Collection: Eyam Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The origin of the Museum collection was the personal collection of Clarence Daniel which was bequeathed to the Museum in 1989. The bequest consisted of 2,400 items.

  This has been added to by bequests of a library of books by the late John Clifford in 2013, and a number of geological artefacts donated by John Beck. Additional items have been donated to the Museum by a number of current and previous village residents or their descendants and accepted in line with the Museum’s Collections Development Policy at the time.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The Collection consists of the following:

  • 17th Century pieces relating to the Plague outbreak of 1665/6.
  • Nearly 300 artefacts, mainly 18th & 19th century, relating to the local lead mining industry.
  • More than 600 minerals, rocks, and fossils, mainly of local origin.
  • Local archaeological material includes 237 stone and flint tools and flakes, a large number of pottery fragments, 192 clay pipes, Roman artefacts including jewellery, and 129 coins, medals and tokens.
  • More than 800 documents, mainly concerned with local history.
  • More than 600 books regarding local history, 17th century history and the history of plague.
  • More than 1000 photographs and postcards, mainly of local people and places past and present.
  • 121 items relating to local silk and shoe industries (tools, manufactured goods etc).
  • 46 engravings, drawings, and paintings, including water colours and sketches by Clarence Daniel.
  • The remainder is made up of china (80 items), domestic items (58), and items of general interest which were collected by Clarence Daniel over many years.

  The total number of items in the collection at 19 July 2023 is 5060.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC