Collection: Oxfordshire County Council

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Archaeology

  All collections relate specifically to the modern county of Oxfordshire.

  The Archaeology collections cover a broad time span from the Palaeolithic to the 17th century. The County Museums Service is the official repository for archaeological material and archives and most of the collections are acquired following assessment and excavation in advance of development. Individual finds are either donated by landowners or acquired through the Treasure process.

  Geographically the collections come from throughout Oxfordshire.

  • Vale of White Horse: Abingdon collections are of national interest with outstanding prehistoric and Saxon material. The cemeteries at Shrivenham and Watchfield are key site to the interpretation and understanding of beliefs and social organisation amongst early Anglo-Saxon communities in the fifth and sixth centuries.

  • South Oxfordshire: Dorchester was a centre of national importance in late Neolithic/early Bronze Age and sub-Roman periods; the Anglo-Saxon site archives from Berinsfield, Cuddesdon, Bix and Dorchester of national significance.

  • West Oxfordshire: the Standlake and Stanton Harcourt areas provide collections of nationally significant evidence for Neolithic/Bronze age settlement and ritual activity. The medieval Eynsham Abbey archive is of outstanding quality.

  • Cherwell: in addition to the prehistoric, North Oxfordshire hill forts and Grim’s Ditch sites, the earlier and more recent excavations from Banbury Castle and medieval town are of considerable interest.

  • Oxford: archaeological archives illustrate the prehistoric importance of the Oxford area. The Roman pottery industry is well represented. The medieval and post medieval collections are of national significance.

  History

  The History collections have been built up by careful acquisition over 60 years.

  Donations from members of the public make up the majority of the collection and the Museums Service provides an important social and cultural function in caring for this material, which illustrates the lives of ordinary people in Oxfordshire over the last 400 years.

  The collections are h3 for the period between 1850 and 1950. The collections illustrating personal and domestic life are particularly good, with significant collections of toys and games, smoking and drinking items. Domestic life is well illustrated by collections of furniture, ornaments and domestic utensils.

  Specific collections of note:

  Working Life

  • The strength of the collection is the agricultural and associated food processing and craft material illustrating the period 1850-1940.

  • Woodland industries are well represented. They include chair bodging, tent peg and ladder making from the Chilterns, and brush making. The timber ‘bob’ from Buscot and timber carriages are of national interest.

  • The Stonesfield slate collection is important and supported by excellent documentation.

  • The textile industry is represented by important collections from the blanket manufacturers Smith’s and Early’s of Witney, as well as material from the tweed industry in Chipping Norton and the plush industry in Shutford.

  • Other rural crafts represented in the collections include masons’ and stone working tools, blacksmithing and tin-smithing, leather working (including saddlery, harness and boots and shoes). Pottery products are represented by the brick industry (e.g. Nettlebed) and country pottery makers (e.g. Leafield).

  • Brewing is particularly well represented, including items from Morrell’s, Morland’s, Hall’s, Brakspear’s and Hook Norton breweries.

  • Car manufacturing is well- represented by tools and equipment from Morris Motors and MG.

  • Retail activity is represented by collections from Cape’s of Oxford, Banbury’s and Brotherton’s of Woodstock, and Rathbone’s of Banbury.

  • Contemporary working life has been recorded at USAF Upper Heyford, Banbury Cattle Market and Early’s of Witney, all before they closed; and to a limited extent by collection at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories and Harwell.

  Textiles

  • The collection covers a range of men’s, women’s and children’s dress from the 17th century to the 20th century, together with some costume accessories and textiles. Most of the collection is based on items relating to local use or manufacture, however, some items are included as comparative pieces. While many items individually are of local importance, when grouped together some form sub collections of regional significance. There are also a small number of items of national importance.

  • Groups of particular interest and importance include women’s dress 1820 -1940, with an especially good concentration of printed cotton dresses of the early to mid-19th century, women’s hats, men’s and women’s working dress (particularly smocks), a small collection of 18th century men’s waistcoats and collections relating to local trades, such as corsetry, plush weaving, wool weaving (especially the Witney blanket industry) and gloves.

  • One-off pieces of greater significance, counted of national importance, include a 17th century cavalier’s outfit; the Stonesfield embroidered carpet; a group consisting of an 18th century baby’s cap and pocket, found secreted in a building; a late 18th century guidon for the Abingdon Volunteers; an 18th century corset, and a dress which belonged to William Morris’ daughter, May.

  Fine Art

  • The collection includes paintings, prints and drawings that are either by Oxfordshire-based artists or depict aspects of Oxfordshire. The works represent both well-known artists and also lesser-known individuals whose work is nonetheless of historical significance. In recent years significant additions have been made to the collection by purchases supported by grant aid from the National Art Collection Fund, Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund and Heritage Lottery Fund with support from the Friends of the Oxfordshire Museum.

  • The following are some of the better known artists and/or collections: works by Michel Angelo Rooker (1746-1801) including a view of Oxford Castle; a small but significant selection of works by William Turner of Oxford (1789-1862); a watercolour of a view near Banbury by Thomas Rolandson (1756-1827); a series of watercolours of Oxford by James Shuffrey (1859-1939); a series of watercolours of Oxfordshire public houses by Carl Woods (1950s); a single work, The Jungle, acrylic on canvas, by Terry Frost (1915-2003); a set of 12 prints published by the Penn Print Room of the Cotswold countryside by Robin Tanner (1904-1988); a number of prints by Stanley Anderson (1884 – 1966); a series of watercolours of Banbury by Maurice Draper (1908 – 2012 ); and of Cogges by Nina Carroll (1932-1992).

  • The collection also includes a number of naive works, notably two views of Abingdon by Robert Howes (c1830) and a view of Church Green, Witney, artist unknown (c1800).

  • A portrait of Henry North of Woodstock, by Sir William Beechey RA (1753 -1839) is the most significant recent addition to a collection of portraits of Oxfordshire people

  Decorative Arts and Crafts

  • Decorative arts and crafts are represented by historic material in our main collections and through The Contemporary Craft Collection, formerly the Southern Arts Crafts Collection, which was transferred to the ownership of Oxfordshire County Council in 1998. The core of this collection was formed by Southern Arts, the Regional Arts Board, through purchase over a period of around 30 years. The collection features a broad survey of craftwork covering a range of different media (including wood, silver, metalwork, ceramics, textiles and paper) from a national arena of crafts people. It is of regional significance overall but includes a variety of pieces made by crafts people of international standing such as David Leach, John Makepeace, Michael Brennand-Wood and Alan Caiger-Smith.

  •Transfers have been made to the Contemporary Craft Collection of material of quality and value that was bought for the former Schools Loans Service, but which no-longer required by the Museums Service’s Learning and Access team.

  Photographs

  The collections include a number of framed photographic prints that have been collected, catalogued and stored at the Museums Resource Centre as part of a coherent collection or as an object in its own right. Photographic collections are held and collected by the History Centre.

  Natural Sciences

  The natural science collections have undergone an extensive review since 2008 in line with the Disposal Procedures outlined in the 2006 – 2011 Acquisitions and Disposal Policy.

  As part of the limitations on its collecting identified in the previous policy, the Museums Service has transferred the collections into the ownership of other organisations as outlined below:

  The collections were

  • The collections, comprising of reference, voucher and reserve collections, have been audited and reviewed by experts in the field and material transferred to suitable museums and educational establishments that have appropriate facilities to care for the collections such as the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, The British Museum, The River and Rowing Museum.

  • Other material, originally collected to support wider educational work, and not part of the main collection, was transferred to the Service’s handling collections and to other museums and educational establishments in the County such as The Hill End Centre, The Northmoor Trust, and a number of schools.

  • Geology: This collection consisting of some 5,000 specimens, primarily of Jurassic fossils, but also including borehole samples of the older rocks underlying Oxfordshire. The British Geological Survey has accepted cores for the national collection. The collections were evaluated by a geological specialist, and the Oxford Natural History Museum. The collections were transferred to the Oxford Natural History Museum.

  • All transfers and disposals have been recorded according to the standards required for accreditation and in accordance with SPECTRUM Procedure on de-accession and disposal.

  Handling Collections

  The Museums Service also holds collections which consist of items that are acquired and maintained solely for handling and other educational purposes. These objects are not collected for their Oxfordshire provenance and are not subject to this policy. The Museums Service’s Learning and Access Team manage this resource and follow best practice for the documentation and care of collections as is appropriate in respect of a collection of this nature.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC