Collection: Newport Museum and Art Gallery

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The history of Newport Museums and Heritage Service is entwined with the history of Newport Museum and Art Gallery. The Museum was founded in 1888. It was transferred to the present building in 1968. In its early years the Museum collected under a broader policy and displayed miscellaneous material and curiosities from all over the world. However in the 1950’s and 1960’s a more local policy was adopted and much of the non-local material was disposed of, often by transfer to other museums. Since then the Museum’s collections have grown maintaining the concentration on items of local significance. The Newport Medieval Ship timbers and associated artefacts discovered in 2002 are a significant addition to the collections of the Museum.

  Tredegar House is one of the most significant late 17th Century houses in Britain and was home to the Morgan family, later Lords Tredegar. The estate includes stables, an Orangery, out buildings and formal gardens. Most of the house contents were dispersed in 1951. As a result the majority of the existing collections have been acquired since its purchase by the council in 1974. In March 2012 Newport City Council has entered a lease agreement with the National Trust for the duration of 50 years. The collections relating to Tredegar House and the Morgan family as well as objects on display at the House at the time of management transfer are on long-term loan to the National Trust for the duration of the lease agreement.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2021

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Archaeology

  The archaeology collections of the Newport Museum and Art Gallery include:

  • Prehistoric material from areas of former Gwent most notably the Severn Estuary;
  • Roman material mostly from the Roman sites of Caerwent and Caerleon, Mill Street as well as the Barland’s Farm Boat;
  • Medieval material representing mostly castles and abbeys and the Newport Ship;
  • Collection of local and non-local prehistoric flints;
  • Associated archive material.

  Material deposited in the 1960s and 1970s originated mostly from Ministry of Works excavations. Since the 1980s the archaeology collections have been substantially increased in size as excavations were carried out on historic monuments on behalf of Cadw or prior or as part of new developments. Collections also grew due to fieldwork undertaken by staff and donations and purchases from members of the public. The bulk of the material comes from the City of Newport and other areas of former Gwent.

  Social History

  The social and industrial history collections include objects, photographs, film, printed material, costume, textiles and oral history relating to the social and industrial history of Newport and areas of former Gwent. Themes covered by the collections include:

  • Domestic life
  • Trade and commerce
  • Local industries
  • Transport and engineering
  • Education
  • Religious and civic life
  • Politics and suffrage
  • Ethnographic material

  Key collections include the Chartist collection – a collection of lithographs, broadsheets, weapons and silver; the banner collection – a collection of religious, women’s suffrage movement and trade union banners; and the Transporter Bridge Archive – negatives and photographs showing the construction of the bridge, engineering plans and construction details.

  The museum holds a small number of ethnographic items from all over the world. Most of this material was collected in the late 19th or early 20th Century and represents the effort and interest of early collectors. Although much material was disposed of in the 1950’s and 1960’s about 350 items remain. Much of the material is recorded in publications and through the ethnographic survey undertaken some years ago. Occasionally items are used in exhibitions, displays or workshops.

  Fine and Decorative Art The art collections include:

  • 19th and 20th Century oil paintings, drawings and prints;
  • A small number of sculptures;
  • Decorative ceramics including Staffordshire and Wemyss ware, studio ceramics and commemorative ware.

  The fine art collections mainly include works by British artists but have focussed on works and artists relating to Wales or more locally relevant material since the appointment of a specialist curator in the 1970s. Large collections such as the Iris Fox bequest of decorative ceramics and John Wait’s teapot collection make up the bulk of the decorative arts collections.

  Natural Sciences

  The following subject areas are represented by the natural sciences collections:

  • Zoology
  • Geology
  • Palaeontology
  • Botany (to a lesser extent)

  The natural sciences collections are primarily local, with some exceptions, such as the Coleoptera collection which mostly derives from Essex. The institution also cares for a quantity of foreign material mostly acquired in the earlier years of the museum’s history. Whilst much of the miscellaneous material is of significant scientific importance and popular interest, the major element of the collection remains the local material. Due to changing conservation attitudes, problems of storage and a shift in the Museum’s focus the emphasis since the 1980s has been less on collecting specimens than on recording their existence in Gwent.

  Tredegar House

  Since March 2012 the National Trust manages Tredegar House. Newport City Council has leased the House to the Trust for the duration of 50 years. All collections directly related to Tredegar House, the estate or the Morgan family and all other material on display at the House at the time of the transfer are on long- term loan to the National Trust for the duration of the lease.

  The collections include:

  • Social history
  • Photographs
  • Archive material
  • Paintings and drawings
  • Decorative art
  • Sculpture
  • Furniture and furnishings

  Social history material is largely confined to objects used in the House and associated buildings. Covering the period from approximately 1600 to1950, most objects relate to a life ‘Below Stairs’. Agricultural items reflect the activity of the Home Farm and Estate.

  The photographic collection contains images of the House – internal and external – as well as estate buildings, associated buildings, the Morgan family, servants, estate workers and guests, events that took place at Tredegar House and other relevant places.

  The archive collection consists of estate documents, memorabilia associated with the Morgan family, their servants and estate workers and records of the work carried out on the House. Parts of the collection relate to the period when the House became a boarding school and later St. Joseph’s comprehensive.

  The oil paintings, watercolours and drawings on display in the House include over-mantel paintings, portraits relating to the Morgan family, pictures of servants, estate workers and livestock bred by the Morgan family.

  The Collections include portrait busts of members of the Morgan family and garden sculptures. Ceramics relating to the Morgan family, in particular dinner services and other appropriate pieces are collected.

  Textiles consist of tapestries, window curtains, wall and bed hangings, floor coverings, table and bed linen. While the tapestries originate from the 18th Century and are on loan, a majority of soft furnishings are reproductions and classified as props.

  Education Collections

  Certain material has been and will be collected specifically for educational use. This includes use for demonstrations, workshops and handling by school pupils and other groups. It is anticipated that much of this material will get damaged or lost. As such it forms a separate collection, independent of the accessioned collections of the Museums and Heritage Service. This collection is generally referred to as ‘education collection’.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2021

  Licence: CC BY-NC