Collection: Wakefield Museums and Galleries

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Wakefield Corporation opened Wakefield Museum and Art Gallery at Holmfield House in Clarence Park in 1923. The collections included social history objects, ethnographic material, archaeological finds from the local area and ancient Egypt, a small natural history collection and local prints and paintings. The museum relied on donations for the collections to grow, in the early years this included a significant collection of decorative art, pottery and furniture from local industrialist Frank Green.

  Following the establishment of a separate Wakefield Art Gallery in 1934, Wakefield Museum continued to collect social, archaeological, ethnographic and natural history objects until the museum moved premises to a former Georgian music saloon and Mechanics Institute in Wakefield city centre in 1956. The museum followed national trends in museum collecting by creating period room settings using locally sourced building fixtures and fittings. From the 1960s, the museum borrowed the Charles Waterton collection of natural history from Stonyhurst College on a long-term basis, until its return in 2022.

  With the advent of local government reorganisation in 1974, the collection became the responsibility of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and was amalgamated with other museum and library collections within the Wakefield district, particularly those originating in Pontefract and Castleford.

  A small voluntary run museum was established at Pontefract Castle in the nineteenth century. The objects collected during this period were transferred to the newly formed Wakefield Council’s museum service at local government re-organisation in 1974 and eventually redisplayed in the Art Nouveau Carnegie library building which was converted into a museum in 1978.

  Castleford Library began collecting museum objects in the 1930s and again this material transferred at local government re-organisation in 1974. Objects with a Castleford provenance are readily identifiable within the museum’s collection. For a number of years. Castleford related objects were displayed within a room in the library, in 2013 a new purpose-built museum opened within the newly extended and refurbished Castleford Forum Library and Museum.

  During the 1970s, the Service stopped collecting Natural History and focussed mainly on the social history and archaeology of the Wakefield district.

  From the late 1970s until 2012, Wakefield Council managed Clarke Hall as an educational museum collection. It is no longer part of the Council’s museums portfolio and as a consequence, Wakefield Museums & Castles no longer collects items specifically for use at that site. All the objects that were used to dress the Hall have been assessed in accordance with the Collections Development Policy. About 40% of these objects have been identified for future use within the museums, with the remaining items being transferred or disposed of in accordance with procedure outlined in section 16 of this document.

  The fine art collection, which was originally housed in a Victorian town house on Wentworth Terrace, was transferred to The Hepworth Wakefield on completion of the new gallery project in 2009. This collection is now governed by that organisation’s Collections Development Policy but, along with any relevant supporting material, remains in the ownership of Wakefield Council.

  In 2012, Wakefield Museum moved from its previous location at the Mechanics’ Institute on Wood Street to its current site at Wakefield One, the council’s newest civic building.

  In 2017, the Service opened a new visitor centre at Pontefract Castle, with a display area telling the history of the castle.

  In 2021, Wakefield Council was awarded £12 million from the Levelling Up Fund for Culture, towards a £16 million project to create a new Wakefield Library & Museum in the former British Homes Stores department store on Upper Kirkgate, Wakefield. This new site will house museum galleries telling the story of the whole of the Wakefield district. It is due to open in 2025, at which point the current Wakefield Museum, in Wakefield One, will close.

  Wakefield Museums & Castles is committed to increasing access to collections, and to representing the diverse communities in the Wakefield district. To enable this work, a programme of collections in the community has been developed, which includes the development of small touring exhibitions, and museum hubs in targeted areas of the district (currently South Elmsall and Featherstone, with a further hub in Ossett due to open in 2023). Targeted contemporary collecting has also been developed, which seeks to address gaps in the museum collections and ensure the collections are representative of, and relevant to, Wakefield’s communities today.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Wakefield Museums & Castles collects in four general areas: two permanent collections, a handling collection, and a public reference collection:

  • Archaeology and Numismatic collection (permanent collection).
  • Social History collection, comprising what has historically been referred to as the Wakefield and Castleford Social History collection and the Pontefract Social History collection (permanent collection).
  • Handling collection, to be used and handled in sessions for educational purposes.
  • Public Reference collection, comprising reference material held at Pontefract Museum and the Print Loan collection.

  These collections are described in greater detail below.

  Archaeology & Numismatic collection

  Wakefield Museums & Castles collects archaeological material that records and interprets the history of the Wakefield district from prehistoric times to the present day. Together, this material is evidence of the way of life and the development of people living in the district.

  Archaeological excavation and other forms of fieldwork are the only sound evidence for the distant past and they provide information that often cannot be provided by documentary or other sources.

  The Archaeology & Numismatic collection consists of upwards of 50,000 separate artefacts:

  • Site archives from large-scale excavations at sites including Roman Castleford, Sandal Castle, Pontefract Castle, Pontefract Priory and Ferrybridge Henge. These include excavated objects and associated site records, plans, drawings, photographs etc. Some of this material is of regional and national importance (e.g. the Ferry Fryston chariot burial and elements of the Roman Castleford archive) and will continue to be used for scientific and historical research work in the future.
  • Site archives from all major excavations carried out in the district in the last 50 years.
  • Smaller groups and individual objects from local sites produced by excavations, field-walking, building recording and casual finds.
  • Individual objects dating from before 1650.
  • Approximately 280 items collected in the 1950s and 1960s during the demolition of local buildings ranging in date from the 1300s to the 1800s.
  • 1,750 British coins, banknotes, medals and monetary tokens.
  • Around 100 items of Egyptology.

  Social History collection

  Wakefield Museums & Castles collects social history objects that enhance an extensive collection showing the changing lives of people in the Wakefield district since 1650. Formal collecting first began in the early 1920s. This collection is evidence of the way of life and achievements of people who lived or live in the Wakefield district.

  Historically, this collection has been separated into the Wakefield and Castleford Social History collection and the Pontefract Social History collection. However, we now view this as one Social History collection.

  The Social History collection aims to reflect the diverse nature of the Wakefield district and its people. Over two thirds of the district comprises rural areas surrounding the main centres of population. These range from the city of Wakefield in the west, which is the largest urban centre, through to the five towns of Castleford, Knottingley, Featherstone, Normanton and Pontefract in the north, and Hemsworth and South Elmsall in the south east. Each area has distinctive histories and traditions.

  The social history collection consists of over 80,000 objects:

  • 1500 pieces of decorative art, including over 300 pieces of ceramic from Castleford and Ferrybridge and items previously transferred from the former Wakefield Art Gallery collection.
  • A wide range of community, domestic, personal and working life objects, including 1500 pressed glass products and tools from Bagley’s glassworks and 2000 items relating to the liquorice and local confectionary industry.
  • 20,000 items of ephemera, including 6000 items from the ‘Holmes’ family printers.
  • 25,000 photographs, including 6000 photographs and negatives from Maud’s photographers.
  • A costume collection of about 5000 items.
  • Approximately 250 items of ethnography.

  Education Handling collection

  The Handling collection is a resource for public use and does not contain items from the museum’s permanent collections. It contains objects specially selected to be touched, used or investigated by visitors of all ages. Objects obtained for the Handling collection are not collected in perpetuity and may suffer loss or damage because of public use.

  The handling collection contains over 4000 objects (including nearly 450 items from the Clarke Hall Collections):

  • a broad range of reproduction objects.
  • original works of art and archaeology, natural history and social history objects.

  Public Reference collection, including the Print Loan collection

  A Public Reference collection, including books, newspaper cuttings, pamphlets, and general ephemera relating to the history of the town of Pontefract and the surrounding area, is held at Pontefract Museum. The collection also contains books and catalogues available for public use which relate to local history and general history and archaeological subjects.

  This material is for reference and use at the site only and not for external loan. It is not collected in perpetuity and may suffer loss or damage because of public use. The majority of the collection has been built up via gifts and donations from local people and is a popular and well used community resource.

  Until 2011, there was a similar resource held at the former Wakefield Museum on Wood Street. This material has been assimilated into the Local Studies collection, managed by Wakefield Libraries.

  The Print Loan collection consists of around 400 twentieth century and contemporary original artists’ prints (e.g. etchings, lithographs, and screen prints). It was previously a lending resource for display in public spaces and supported cultural and educational events across the district. Prints obtained for this collection have not been acquired in perpetuity and may have suffered loss or damage because of their intended use.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC