Collection: Oxfordshire Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Natural Science

  The Natural Science Collection has examples of the flora, fauna and geology of Oxfordshire, Geology of about 5,000 specimens ranging from rocks from deep boreholes to fossils and minerals. The biology collection is about 200,000 specimens from mammals to invertebrates with dry collections of most groups of insects collected by entomologists, including W J Le Quesne, T R Eagles and E S Brown. Skeletal material, including many bird skulls and mounted birds and mammals, many of species found in Oxfordshire. The collection of Western European Birds Eggs given by the Jourdain Society is internationally important and has over 7000 clutches representing 600 species; a spreadsheet is available as a download. The herbarium includes collections of Bryophytes, mostly presented by the late Dr E W Jones, Lichens, and the Voucher collection of the Fungus Survey of Oxfordshire.

  Archaeology

  Collections include about 200,000 items excavated and found from the Quaternary, Prehistoric, Roman, Saxon, Medieval and Post-medieval including finds and records from all the towns and nearly all the parishes in Oxfordshire. These collections comprise animal bones, human skeletons, metal finds (jewellery and personal ornaments, weapons, tools, vessels, locks and keys, fittings), pottery, tile, glass, flint, stonework, building materials, bone objects, wooden objects, slag and soil samples from Neolithic to 18th century. The sites are Neolithic ritual landscapes, Bronze Age cemeteries, Iron Age settlements, forts and farmsteads, Roman villas, roadside settlements and small towns, Anglo-Saxon cemeteries and hamlets, Saxon and Medieval towns, monasteries, markets and The University. New sites include Eynsham Abbey, and 6 sites, part of Oxfordshire Archaeology 2000 -Mill Street, Wantage; Bicester Fields Farm, Bicester; Didcot ‘B’ Power Station; Bell Street, Henley-on-Thames; Windmill Hill, Nettlebed; and West of Church View, Bampton.

  History

  The History Collections include items of people’s everyday lives from the 17th century to the present day – objects from home and domestic life, eating, drinking and cooking vessels and utensils, things to do with laundry and cleaning. Domestic furniture is collected, as are clothing and costume, personal adornment, smoking, sport, hobbies, games and toys. Also transport by cycle, horse, car and rail; shops and shopping, retail and wholesale, grocers, butchers, bakers, drapers, haberdashers, department stores, electrical retailers, chemists, and of course, hotels, restaurants and public houses and corporate life – schools and education, the military, the police and the fire service. The collections are from most towns and parishes in the county. The Dew Collection, an important collection of 18th, 19th and 20th century belongings from this north Oxfordshire family includes costume, household and home life, shops and shopping, working life, public life and transport.

  Rural Collection

  The Rural collections, from most towns and parishes in the county, include agriculture and food production, both livestock and crop husbandry, transport, markets and auctions, field draining, ploughing, cultivating, harvesting, weed and pest control, farm machinery, dairy cattle, milk, butter and cheese making, beef cattle, sheep and shepherding for lamb and wool, pigs and pig killing, horses and harness for horse-power, bees and beekeeping. Rural industries include country crafts and crafts men from blacksmith, harness maker and saddler, hurdle maker, chair leg and tent maker, ladder maker, wheelwright and wagon builders, farm implement and machinery makers, wood turner and thatch spar making, thatching and brick making, slate making and stonewall building.

  Industry

  Industrial collections feature malting and brewing, blanket weaving, builders, carpenters, stonemasons and woodcarving crafts, as well a boat builders. Contemporary science and technology industries are included.

  Pictures

  The picture collection ranges from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and photographs from the 19th and 20th. The very important and large collections of photographs include Banbury Livestock Market and images of Cherwell.

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC