Collection: Ashwell Village Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The museum was founded in 1930 when the collection of two local schoolboys was, by the generosity of Sir William Gentle, given a permanent home run by a committee of trustees.

  The present curator was appointed in 1983. He took over from one of the founders and recognised the need to bring the museum up to modern standards whilst retaining its unique atmosphere. With the addition of two extensions, a Resource Centre and website the museum is now able to be worthy repository for Ashwell’s historical artefacts and make the collection available to a wide public.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Social and Local History

  1. The bulk of the collection concerns the social history of the village covering all periods and including photographs archives and printed sources The nucleus was formed by the founders in the 1920’s and has been added to ever since
  2. The strengths of the collection are its comprehensivity, its longevity and its location.
  3. New items will be added to the collections only where a local provenance can be established. This shall relate to the domestic, community, rural and industrial environment of Ashwell and its immediate neighbourhood and shall be interpreted in its widest sense. No non-local material will be collected.
  4. The current level of documentation allows the museum to determine gaps in the collection. However because of the very limited nature of the allowable provenance of any suitable material passive collecting operates as far as artefacts are concerned except in rescue cases. Archives and photographs particularly of recent events are actively collected to try to maintain a record of the continuing history of the village.
  5. Duplicates are only collected where their provenance differs greatly from previous accessions.

  Archives

  1. Wide variety of material particularly strong on local organisations and businesses.
  2. There could be some discussion with the Hertfordshire County Record Office as to the suitability of some items for deposit there.
  3. Large collection (5,312 items) of mainly copied sources important to the history of Ashwell formerly in the possession of D. Short.

  Photographs and Pictorial representation

  1. Good general photographic collection but early images are rare and more images of activities including work would be useful.
  2. There is a collection of portraits of First World War Veterans, a large collection of prints and colour slides by Mr Shelton, a photographic survey of every building in the village in 1991 and the photographic archive of the Royston Crow relating to Ashwell.
  3. There are also a number of cine-films dating back to the 1930’s.
  4. Digital photographs of recent events

  Archaeology

  1. Material from excavations carried out in the parish and from casual finds.There are no excavations planned by us for the area as there are other agencies in the area (e.g. North Herts Museums Service), which are much better suited to carrying out such work.
  2. Some new material is being donated by metal-detector operators working on deep ploughed fields
  3. with the owner’s permission.
  4. The Ashwell Hoard and the HLF funded Ashwell Archaeology project (2014) have significantly changed the interpretation of local archaeology without adding to the collection.

  Geology and Natural History

  1. Samples collected in the locality mainly by the founders, Albert Sheldrick and John Bray, in the 1920’s and 30’s. These were all identified and documented by Brian Sawford in 1978.
  2. Collection of Gold Prospector in Australia who came from and returned to Ashwell. Surveyed, conserved and displayed in a purpose built case.

  Coins

  Collection of Roman Coins mostly casual finds, 17th century Trade Tokens of Ashwell and some other neighbouring examples and some examples of British currency.

  Textiles

  1. Collection of clothes and samplers with a strong local provenance and the work of Percy Sheldrick.
  2. Mostly stored in acid-free boxes.
  3. Space and conservation requirements prevent much of this being on display.

  Craft and Fine Art

  Collection of paintings, watercolours, prints, sculpture and ceramics representing local artists and crafts people.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC