Collections

The museum holds a wide range of fascinating historic objects, photographs, documents, books, paintings, print, film and audio. The collections team support the Honorary Curator to research, catalogue, care for, develop and display our collection. Full training will be given and you can donate as much or as little time as you wish. Contact us and let us know what interests you.

  • Current opportunities

  • Join our exciting Finding the Key project (supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Dynamic Collections and Arts Council England’s Unlocking Collections schemes) to explore our collections and help us build a new community catalogue accessible to all. We are looking for people to help with:
  • Object inventory – reviewing all collections items and checking their condition
    Repackaging, labelling and marking – ensuring that every item is securely labelled and appropriately stored
  • Photography and digitisation – helping to make our collections available online
  • Data entry – learning how museums catalogue their collections
  • Object research – tracking down missing stories and connections!
  • Other projects include:
  • Scanning, re-housing, researching and cataloguing the Horner Photographic Collection
  • Working with village history groups to develop a photographic record of each village in our area
  • Helping us to develop and maintain our IT infrastructure

Recent projects

  • Researching the life of local philanthropist Walter Morrison for the Walter Morrison Festival
  • Creating temporary exhibitions on the history of medicine, local geology and the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak.
  • Handlisting a major archival donation

“If you’re interested in local history, or just like to put objects in order, there’re many different aspects to volunteering at The Folly. I’ve worked on the computer database, painted signs and jigsaws, drawn out floorplans and written text for exhibitions – there’s always something new to take part in” – Volunteer Heather M