, magic lantern projectors etc; Crosoer Slides (important collection of hand-coloured lantern slides taken by the Crosoer brothers – extensive photography around Faversham from 1890-1910); also movie archive with some digitized films.Also projectors, inc rare 3-D projector. (A large bequest of photographic material from Arthur Percival is being processed which has over 40,000 images in different formats.)

  Coins and medals

  Large general collection, and locally important explosives medals (awarded following the explosion in 1916).

  Sound

  Oral history recordings, old records, audio equipment telecommunications including a collection of radios, a Strowger telephone exchange (relay driven, still working and connected to the museum’s internal phone and used by visitors), old switchboard.

  Archaeology

  Local archaeology, but including important material from Faversham Abbey; collection also includes archaeological human remains.

  Fine art

  Framed and unframed works

  Decorative art

  General items but includes an important collection of Osborne Ivorex Plaques (manufactured in Faversham).

  Maps & Plans

  Large collection of material relating to Faversham and its buildings.

  Large objects

  Georgian Shop Front. A Gilbert Scott red telephone box, Telephone exchange. Penny-farthing bicycle.

  Archives

  Archives contain c.30,000 items:

  Main document archive containing wills, deeds and other locally important documents.

  Subsidiary doc archive

  Ephemera

  Faversham Society Papers

  Faversham Oyster Fishery Company ephemera

  Prints and Drawings

  Magazines (General)

  Magazines (Unique / Historical)

  Magazines (Local History)

  Newspapers

  Posters

  Faversham Maritime Archive

  Explosives Archive

  Railways Archive

  Brick-making Archive

  Brewery Archive

  Local Schools Archive

  Church Magazines and Newsletters

  Faversham Town Council Minutes

  Swale Council / KCC Material

  Sheet Music

  Archive of local maps and plans etc.

  Books

  Large, varied library with several rare and unique books.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC