Museum Collections - Full Description

Archaeology

The Archaeology Collection includes: pottery and other ceramics, stone tools, coins, architectural fragments and funerary monuments from religious buildings, building materials, objects of metal, stone, wood, leather and glass, the bi-products of industrial processes, human and animal bone and other zoological remains, and environmental samples and their associated flora and fauna.

Areas of Excellence include:

Lower Palaeolithic stone tools: these are amongst the earliest humanly made objects found in Britain;
Iron Age occupation evidence, such as coins, cooking pots and corn-grinding stones, from sites such as the hillforts on Breedon Hill and Burrough Hill;
Roman rural life: an extensive collection including trinket jewellery, domestic utensils, building materials and coins from villas, farms and small towns;
Anglo-Saxon settlement and burials: objects from pagan graves to the Viking Age feature, including a rare hoard of iron tools and weapons of the 10^th-11^th century;
exploitation and bridging of the River Trent in the medieval period;
extensive multi-period field-walking project collections: finds from the medieval villages of Leicestershire, recorded to show how the land was used, are a key element in understanding this period;
1485: the Battle of Bosworth. Domestic and military objects from the time of the Battle that shaped a nation’s destiny;
coal mining objects relating to the Leicestershire coalfield from the 15th to the 20th century;
collections from Leicestershire’s scheduled ancient monuments, including Iron Age.

The Collection derives mutual support from the collections of other institutions and of private individuals, from which objects are borrowed for events, exhibitions, and research. It is also complemented by the Historic Environment Record maintained by Leicestershire County Council.

Many of the sites from which the Collection has been derived are accessible to the public. These include the County Council’s Country Parks at Burrough Hill, Bosworth Battlefield, and Watermead (Birstall-Thurmaston-Wanlip); medieval buildings such as the Manor House at Donington le Heath and churches such as St Dionysius (Market Harborough); and numerous places crossed by public Rights of Way.

Art

The art collection can be divided into four groups:

Portraits of local people including politicians, dignitaries and private individuals.
Works of art created by Leicestershire artists including Rigby Graham.
The Sporting Art includes important images of equestrian subjects including fox hunting by artists such as John Ferneley and
The topographical collection includes easel paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints depicting the towns, villages, buildings and landscapes of Leicestershire.

Botany

The plant collections are of national importance in view of their size, geographical coverage, historical range and because many of the collectors have been notable authorities in their subjects.

About 40,000 non-flowering (lower) plants; includes virtually full historical coverage of those which have lived in Leicestershire and Rutland since about 1830. Included are algae, fungi, myxomycetes, lichens, mosses and liverworts. A large collection of British and some foreign lower plants is maintained for study purposes. Many are voucher specimens from important environmental studies and are cited in published works. The lichens and bryophytes are particularly rich and up-to-date.
Notable collectors include A. Bloxam, H.P. Reader, A.B. Jackson, A.R. Horwood, F.A. Sowter, A.E. Wade, D.L. Hawksworth, P.E. Jackson, D.A. Ballard, A. Fletcher.
Flowering (higher) plants and fern collections representative of the British flora are maintained for study purposes.
A large collection of microscope slides of all plant groups, illustrates the art of plant morphology teaching now lost from universities.
Handling collections of plant materials are maintained for use by children and the general public.
The Library is a comprehensive historical and contemporary source of journals and books pertaining to identification of all British plant groups, and general ecology.
Equipment, facilities and expertise are available for visitors studying the collections.

Costume

The costume collection is one of the most comprehensive in the East Midlands and has some particular elements that make it nationally and internationally important.

The collection tells the story of male and female adult fashionable dress from the 1740s through to the present day. It includes the Symington Collection, which is recognised as a unique archive of corsetry, foundation garments and swimwear production between 1860 and 1990. The collections primarily consist of objects made, sold or worn in Leicestershire, although some material has been acquired that illustrates fashionable trends, but has no direct connection with the county.

Female fashion is represented by over 1,500 original dresses, suits and coats. The collection also includes other fashionable women's garments including accessories.
The menswear collection is smaller but still indicates the changes in fashions in tailoring, sportswear and casual dress.
Recent collecting has included the formation of an important and growing body of material from the high street retailer NEXT.
Designer styles are represented by work including some of the leading names in modern fashion, including: Worth, Dior, Chanel, Hartnell, Amies, Galliano, McQueen, Miyake, Westwood, Ralph Lauren, Versace and Armani.
Fashionable accessories are well represented in the collection, including: bags, shawls, hats, shoes and fans. A gift in 2003 of 1300 head squares, scarves and handkerchiefs illustrates textile design technology and aspects of production in the twentieth century.
A small archive of fashion plates, fashion magazines and home sewing and knitting patterns and other ephemera support the collection.

Geology

The geological collections are of national importance because of diversity of rocks found within Leicestershire & Rutland, and because many of the collectors have been notable authorities in their subjects.

The local rock collection contains over 6000 specimens from Leicestershire and Rutland plus additional specimens from surrounding counties. The collection contains: Precambrian sedimentary, igneous, volcanoclastic and metamorphic rocks; Carboniferous coal measures and Limestones; Triassic Sandstones, Mudstones and Gypsum; Lower and mid Jurassic fossil bearing Ironstones, Clays and Limestones; and more recent glacial deposits and river gravels. Representative fossils are mainly from the Carboniferous & Jurassic periods, and the majority of the Leicestershire minerals are found in association with the igneous rocks. Notable collectors include M.Browne, H.H.Gregory, B.N.Wale, C.A.Sizer, E.E.Lowe, D.M.Blake and F.W. Bennett.
Borehole cores collection comprising of rock cores from boreholes sunk in Leicestershire and Rutland.
A large and comprehensive mineral collection comprising of specimens from Britain and throughout the world.
A large collection of rocks from throughout the world representing the major rock types.
Handling collections of rocks, fossil and minerals are maintained for use by children and the general public.
Listing and information on Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites (RIGS).
Equipment, facilities and expertise are available for visitors studying the collections.
A large comprehensive database of Leicestershire and Rutland specimens, including locality, geological age and strata (where applicable) has been compiled.

Harborough Collection

The Harborough collection comprises approximately 11000 items of local history material. The Harborough collecting area ignores modern political and administrative boundaries and follows the traditional carrier routes in and out of the town.

The collection includes:

A boot and shoemakers workshop from Market Harborough.
Material from many of the industries based in Market Harborough, such as R. & W.H. Symington (underwear), Symington (foodstuffs), Harboro' Rubber (rubber products) and Tungstone's (vehicle batteries).
17^th century street toys, found behind a wall in the local church, St Dionysius. Includes tops, tipcats, sticks, whistles, balls, and knucklebones.
Extensive collection of photographs (approx. 5000) of Market Harborough and surrounding villages.
Roof bosses from St Dionysius, dating from the 15^th century.
Stable door from the stables at Lubenham; nailed to the door are horseshoes from winners owned by the stables in the 1860s and 1870s. Including the horse that won the first Grand National.
Examples of samplers made in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.
Stone masons tools, farming implements and veterinary tools.

Partnership collection: The collection of the Market Harborough Historical Society is cared for and interpreted alongside the Harborough Collection. The Historical Society collection is focussed on the town, however it does include some antiquities from ancient Greece, Rome, Babylon and Egypt. The Market Harborough Historical Society retains ownership of the collection. Highlights of local material include a drum and drummer boy's jacket from c.1806.

Home and Family Life

The Home and Family Life Collection is based around the material culture of Leicestershire home life and dates from the 18^th century to present day.

The collection covers a wide range of domestic functions and activities as well as certain aspects of family life which take place outside the home.
The range of the collection includes items used to heat, light and clean the home, items used to prepare, cook and serve food, items used for personal and laundry hygiene and items that reflect changes in the technology of these basic household requirements.
Changes in taste and cultural input in home decoration are well represented. Key items include a significant number of Measham ware objects and other stoneware.
The collection also reflects the many different activities that take place in the home. Objects support themes such as rites of passage, with an important collection of late 19^th century "in memoriam" cards, homecraft and hobbies, with an extensive collection of late 19^th century-early 20^th century needlecraft tools, entertainment, childhood and childcare, health and beauty and belief and worship in the home.
A compilation of material covering aspects of education, entertainment, holidays and hobbies outside the home supports the main collection topics.
Collection strengths include a substantial body of toys and games with particular emphasis on the products of the Palitoy Company. The Palitoy collection includes such iconic toys as "Action Man" and "Tiny Tears" and a wide variety of early Palitoy products such as an "Archie Andrews" puppet and "Diddums" doll.
The Palitoy material is well supported by a broad range of other 20^th century dolls and an extensive collection of card games, board games and puzzles. Among the latter is a late 18^th century dissected puzzle on a moral theme.
Ladybird books, made in Loughborough, also form a significant collection area. Key objects include two rare and important books dated between 1920 and 1935.

Working Life

The collection includes agricultural implements (mainly hand tools), and tools used by local wheelwrights, carpenters, blacksmiths, millwrights, coopers, saddlers, brewers, bakers, butchers, builders and other craftsmen. There are also small items from local shops, inns and factories.
Nearly 2000 items in the collection have been acquired to represent the history of coal mining in NW Leicestershire, including important 15^th and 16^th century artefacts recovered from recent opencast mines and a particularly comprehensive collection of the machinery, technology, and daily life of late 20^th century coal miners.
On site at Snibston are six standard-gauge locomotives, one of which was built in the county, and the others used by local industries.
The museum service also has six aircraft built in Leicestershire, and sixteen horse-drawn vehicles of various kinds.
Highlights include the contents of the Deacon family’s 18^th/19^th century clockmaking workshop, a superb collection of cooper’s tools from Melton Mowbray, and the reconstructed wheelwright’s workshop from Sheepy Magna. There is a 1945 Auster aeroplane restored to full working order, and the unique 18^th century coach from Beaumanor Hall.

Zoology

Extensive collections of about 300,000 accurately identified invertebrates, particularly Moths & Butterflies, Beetles, Flies, Molluscs and other insect orders represent the county’s fauna through time. Many collections support environmental surveys and are cited in publications.
Comprehensive collections of British material are also kept for study purposes.
Important collectors include S.A and S.O Taylor, D.W. Hunt, H.P. Buckler, D.H. Hall-Smith, D.A. Lott.
Microscope slides of critical insect parts, particularly genitalia, are maintained for study purposes.
Collections of vertebrate skins, including most British birds and mammals are maintained for study purposes.
Handling and demonstration collections of invertebrates are kept for use by children and the general public.
Soft bodied Invertebrates are stored in spirit at a separate store location.
The Library is a comprehensive source of works for identification of British animal groups.
Equipment, facilities and expertise are available for visitors studying the collections.