Collection: Museum of the Broads

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The Museum opened in a rented boat shed at Potter Heigham in 1996.Many items were on loan, but as the Museum became better known, some of those items were later given to the Collection.Significant objects given whilst the Museum was at Potter Heigham, include ‘White Damsel’, formerly ‘Tina’, a Great Yarmouth One Design yacht (1997), ‘Falcon’, steam launch (1997), and Dr Joyce Lambert’s mascot, a taxidermy coypu (1996).

  After moving to Stalham in 1999, further items were lent or gifted.These included the 1827 lateener yacht, the ‘Maria’, which was transferred in 2004 from Great Yarmouth Museums, ‘Our Boys’, a provisions boat from Acle Bridge (2001), an example of an Airborne Lifeboat (2002), a coypu hat worn by Ted Ellis (2003), and various marsh working tools donated by marshman, Eric Edwards.

  The Trustee originally responsible for collecting was the Museum’s President Robert Paul.His boating knowledge and background was supplemented with items of social history by other volunteers and by the then Curatorial Adviser, James Steward. Curator, Nicola Hems MA, was appointed in January 2010. Gradually the focus shifted from boats and boating history to other areas of Broadland life including marsh work, wildlife, the local community, and leisure and the holiday industry.Early edition books were lent and gifted, and the trustees of the Philippa Miller estate also donated many of her watercolour paintings.

  Other notable donors were Sir Timothy Colman, who gifted his yacht, ‘Dabchick’, in 2011 and Robert Maltster who donated his vast collection of books.The core collection has been added to as themes have been expanded.Special exhibitions also allow the Museum to explore other themes for a short period of time and have also enabled items to be added to the collections.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The collection currently numbers over 7,000 objects (Jan 2024).188 objects are on loan to the Museum and the rest of the collection has been donated to or bought by the Museum.

  Core Collection

  the core collection is mostly on display to visitors, with the remainder being kept in store. Some of the stored items are put on display by rotation, or feature in temporary exhibitions. The main themes within the core collection are –

  Life on the Broads and origins of the Broads: agriculture, marshwork, the holiday industry, local industries, and the formation and adaptation of the landscape. Items include tools used by marshmen past and present, an auger and other items used by geologist, Dr Joyce Lambert, to explain the origins of the Broads, early religious monuments, peat digging, components from wind pumps, and a small collection of Broads wildlife in the form of taxidermy, a ‘river’ scene, and birds’ eggs. Leisure pursuits are also represented by a collection of fishing paraphernalia and gun punts. Famous local people are featured, including various authors and a local comedian, Sidney Grapes, whose stage clothes are on display.

  Boats: boats either used on the Broads or made in local boatyards. Important examples include a working 1894 steam launch, ‘Falcon’, a 1827 racing lateener yacht, ‘Maria’, an example of a Broads One Design yacht, ‘Dabchick’, an example of a Yarmouth One Design yacht, ‘White Damsel’, an airborne lifeboat, dinghies, a river inspector’s launch, a weed cutter, working boats, punts and a provisions boat. This theme also features components and name boards of former wherries, and tools used by boat builders and designers, including boat plans. Tourism and boat hire are represented by brochures, memorabilia, boatyard pennants, and boat models.

  The Museum has an established series of temporary exhibitions that feature periods or topics in history that are important to the development and heritage of Broadland and are not covered in detail in the permanent displays. They have included, ‘The Broads at War’, ‘The Lost Railway of the Broads’, ‘Broadland During the First World War’, ‘Beer- Broadland’s Breweries, Past and Present’, ‘Broadland in Pictures’, ‘Broadland’s High Streets’, local artists, and the life and works of Philippa Miller. Items on display come from the Museum’s collection and from local museums and collectors. Some of the latter items are then gifted to the Museum.

  For ease of identification, the geographic area of “The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads” covered is that of the area covered by the Broads National Park. The period of history, from the 3rd century to the present day, can be subdivided into the following categories:

  1. Early religious settlements and monasteries
  2. Medieval peat digging and the formation of the Broads
  3. The research on the origins of the Broads
  4. Agriculture, to include farming, marshwork, drainage, wild fowling and fishing
  5. River transport to include keels and wherries and navigation
  6. Trades and industries of the Broads, including boat building
  7. The boat hire industry and tourism
  8. Life in Broadland, to include leisure pastimes
  9. Building, building development and land management of the Broads
  10. Broads flora and fauna.

  Archive Collection

  Photographs, boat plans, pictures, postcards, books, brochures, and reports featuring landscapes or activities on the Broads. Although most of this collection is not on display, some items are digitally accessible within the Museum and on the Virtual Museum on the Museum’s website. A number of photographs are only part of the collection as digital images. All are available to view by appointment.

  Handling Collection

  As part of its outreach programme, the Museum has a ‘Pop Up Museum’. This features at local events such as the Royal Norfolk Show, Horning Boat show, local groups, Stalham’s Christmas market and to fairs. It consists of pull up banners, a display board and handling items. The Museum’s small handling collection supplements its education and life-long learning activities. This collection is at greater risk of loss, theft or damage. Aspects of the handling collection will either be drawn from duplicates or poor examples from the permanent collections or specifically acquired for this purpose. If material is offered for donation and it is not suitable for the permanent collection, it may be useful for handling. The Museum staff will explain this to donors and seek their express permission, which will be recorded on the entry form.Handling material will be uniquely marked so that its source can be identified. Reviews will take place regularly and there may be occasions when material is moved from the handling and learning collection to the permanent collection.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC