Collection: Museum of Wigan Life

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The museum collection has evolved from Wigan Library’s collections. The Library was purpose built in 1878 and now houses the museum galleries and Local Studies. In the 20th century senior librarians were proactive in collecting. The collection of Sir John Scott was a significant donation in 1924. Leslie Scott MP donated his father’s collection of Egyptology and Archaeology to the people of the town. The collection belonged Sir John Scott KCMG, DCML born Wigan 1841, died Norwood 1904. Sir John Scott was Vice President of the International Court of Appeal in Egypt 1878-1882 and Judicial advisor to the Khedive 1890- 1898 (Goldschmidt 2000: 184). It is assumed that the objects were collected during this period. The objects include a gold coffin mask, four wooden coffin masks, various coffin fragments, libation dishes, necklaces and other vessels. Other donors include Mrs Hopkins (including link to Petrie) and Mrs Steele and Mr Nicholson. In the early 1930s the librarian approached the British Museum and received archaeological artefacts from the dig at Ur, City of Abraham in modern-day Iraq. The museum also acquired archaeological collections from Kendal Museum in 1968 including archaeology of Mediterranean cultures.

  The museum holds a significant collection of satirical prints from the period of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. The Crawford Collection of 1,242 prints are believed to have been collected by Lord Crawford of Haigh Hall in the 20th century. The museum also holds around 1,600 items of Natural History including 1, 500 marine shells collected in 1750-80 from the Pacific, W Africa and the Caribbean by a member of the Bankes family of Winstanley Hall. The museum’s geological collection was mainly acquired through purchase and local fieldwork by a former member of staff who was a geologist. There are c.1, 000 minerals rocks and fossils. Many of the fossils have been collected locally and relate to coal measure deposits. The NWCRU are of the opinion that the specimens are of good quality and the palaeontology of regional significance.

  A number of smaller collections should be highlighted including the Rimmer Collection of 22 brass and woodwind instruments from the 18th – 19th centuries collected by William Rimmer, a local and leading brass band conductor; Wigan Rugby League Football Club programmes 19th – 21st centuries; c.1000 glass lantern slides mainly of topographical interest in the Wigan and Lancashire area; The Birtwistle Collection – c.300 tin boxes once used to contain biscuits, sweets and chocolates; The Buckley Collection – c.500 examples of household textiles and haberdashery collected by a Mrs Buckley, most dating from the early to mid twentieth century; The Pennington Glass Collection – c. 250 examples of British and continental domestic tableware collected by Major W Peers Groves, a Salford Brewer.

  In 2014 the museum acquired the print loan collection from the Turnpike Gallery and in 2015 acquired the Drumcroon collection of prints, glass, ceramics and mixed media works. The mixed media, glass and ceramics elements have since been accessioned into the collection. We are currently in the process of fully documenting the print collection to get up to date valuations for a project planned in 2025 where we will display a percentage of this work at Turnpike Gallery for possible loans to community partners.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The museum collections number around 35,000 objects The collections are key to the work of the museum in promoting understanding and enjoyment through our changing exhibitions, events programmes, off-site displays and exhibitions, public projects, school programmes and community resources. The largest part of the collection is the social history collection with around 12,000 objects, mainly dating from the 19th and 20th centuries and acquired as a result of passive collecting from local families or worthies. Digital material is usually passed to Wigan Archives for storage and appropriate care. The museum holds a significant school loans collection, but these are not accessioned into the museum collection as they are regularly lent to schools for use in the classroom. This is a collection of c.2,000 items especially collected for educational purposes.

  Social History

  The social history collection comprises around 12,000 objects illustrating domestic, civic, religious, leisure and working life in Wigan Borough from the seventeenth century to the present day. The period most represented is the late nineteenth century to mid twentieth centuries. The range and quality of the items is diverse and most of the categories of the SHIC classification are represented.

  Leisure and domestic items

  Domestic objects include kitchen equipment, laundry equipment, tableware, furniture, textiles, ornaments and lighting and heating appliances. These mainly date to the late nineteenth to mid twentieth century. Objects include televisions, radios, gramophones, gramophone records, wax cylinders, photographic equipment (including cinematic and projection equipment), books, games, toys, ephemera, and musical instruments. Of note are:

  • The Rimmer Collection of 22 brass and woodwind instruments collected by William Rimmer, a local and leading brass band conductor. These date from the late eighteenth to late nineteenth century.
  • A collection of Wigan Rugby League Football Club (and its forerunners) programmes dating from the late nineteenth to early twenty-first century.
  • A collection of c.1000 glass lantern slides mainly of topographical interest in the Wigan and Lancashire area.
  • The Birtwistle Collection – c.300 tin boxes once used to contain biscuits, sweets and chocolates etc.

  Civic and community life related items

  Commemorative items such as keys, trowels, mallets, and ceramics etc, items relating to civic office, such as chains, badges, caskets, costume and ephemera etc.

  Textiles

  The majority of the artefacts date from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and relate to cotton manufacture. These include twelve machines which process raw cotton into yarn by the ring spinning method; four power looms and a variety of yarn testing equipment. In addition, there is a rope-walk, which made the ropes which drove mill engine flywheels. The remainder relates to the silk industry including hand tools and a collection of silk pattern books of mid to late 19th century date. There is also the:

  • The Buckley Collection – c.500 examples of household textiles and haberdashery collected by a Mrs Buckley, most dating from the early to mid-twentieth century.

  War

  First and Second World War items such as ARP, Home Guard, ration books, clothing coupons, military items etc, education, sporting trophies and trophies awarded by the local councils. Of note is:

  • The Cheetham-Hibbert Collection – c.1000 French postcards 1914-18

  Religious related items

  Objects include memorial cards, Christmas cards, concert and tea party programmes, mourning jewellery and commemorative items relating to the anniversaries of local churches and Sunday schools.

  Fine & Decorative Arts

  Decorative Art

  • The Pennington Glass Collection – c. 250 examples of British and continental domestic tableware collected by Major W Peers Groves, a Salford Brewer. Dating to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this material is not local to Wigan but was housed at Pennington Hall in Wigan Borough.
  • A small collection of decorative objects relating to the Eckersley family of Wigan and Hindley.
  • A small collection of material relating to the Leyland family of Hindley, including personal jewellery, sewing equipment and decorative objects dating from mid to late nineteenth century, and a collection of late eighteenth to early nineteenth century samplers.

  Fine art

  This is a diverse collection of c.2000 objects including around 180 oils, 120 watercolours and c.1400 prints of various types. The majority were acquired by bequest and donation from four local collectors. The museum also holds a print collection from the Turnpike Gallery and the Drumcroon ceramic and art collection. Other important collections include:

  • The Crawford Collection of c.1242 hand-coloured political caricatures of the period 1789-1815, mainly French, but some British including Gillray and Cruickshank.
  • The Peer-Groves – watercolour and ink and wash drawings
  • The Dootson Collection – mainly oils and watercolours including the work of several well-known 19th century British artists eg Lord Leighton, Birket Foster, Luke Fildes and Alma Tadema.
  • The Prosser-White Collection of 19th century local historical and topographical subjects.
  • A portrait of Sir Roger and Lady Bradshaigh in front of Hail 1746 by Edward Haytley. This is of national significance and was acquired in 1981 with the aid of the National Art Collections Fund.

  Industrial History

  The collection is also diverse, ranging from small hand tools to large machinery. There are five major categories of material:

  Coal Mining

  Mainly large structures and machinery, including a wooden headgear dating to c.1870, a colliery ventilation fan and steam driven ventilation engine and a steam driven haulage winch. The museum also holds a number of small items, including lamps, hand tools, surveying equipment and winding engine control gear.

  Heavy Engineering

  Consists mainly of the products of local manufacturers e.g. hand tools, bolt- making and foundry equipment. Of special note is the steam hammer from Ince Forge; mobile crane and a steam powered gas compression engine made by Walker Brothers, plus their archive of 3,000 engineering drawings; the Harrison McGregor Albion agricultural machinery.

  Light Industry

  Examples of local manufacturer’s products and production machinery, including shoe and clog making, food and drug processing, brewing and tin- smithing.

  Transport

  A small collection including models, wagon plates, station name-plates, railway platform trucks and ephemera eg bus and train tickets. The major item is a signal box with interior fittings (Douglas Bank).

  Archaeology

  Consists of locally excavated material, chance local finds and material from the personal collections of some local worthies. The local material ranges in date from Roman to eighteenth century. The subject areas covered are Egyptology, Greek, Roman (British and continental), British Neolithic, British medieval and post medieval, and African prehistory.

  World Cultures

  A small collection of c.150 objects from Africa, Asia, N America, the Pacific and Europe. Most were acquired by donation in the early to mid-twentieth century. Like many other museums, Wigan acquired a few items from well-known collectors eg Seton-Karr, Sir John Scott and Stathom. Local donors were prominent families eg the Bankes and the Eckersley families, who acquired objects whilst working or touring the British colonies. We hope to work closer with this collection in the upcoming period in a look towards decolonising this material by recontextualising interpretation and information stored with support from local community groups with associated heritage.

  Egyptology

  A small but significant Egyptian collection of 38 items. The bulk of the Egyptian collection was donated, presumably to Wigan Library, in June 1924 by Sir Leslie Scott K.G., M.P (1869-1950). The Scott collection would have been donated during the time period when objects went to the library. The collection belonged Sir John Scott KCMG, DCML (born Wigan 1841, died Norwood 1904), believed to be the donor’s father. Sir John Scott was Vice President of the International Court of Appeal in Egypt 1878-1882 and Judicial advisor to the Khedive 1890-1898 (Goldschmidt 2000: 184). It is assumed that the objects were collected during this period. The objects were donated in 1924 and include a gold coffin mask, four wooden coffin masks, various coffin fragments, libation dishes, necklaces and other vessels. Other donors include Mrs Hopkins (including link to Petrie) and Mrs Steele and Mr Nicholson.

  Natural History

  Consists of c1,600 items. The most significant is a collection of c.1, 500 marine shells collected in 1750-80 from the Pacific, W Africa and the Caribbean by a member of the Bankes family of Winstanley Hall. A previous member of staff tried to establish a link with Joseph Banks, but without success. There are also small number of plants, insects, reptiles and mounted birds and mammals, mainly collected as curiosities, although some mounted specimens may be of local Victorian taxidermy. In 1991 the collection was surveyed by the North West Collection Research Unit (NWCRU).

  Geology

  This collection was mainly acquired through purchase and local fieldwork by a former member of staff who was a geologist. There are c.1,000 minerals rocks and fossils. Many of the fossils have been collected locally and relate to coal measure deposits. There is no record of the collecting criteria used or the objectives in building up the collection. The NWCRU are of the opinion that the specimens are of good quality and the palaeontology of regional significance.

  Numismatics

  A small collection with a number of items identified by the British Museum as being of produced by significant makers. The whole collection includes:

  • c.175 trade tokens dating from the 17th to 20th centuries relating to
  • Wigan, Lancashire and various industrial activities.
  • 11 gaming counters.
  • The Sir Leslie Scott Collection of 19 Graeco-Roman coins.
  • The Boars head Hoard of 131 Roman coins dating from Nero to Septimus Severus.
  • c. 330 British colonial, American and European coins of the 17th to 20th centuries.
  • c. 230 commemorative and active service medals.

  Gaming counters will no longer be collected, and coins and medals will only be collected from excavated archaeological context or because of their social history significance.

  School Loans

  There are three subjects’ areas, and all include original artefacts or specimens, replicas, books, charts and audio-visual material.

  • Biological Sciences – spirit collections, mounted specimens of plants, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals illustrating basic botanical and zoological classification and representing wildlife found in the Wigan area. All material is British.
  • Earth Sciences – mineral, rock and fossil specimens, models and agricultural samples.
  • History – artefacts both original and replicas covering the subject areas of Egyptology, Prehistory, Roman, Post Roman, Medieval and modern history.

  The majority of the material consists of 19th to mid 20th century social history artefacts. Most of the material has been acquired through purchase, some donated and some transferred from the museum’s reserve collections.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC