Collection: West Suffolk Council

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  West Suffolk Heritage Service holds important collections of Archaeology, Social History, Fine and Decorative Art, Horology and Costume. The Heritage Service comprises two museum sites – Moyse’s Hall Museum and West Stow Anglo Saxon Village – where these collections are displayed, stored and studied.

  The Heritage Service’s collections were formed in 1899 when Moyse’s Hall, a landmark 12th century building, opened its doors as a museum to house the Suffolk Institute for Archaeology’s collections. Since the end of the nineteenth century, the collections have been enriched by other important bequests including the Cullum Collection of historic portraits and decorative art (1921) and the Gershom Parkington Collection of Horology (1953). Moyse’s Hall is home to several permanent displays as well as an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions which showcase and interpret our fascinating and diverse collections.

  The collections also include an internationally significant archive of archaeological material, most of which was excavated in West Stow or other sites in West Suffolk. The collection extends from prehistoric times to the post medieval period. It includes: extensive early prehistoric lithic collections; later prehistoric pottery and metalwork, including the largest Bronze Age hoard in Europe; Roman and Anglo-Saxon collections, most notably from West Stow, as well as medieval and later material.

  The wealth of Anglo-Saxon material discovered at West Stow is permanently on display at West Stow Anglo Saxon Village, in the Anglo-Saxon Museum. Archaeological material from earlier periods was transferred to West Stow in 2007 and is displayed in the Archaeology Gallery in the main Visitor Centre.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Horology

  The Horology Collection includes the Gershom-Parkington Collection, the Allen Collection,

  and other bequests and acquisitions. The collection includes English clocks, early European clocks, watches, sundials, American Clocks, examples of public timekeepers such as turret clocks, and certain replicas and models that illustrate key points in the development of timekeeping.

  Fine and Decorative Art

  West Suffolk Heritage Service holds significant collections of Fine and Decorative Art which include pictures, furnishings, ceramics, metalwork and glass. The Cullum Collection of family portraits, created over 250 years, includes works by Lely, Kauffmann and Tissot. Besides its collections of historic portraits, the Service also holds some topographical works relating primarily to West Suffolk. In addition to the merit of individual works, the portrait collection is important as being representative of many regional family portrait collections. The Richard Jeffree bequest of portraits by Mary Beale, given to the Art Fund for display in Bury St Edmunds, has subsequently been added to, with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to create the largest collection of work by Britain’s first professional female artist. A small collection of Hervey family portraits, including Augustus Hervey by Reynolds, is currently on loan to the National Trust at Ickworth.

  Costume and Textiles

  The Costume and Textile Collection includes The Irene Barnes Collection of 1920s and 30s beaded costume and a range of other material dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The period 1850 to 1950 is particularly well represented by our collection, as is the theme of surface decoration.

  Archaeology

  The Archaeology Collection includes a wide range of excavated material and chance finds from the historic county of West Suffolk, as well as some material from outside the area. The collection extends from prehistoric times to the post medieval period. It includes: extensive early prehistoric lithic collections; later prehistoric pottery and metalwork, including the largest Bronze Age hoard in Europe; Roman and Anglo-Saxon collections, most notably from West Stow, as well as medieval and later material.

  Archaeological material from earlier periods was transferred to West Stow in 2007 and is displayed in the main Visitor Centre.

  Social History

  The Social History Collection includes a wide range of material that helps to illustrate and enhance our understanding of life in the local area from early modern times until the present. Items in the Social History collection include locally made and used firearms and items illustrating developments in specific aspects of domestic life including washing, cooking and cleaning.

  Natural History

  The greater part of the Natural History Collection dates from the 19th Century; it comprises geological specimens, with a few ornithological specimens which have specific relevance primarily from a social history perspective.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC