Collection: Kirklees Museums and Galleries

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The collections can be divided into three broad areas: human history, natural history and media archives. These have been further divided into smaller areas. Each area contains highly important collections. However, there are currently no natural historians or media archivists in the reduced curatorial team. Understanding of the collections in these areas is limited and development work can only happen in collaboration with outside specialists.

  HUMAN HISTORY

  The people of Kirklees have always been interested in the wider world and have a history of welcoming people of diverse backgrounds. Its geographical position has long made it an important trade route and stopping off point for travellers. This is most clearly shown by the important collections from Slack Roman fort, a stopping off point between York and Chester, and now close to the M62.

  As the area developed economically and industrially, local industries attracted workers from around the world, and they helped develop the region’s unique character. Today, Kirklees contains both urban and rural areas. Agriculture is a significant economic activity, with associated industrial trades such as David Brown tractors. The textile (woollen) industry has dominated the region for two hundred years but other industries have also been important, especially engineering and coal mining. These industries are well represented in the collections.

  Social and cultural life has been shaped by the area’s industrial and economic activity and the two are closely interlinked. Brass bands developed in the collieries; Rugby League emerged because Union matches clashed with mill working hours; the woollen mills provided attractive employment for textile workers from the Indian sub-continent; successful industrialists developed interests in the arts and collecting; contrasts between workers and employers encouraged political awareness and activism.

  The first museums in the area reflect the local towns’ proud ambitions. They collected world-wide, and collaborated with top institutions to build up world culture collections of great aesthetic value, academic research potential and popular interest.

  Industry, agriculture, work and technical

  • Status : Proactive
  • Number of items: 9800 on modes

  All aspects of work and industry have been collected, and some areas are especially significant: all aspects of the local textile and supporting industries are represented and holdings from the early days of industrialisation, when Kirklees lead the world, are extremely significant; Kirklees has the most important collection in the world of material relating to Bamforth and Co, local publishers of postcards and lantern slides; there is some significant agricultural material with good local provenance; local transport and engineering firms are represented. There are also substantial holdings of more generic trades and industries.

  The aim in future is to focus on distinctive local practice, major local firms and industries and businesses with a strong local identity or community association, such as local chains of shops, and to review holdings of more generic trades.

  The Bamforth collection is currently stored by Huddersfield University archive service at Heritage Quay.

  Personal, domestic and community life

  • Status : Proactive
  • Number of items: 22000 on modes

  This forms the largest portion of the human history collections. However, social history collecting has often been generic rather than locally focussed and there is a great deal of material with little or no provenance, much of poor quality. Also, all sites collected social history independently prior to the formation of Kirklees as a unitary authority, so there is a lot of duplication.

  Some areas are notable, often reflecting past curators’ particular interests. Local numismatics are well represented and there have been attempts to build up a representative collection of national currency. There is an extensive collection of toys, especially mechanical tin toys. There are collections relating to the buildings the museums are or were housed in, the families who originally lived in them and the founding curators. There is a large collection of costume, mostly C19^th and C20th baby and women’s wear. There are collections of C17^th and C19^th domestic furnishings to dress Oakwell Hall and Red House (now closed). Any further collecting or review of this area should take account of the collections at Temple Newsam and Shibden Hall. There is a good collection of musical instruments, some locally made, but without any particular focus. There are also some small but significant collections of key local themes, such as sports, politics and protest, public transport etc.

  The aim is to develop and maintain a collection that helps tell the story of the public and personal lives of the people within the area now covered by the Kirklees boundary. This covers civic and public developments, diverse communities, the impact of and contributions to significant national events, domestic and social life. Plans for future museum developments have highlighted music, sport and political activism as priorities. The service will also collect and maintain good quality generic items that support exhibitions, display and education work.

  World Cultures incl. Egyptology

  • Status : Closed
  • Number of items: 3225 on modes

  These collections were sourced largely from major institutions or significant private collectors. The Egyptology collection is regularly studied by post graduate researchers but also provides one of the service’s most popular galleries. Although the material itself is obviously not local, there are connections with local collectors and its presence is a reflection of the museum’s and the local town’s ambitions in the early 20^th century.

  The majority of the Egyptian Collections were received by Bagshaw and Dewsbury museums directly from the Egyptian Exploration Fund, the British School of Archaeology in Egypt and similar groups from the 1900s to 1930s. The collection covers the entire span of Ancient Egypt and is especially good on pottery.

  The world culture collections were developed by Bagshaw Museum and feature items transferred from the Royal Collections, the Imperial Institute and the V&A Museum and items from specialist collectors such John Hilditch, Copland Sparks, John Speak and the museums original honorary curator, Walter Bagshaw and his family, who travelled extensively. It mainly comprises decorative arts, costume and textiles and weaponry from Japan, China, the Indian subcontinent and Africa. In recent years there has been some collecting of domestic social history from Kirklees residents’ origin communities overseas. The focus has now shifted to reflecting the experience of these communities as they have travelled to and lived in Kirklees and are covered under Personal, domestic and community life (see above).

  There are no plans to develop these collections further. Some of the weaker areas may be reviewed for possible transfer.

  Archaeology

  • Status : passive
  • Number of items: 21600 on modes

  Kirklees contains a number of significant archaeological sites covering a range of periods, including Slack Roman Fort, Grimescar tile kiln and Upper Heaton kiln. The service is the main repository for excavation material from across Kirklees, but has also received material from other parts of West Yorkshire and the Lancashire border, sometimes because the boundary areas have changed or because other services were not collecting archaeology. There have also been a number of significant collections from individuals, whose collecting was not confined to the local area.

  Tolson Museum has a history of association with Huddersfield and District Archaeology Society (HDAS) and has been actively involved in excavations.

  The results are a variable collection, with some periods better represented than others, and more than just local material. The most important part of the collections is the Mesolithic material, which includes a collection of microliths of national importance.

  The aim is to focus on Kirklees material and to minimise more generic or wider representative material.

  The service is committed to supporting the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

  The service is currently working with HDAS to catalogue undocumented collections. This may identify future collecting or disposal targets.

  Fine and decorative art

  • Status : Passive
  • Number of items: 2800 on modes

  The Kirklees art collection was formed in 1974 as a result of local government reorganisation. It includes substantial works of art that were donated to or acquired by Town Halls, along with significant gifts from the Contemporary Art Society. The greatest strengths lie in 19th and 20th century work by British artists and features a number of outstanding artworks of international significance, including the first painting by Francis Bacon to enter a public collection. Artworks from the collection are shown in exhibitions around the world helping to raise the profile of Kirklees and its reputation as a centre for excellence in this area.

  The aim is to maintain Kirklees’ reputation as a centre for modern and contemporary art by continuing to acquire significant works from the 19^th century to the present day (where there is the necessary financial support).  We will reflect the quality and diversity of contemporary and historic artistic talent in Kirklees and continue to enable residents and visitors to feel inspired with new ideas and the desire to express their own creativity.

  NATURAL HISTORY

  The study and collecting of natural history have been extremely significant historically in Kirklees. Tolson Memorial Museum grew out of the collections of the Mechanics Institute and Beaumont Park Museum, both of which focussed on science and natural history. Early curators at Tolson Memorial Museum include prominent local natural historians and they engaged in active collecting in the field. The museum was also an important hub for local, regional and national natural history societies.

  Botany

  • Status : Passive
  • Number of items: 27500 on modes

  The collection comprises several major herbaria from a number of significant local collectors and includes material of national importance and species now extinct in the British Isles. Fungi are included here and these collections reflect the importance of the local area in the setting up of the British Mycological Society.

  Zoology

  • Status : Passive
  • Number of items: 29300 on modes

  There is a large taxidermy collection of mostly birds and mammals which primarily have value for display and educational use. This includes a small but significant historic group of double preparations (half skeleton/half taxidermy) which are used in display. There are historic taxidermy displays of birds in both Tolson and Bagshaw Museums.

  There are also collections of documented and scientifically valuable British and world-wide specimens, mostly from local collectors. Bird skins and eggs are well represented and there are good collections of some insect groups, the caddis fly group being especially important.

  Geology

  • Status : Passive
  • Number of items: 2400 on modes

  With a history of coal mining in the area, geology has been a popular subject of study. There are representative fossils, mostly British, from most geological periods. The strength of the collection is its coal measures fossils, including plant and fish material, a number of them figured specimens. There are sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks, mostly British, with a strong tendency towards local Coal Measures and Millstone Grit specimens.

  The primary sources of the collection are the Learoyd Collection, Huddersfield Technical College Museum and Beaumont Park. There are important historic links with Huddersfield Geology Group.

  MEDIA ARCHIVES

  Image Archive

  • Status : passive
  • Number of items: 62000 scanned images

  The collection of photographic images is vast. It includes significant holdings of key local photographers from the early C20th and also images from the Huddersfield Examiner. The majority are local, but there are some national and international subjects.

  Substantial parts of the collection have been scanned and are available to the public through the Kirklees Image Archive website. The digital archive also includes images where Kirklees does not hold the original but has been given permission to scan and publish them. The online archive also includes some museum collection items of a 2D nature, such as samplers and botanical drawings.

  Work on scanning the remaining collection is currently on hold as there is no longer an image archivist. There is no systematic collecting of photographic images, though donation offers may be accepted in support of local social and industrial history.

  The collection is currently stored at Huddersfield University Archive service at Heritage Quay.

  Sound Archive

  • Number of items: 600-700 recordings
  • Status : closed

  Between 1985 and 1993 local people were interviewed and recordings made, as part of a systematic oral history project. Since then, a few more ad hoc recordings have been made. The people interviewed were born as early as the 1890s and the recordings are of enormous importance.

  The archive will be maintained, and ideally, supplemented with further recordings. However, the service does not have the resources to continue with oral history recording at present. The focus at present is on digitisation and transcribing of existing recordings, through a partnership with York St John University.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: Not known

  Licence: CC BY-NC