Collection: Ayscoughfee Hall Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Ayscoughfee Hall Museum was set up by South Holland District Council in 1983 to provide a Museum which would collect and display material from within the boundaries of the South Holland district of Lincolnshire. This fenland area has a distinctive character and particular emphasis was laid on collecting material relating to land drainage, agriculture and horticulture. The Museum first opened to the public in 1987 with one gallery displaying objects relating to drainage and agriculture in the district. It closed for refurbishment in October 2003.

  Ayscoughfee Hall Museum reopened to the public in June 2006 following a project that saw the building refurbished and the Museum reinterpreted. This scheme was financed largely by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and they requested that the building, along with its history and development, be the main exhibit of the new Museum.

  The majority of items in the collection have been donated by local people, from the Museum’s inception in 1987.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The Museum’s collection has strengths in a number of areas, notably agriculture, horticulture, Fen drainage and social history (particularly costume and photographs).

  A number of other collections maintained by the Museum are worthy of specific mention.

  Archaeology

  The majority of the archaeological objects (Prehistoric, Roman, Saxon and Medieval), on display in Ayscoughfee are on loan from the archaeology department of Lincolnshire County Council’s Heritage Services section.

  Archives

  The Museum has a large archival collection relating to the South Holland district.

  Art

  In 2019 a significant group of 10 portraits was acquired from a descendant of the Johnson family. The portraits, of various members of the Johnson family, were acquired by private treaty sale with support from Art Fund, The Victoria & Albert/ Arts Council England Purchase Grant Fund and Museums Association Beecroft Bequest, as well as South Holland District Council. The Museum has a small collection of art including works on paper and easel paintings. Most of these relate in some way to the building or to the families who owned or lived in Ayscoughfee.

  Books for display purposes

  The large number of books currently on display in the Museum’s Victorian Library comes mainly from the collection of Dr. William Strong, chaplain to King William IV. They have been on loan to Ayscoughfee from Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery since 1987 and neither party has any plans to change this arrangement.

  Schools loan collection

  The Museum maintains a small collection of stuffed, cased British birds and small mammals. This collection is seen as being outside the scope of the permanent Museum collection, and as such is treated as a separate entity. It will continue to be offered to schools on a loan basis.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC