Collection: East Riding Museums

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The current East Riding of Yorkshire Museums Service came into being in April 1996, with the creation of East Riding of Yorkshire Council. It brought together five diverse museum sites, previously run by different Borough Councils, each with their own collecting policies (between 1974 and 1976 they fell under the umbrella of Humberside County Council). A single Acquisition & disposal policy, documentation procedures and the introduction of standard object entry forms followed the creation of ERYMS. These five sites were as follows: Beverley Art Gallery, Goole Museum, Skidby Windmill, Beverley Guildhall and Sewerby Hall.

  In 2007, the Lottery funded Treasure House was created, adjoining (and connected to) Beverley Art Gallery. The Art Gallery/Treasure House contains both the main office for the Museums Service and also an air conditioned repository, which houses the entire Beverley Art Gallery collection and also elements of the collections from the other four sites.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Beverley Art Gallery/The Treasure House

  Art Collections

  Beverley Library, Art Gallery & Museum was founded in 1906 by John Champney, a local businessman and philanthropist. It was extended in 1910 and again in 1928. In 1929, Champney left a bequest of 20 works of art to the gallery, which formed the core of the collections. The Champney bequest comprises oil paintings and watercolours by late Victorian and Edwardian artists, such as Arthur Hughes, Helen Allingham, Albert Goodwin and Arthur Rackham. In 1921, Champney had also bequeathed another significant work to the collection – ‘A Panic’ by H.W.B. Davis – probably the worlds largest cattle painting. Over the years, the collection has expanded by various means, including substantial donations by Mrs. E. Hirst in 1933-7 (13 works) and by Evelyn Barron (23 works). These acquisitions were mainly 19^th century British landscapes, genre scenes and portraits in oils, as well as 19^th/early 20^th century prints, drawings and watercolours by British artists. Evelyn Barron’s donation included Edwardian prints and illustrations. The gallery also has a number of engravings and etchings after William Hogarth. Beverley-born artist Frederick William Elwell (1871-1958) gave a number of his paintings to the gallery, along with works by members of his family – his wife Mary Elwell (nee Mary Dawson Holmes) and his nephew Kenneth Elwell – and works by his pupil Walter Goodin (1907-1992). Mary Elwell also donated a number of her works to the gallery. In 1958, Fred Elwell bequeathed 55 paintings by himself and his wife, with the result that now holds the largest public collection of works by Fred Elwell in the UK. The gallery also has a fine collection of prints, drawings and photographs showing views of Beverley and the surrounding area. Artists represented include Thomas Bonfrey Burton (1866-1941), C.W. Clennell (1815-1873) and talented local amateur artists like James Burras (died 1918) and Caroline Anne Brereton (1827-1882). In the 1970’s, the gallery purchased a few modern works by local artists, including the Hull based James Neal. Under the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, this practice has been revived, with recent purchases including abstract drawings by Rona Lee and photographs by Gary Wells. James Neal subsequently donated around 35 of his sketches to the collection. The fine art collection at the gallery now consists of some 200 oil paintings and about 800 watercolours, drawings, prints and photographs.

  Other Collections

  The old BAG collection (pre 1996) also contains a few Victorian/Edwardian portrait busts and some fine pieces of Edwardian furniture, some of which formed part of the Champney bequest. There are some 800 smaller items like 18^th/19^th century ceramics, fans, items of costume and stray local archaeological finds. Since 1996, the Museums Service has collected archaeological material, social history artefacts, photographs, documents and oral history material from across the whole of East Yorkshire and the Art Gallery/Treasure House acts as a repository for such material in its role as a ‘Museum of East Yorkshire’. A recent major addition to the archaeological collection is the South Cave Weapons Cache: a collection of five Iron Age swords/scabbards and 33 spearheads – an internationally important discovery. These were purchased as part of a Lottery funded project and are on permanent display at the Treasure House in Beverley. The archaeological collection also includes paper only archives from watching briefs and other fieldwork that has not produced any finds. Some of this material is in a digital format. These generally relate to the period 1996-2009. It is not intended in future that archives be acquired / accessioned, where the field work produced no significant features or finds, though exceptions may be made to this policy where appropriate e.g. for architectural surveys of standing buildings (See Themes and priorities for future collecting, Appendix B below).

  Beverley Guildhall

  There are two separate elements to the Guildhall collection. The first (of around 500 items) mainly comprises civic regalia, furniture, documents and civic gifts relating to various local authorities, past and present – Beverley Town Council, Beverley Borough Council, Beverley Rural District Council, Haltemprice Rural District Council and Humberside County Council. The majority of the items date to the 19^th and 20^th centuries. There are however some important Medieval, Tudor and Stuart charters and other documents, which are stored by the East Riding Council’s Archives section (and are therefore not part of ERYMS’s collections). In addition there are some fine pieces of 17^th century oak furniture and pewter plate, which were used by Beverley magistrates for special civic functions. Following legal deliberations in 1997, the ownership of this historic property was made the subject of an agreement between East Riding Council and the Beverley Town Charter Trustees (since subsumed by the new Beverley Town Council). The artifacts were divided into three categories: – (1) Items which were to be transferred to the ownership of the Charter Trustees as ceremonial and civic regalia. (2) Items which would pass to the East Riding Council until appropriate civic bodies for those areas came into existence, and (3) Items permanently allocated to the East Riding Council. Only objects in the 3rd category have been accessioned into the Museums Services collections. Items in the 1st category are covered by a formal loan agreement with Beverley Town Council. Items in the 2^nd category are listed on a card index, but not accessioned and ownership will be transferred if some appropriate civic body is created at some future time. Any further additions to the collections at the Guildhall will obviously be made with this division in mind. Since the appointment of the Beverley Guildhall curator, there has been an active collecting programme, focusing on historical artifacts, photographs and oral/written reminiscences relating to Beverley and its hinterland. These comprise the second element of the Guildhall collection – currently around another 1000 objects, plus nearly 3000 digital photographs held in a computer archive on the Commanet program. These have been borrowed from local residents and scanned, background information added and the originals being returned to their owners. The majority of artifacts not on display are held in the museums repository at the Treasure House, with the items owned by Beverley Town Council being kept in the Guildhall.

  Goole Museum

  Prior to 1996, the collection was made up of two main strands; (a) The Garside collection. Approximately 960 items, collected by the local historian Harold Garside (1894-1967). Originally (1970) it was offered to Goole Urban District Council, then vested in Boothferry Borough Council and loaned by them to Humberside County Council. It passed to the East Riding in 1996 (b) 1000 or so items collected between 1974 and 1996, when the museum was under the control of Humberside County Council. Whilst mostly consisting of historical items and photographs from Goole and the surrounding area, there is a small local archaeological component, including part of a coin hoard from Barrow-on-Humber. Deriving from both (a) and (b) is a small collection of maritime paintings and drawings, comprising some 90 works. The principal artist represented is the Goole pierhead painter Reuben Chappell (1870-1941), about 40 of his works being in the Goole museum collection. The vast bulk of the current collection is composed of social history items and photographs relating to Goole and the immediately surrounding area since East Riding Council assumed control of the museum in 1996, there has been a vigorous collecting program in these subject areas, now amounting to some 10,000 items.

  Sewerby Hall Museum & Art Gallery

  Sewerby Hall is a Grade I listed early Georgian house, built between 1714 -1720, with additions at various times up to 1889. The house is set within 50 acres of landscaped gardens and overlooks the coast just south of Flamborough Head. The Hall was purchased by the Borough of North Wolds in 1934. The majority of the Greame family’s collection of art, furniture and decorative art objects were sold separately and were not acquired by the Council. An art gallery opened at the Hall in 1952 and the core of the collection devoted to the aviatrix Amy Johnson (who opened the Hall to the public in 1936 and had local links) was donated by her father in 1958. Archaeological/historical displays were added in the 1970’s, based on material from local excavations and other chance finds. From 1993, with the appointment of a Borough Museums Officer, Sewerby Hall benefited from the input of Lottery/European grants and the influx of professional staff.

  Art Collections

  In 1950, local architect Hugh Trevor Field, donated £1000 to Bridlington Town Council to form the basis of an art collection in Bridlington (based at Sewerby Hall). A number of purchases were made on a yearly basis, forming the core of the collection. Trevor Field also left a further £4000 in trust as a purchase fund. The Trustees continue to meet regularly and advised by the Museums Manager and the Sewerby Hall Curator continue to select paintings (and sometimes other objects of artistic merit) for purchase for the collections at Sewerby Hall. Other areas of the art collection have been built up over the years by donation, bequest and purchase. The fine art collection now numbers some 1000 works. It comprises 18^th, 19^th and 20^th century oil paintings, prints, drawings, watercolours and maps. The majority of works are local views (especially of Bridlington and Sewerby) and maritime art based around the coast. There are also portraits of several members of the Greame family and other locally important figures. Highlights include a series of watercolours and drawings by the Reverend Orfur William Kilvington (1781-1854), 47 maritime watercolours by Bernard Hale (1812-1875) – which were purchased with money from the V & A Purchase Grant Fund – and numerous paintings relating to the Great Gale of 1871, by John Taylor Allerston (1828-1914) and William Fallows (late 19^th century).

  Archaeology Collection

  There are around 4500 objects in the Sewerby Hall collection, excluding bulk items such as pottery sherds and flints. Since Sewerby Hall was initially owned by the Borough of North Wolds (and latterly by East Yorkshire Borough Council), the collection was heavily biased towards the north eastern part of the East Riding and especially the Bridlington area. Since 1996, when the museum came under the control of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, a much more active collecting policy has been instituted, with regular contact with both the local Sites & Monuments Commission and archaeological contractors. As a result, excavation material and watching brief archives, as well as individual finds acquired by contacts with local metal detectorists, have greatly enriched the collection and extended its geographical range to the whole of the East Riding. The main strengths of the archaeology collection are in the Neolithic period (e.g. material from the Kilham long barrow excavation, field walked flints from Flamborough and Grindale), the Anglo-Saxon period (the Sewerby cemetery excavation and recent metal detector finds, notably the gilt bronze sword pommel from Aldbrough) and Medieval/Post Medieval finds (notably excavations at Kirkgate, Bridlington, Bridlington priory, Cowlam Deserted Medieval Village and Weaverthorpe manor house). However, there is also some Mesolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Romano-British material. The archaeological collection also includes paper only archives from watching briefs and other fieldwork that has not produced any finds. These generally relate to the period 1996-2009. It is not intended in future that such archives be acquired / accessioned, where the field work produced no significant features or finds, though exceptions may be made to this policy where appropriate e.g. for architectural surveys of standing buildings.

  Social History/Decorative Art Collections

  The collection covers a broad spectrum of subjects, including period furniture, agricultural tools and vehicles, civic costume, militaria and domestic items. The majority of items have been acquired by individual gifts or purchases, although there are a few items of period furniture, portrait busts etc. on loan from various museums and private individuals. The furniture includes some items that belonged to the Greame family, which owned Sewerby Hall until its purchase by the local authority in the 1930’s. Some of the reference library belonging to the last owner has also passed to the museum. The most enduringly popular part of the collection is the Amy Johnson room, which contains numerous artifacts associated with the life of the famous aviatrix. The majority were bequeathed by her father in 1958, but the museum has steadily acquired new items ever since from other sources. Another important group is material relating to the East Riding Imperial Yeomanry and other local regiments. The museum also acquired a sizeable collection of civic items – regalia, costume, furniture etc. when East Yorkshire Borough Council was dissolved in 1996. Like the history/decorative art items, the photographic collection is mainly of local relevance. The highlight is probably a large collection of studio portraits by the nationally important Bridlington-based photographer, William Foster Brigham. Material in the Sewerby Hall collection not closely related to the Bridlington area was transferred to storage at the Treasure House in Beverley in 2007, in its role as the “Museum of East Yorkshire”. A disposal program was undertaken in 2012-2013. The items were selected on the basis that they were unprovenanced or not East Yorkshire related, that they were in very poor condition, or were duplicates. For example: – The National Coastguard collection was returned to the Coastguard (who had originally donated it) as none of the material was of local origin. A 2/3 scale theatre made replica of Amy Johnson’s plane was transferred to “Aeroventure” in Doncaster. A complete Blacksmith’s forge from Bempton was transferred to Burton Constable Hall for use in their HLF courtyard restoration project. Two pianos were transferred to Shandy Hall. A number of documents (mostly local government related) were transferred to ERYC’s Archives Service.

  Skidby Windmill

  Skidby Mill is the only working windmill in the East Riding today. Built in 1821 by Norman & Smithson, it has a 5-storey black painted brick tower and a white, style ogee cap. A two-storey brick warehouse abuts the tower and there are a number of outbuildings, some of which are now used for display purposes. In 1968, the mill’s owners – J.G. & B. Thompson – gave the building to Beverley Borough Council, so that it could be turned into a museum of milling. In 1996 the site was taken over by East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Supported by HLF grant, work was carried out in 2000, to transform the mill into a museum of East Riding rural life, complete with new displays on milling, rural life over the past 200 years and agriculture. The core of the collection at Skidby is the Alex West collection – mostly agricultural hand tools – comprising about 90 items, donated by the West family. There are also tools, machinery and vehicles relating to brick making, blacksmithing, milling and agriculture in general, along with models of mills, farm carts and machinery. A small collection of photographs and documents mainly relate to Thompson’s mills at Skidby and Welton, but also to other windmills in the region. In addition, there are a few stuffed birds and animals – species native to the area. Total collection size is around 1000 objects. The majority of material probably comes from the East Riding and from North Lincolnshire, mainly as a result of individual donations, although due to a lack of pre 1996 accession records for most of the collection, precise provenance is generally unknown. A disposal project was undertaken in 2011-2013, which resulted in the transfer of a number of items to Beamish Museum and Burton Constable Hall, including the gable end of a Lincolnshire mill, miscellaneous mill fittings, farm machinery and hand tools. Other items were transferred to the handling collection at Sewerby Hall and a residue of items, in which no museum had expressed an interest, were physically destroyed. The items were selected on the basis that they were unprovenanced or not East Yorkshire related, that they were in very poor condition, or were duplicates.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC