Collection: Calderdale Museum Service

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Calderdale’s Museums Service’s collections date back to nineteenth century collecting and particularly to the collections of Halifax Literary and Philosophical Society. Originally these comprised of historical items from the local area combined with objects of interest from world cultures. Bankfield Museum was opened by the Corporation in 1887 and has been a museum ever since. Around the turn of the century the curator Henry Ling Roth was a major influence in collecting and began the extensive collecting of items relating to textile production from around the world as Halifax was a town based on textile production.

  Subsequent curators and collectors have developed this theme with an exceptional costume and textile collection. Mid-twentieth century collections were often traded and swapped amongst museums often with little record being kept and some of the material is now untraceable. We know that a lot of Egyptology and ethnographic collections were transferred to Manchester Museum at this time. In the 1970s the archaeology collection was transferred to Kirklees Museums on a “gentleman’s agreement” thouah this was returned in 2014. Local Government reorganisation in 1974 led to the addition of the Smith Art Gallery collection from Brighouse and minor collections from Todmorden. The Halifax Museum at Belle Vue in Halifax was closed down in 1984 and many collections transferred to Calderdale and Bankfield Museum. Subsequently the natural history collections were transferred to Leeds Museums.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2017

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Calderdale MBC’s Museums Service has collections of approximately 70,000 items, these cover a broad range of subject areas and period, which are described in more detail below.

  Archaeology

  The archaeological collection primarily relates to the borough of Calderdale, having been derived from excavations and fieldwork, as well as stray finds. It covers all periods from the prehistoric to medieval times, c. AD 1550. Within this general heading are a number of small collections, assembled in the past by local people, e.g.the Darby collection.

  In addition there is a small collection of other material, including non-British Archaeology, principally Roman, Greek and Egyptian pottery, glass and flint. In particular the service has a discrete, but significant collection of spindles and spindle whorls, including a number of Egyptian spindles.

  Archives

  The service has archival collections of approximately 3,000 items ranging from building plans and maps to advertisements and books. Archives and ephemera are only collected where they relate directly to objects in the museum collections.

  Art

  Calderdale has approximately 5,000 items of Fine Art, mostly 2 dimensional. Consisting of works from Smith Art Gallery collection of Victorian paintings donated to Brighouse by Alderman Smith in 1905 as well as additional works from other collections held at Bankfield Museum. Additions have been made by purchase and donation to build a collection of regional significance particularly of local subjects and local artists.

  There is also a good historic photographic record of the district and its people, including the H.P. Kendall collection which recorded local buildings, c.1900, as well as more recent acquisitions and commissions.

  There are approximately 2,O00 items of Decorative Art including ceramics, basketry and works by textile artists.

  Costume &Textile

  This has been a major area of collecting for Calderdale since 1900. The aim is to demonstrate how textile production and use has developed since ancient times. Calderdale textile production has influenced the world and been influenced by the world.

  The British Costume collection of approximately 6,000 items is nationally significant being predominantly women’s clothing from C18th to late C20th.

  Ethnographic costume consists of approximately 800 items from Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The Indian sub-continent is well represented including Burma & Pakistan, as is China. Also of note is the Edith Durham collection from the Balkans.

  There are approximately 10,000 items of World Textiles from Coptic fragments and mummy wrappings to C20th prints. These cover all aspects of textile production from spinning and weaving to dyeing and sample books. Also represented are non-woven fabrics, embroidery, decoration and embellishment from across the world.

  Ethnography

  The ethnographic collections supplement the world textiles collection with 1,500 items relating to textile production such as hand spindles and looms as well as reflecting the diverse cultures in the regions represented.

  Military

  The military collections consist of approximately 1,200 items, ranging from medals and uniforms to firearms and edged weapons. The collection is particularly strong in items relating to the Home Front in Calderdale during the Second World War.

  Working Life

  Calderdale’s working life collections comprise of agricultural, textile, engineering and other specialist trades and include items of international, national and regional importance. They represent the history and material culture of local people and communities, whose ingenuity and inventiveness helped create the modern world. In particular Calderdale’s Industrial Archaeology is characterised by enormous manufacturing diversity and is recognised as being of international importance. The agricultural origins of textile production are also represented.

  Domestic Life

  These collections consist of approximately 22,500 items dating from the C16th to the present day. They range from C17th drinking vessels and to C20th washing machines and are directly related to life in Calderdale over the centuries. It includes a significant collection of C17h oak furniture, the majority of which in on display at Shibden Hall in period room settings.

  Civic and Community Life

  There are about 1,500 items which relate to the influential families and individuals of the C18th and C19th, such as the Lister, Akroyd, Crossley and Waterhouse families.

  Other elements of civic and community life, in particular the period 1880-1940, are also represented, including civic and commemorative silver. There is a coin and token collection of 1,200 items, including items relating to the infamous Cragg Vale Coiners. There is also a small, but significant collection of carriages and carts, of particular note is the C18th Lister Chaise.

  Smith Art Gallery

  Calderdale has approximately 5,000 items of Fine Art, mostly 2 dimensional. Consisting of works from Smith Art Gallery collection of Victorian paintings donated to Brighouse by Alderman Smith in 1905 as well as additional works from other collections held at Bankfield Museum. Additions have been made by purchase and donation to build a collection of regional significance particularly of local subjects and local artists.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2017

  Licence: CC BY-NC