Designation Scheme
Encyclopedia
The Designation Scheme is an English
system that awards "designated status" to museums and library collections considered to be of great importance by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
(MLA). As of 2009, 125 collections are officially recognized. National museums are not eligible for designated status.
The scheme was first launched in 1997 and originally covered only museum collections. It was expanded to libraries and archives in 2005.
Harewood House
became the first stately home to be awarded designated status in 1998.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
system that awards "designated status" to museums and library collections considered to be of great importance by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is a non-departmental public body in England and a registered charity with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives...
(MLA). As of 2009, 125 collections are officially recognized. National museums are not eligible for designated status.
The scheme was first launched in 1997 and originally covered only museum collections. It was expanded to libraries and archives in 2005.
Harewood House
Harewood House
Harewood House is a country house located in Harewood , near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of Treasure Houses of England, a marketing consortium for nine of the foremost stately homes in England...
became the first stately home to be awarded designated status in 1998.
Designated collections
- Ashmolean MuseumAshmolean MuseumThe Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
, OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through... - Barber Institute of Fine ArtsBarber Institute of Fine ArtsThe Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham....
, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... - Bath & North East Somerset Heritage Services
- Fashion Museum
- Roman Baths Museum
- Bath Record Office
- Birmingham Libraries (Photography collections Archive collections)
- Birmingham Central LibraryBirmingham Central LibraryBirmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council...
- Birmingham Central Library
- Birmingham Museums & Heritage (Fine and decorative arts Science and industry (housed at Thinktank) Birmingham history (including numismatics))
- Birmingham Museum & Art GalleryBirmingham Museum & Art GalleryBirmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England.Entrance to the Museum and Art Gallery is free, but some major exhibitions in the Gas Hall incur an entrance fee...
(main site) - Aston HallAston HallAston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:...
- Blakesley HallBlakesley HallBlakesley Hall is a Tudor hall on Blakesley Road in Yardley, Birmingham, England. It is one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham and is a typical example of Tudor architecture with the use of darkened timber and wattle-and-daub infill, with an external lime render which is painted white...
- Jewellery QuarterJewellery QuarterThe Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre, England, situated in the south of the Hockley area. It is covered by the Ladywood district. There is a population of around 3,000 people in a area....
- Sarehole MillSarehole MillSarehole Mill is a Grade II listed water mill on the River Cole in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. It is now run as a museum by the Birmingham City Council. It is one of only two working water mills in Birmingham, with the other being New Hall Mill in Walmley, Sutton Coldfield.Built in 1542 on...
- Soho HouseSoho HouseSoho House , Matthew Boulton's home in Handsworth, Birmingham, England, is now a museum , celebrating his life, his partnership with James Watt and his membership of the Lunar Society of Birmingham. It was designed by Samuel Wyatt and work on the current building began in 1789...
(main site)
- Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
- Beamish MuseumBeamish MuseumBeamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open-air museum located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early...
, County DurhamCounty DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington... - Bovington Tank MuseumBovington Tank MuseumThe Tank Museum is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles in the United Kingdom that traces the history of the tank. With almost 300 vehicles on exhibition from 26 countries it is the second-largest collection of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles in the world.The Musée des Blindés in France...
, Bovington CampBovington CampBovington Camp is a British Army base in Dorset, England.It is home to The Armour Centre, formerly the Royal Armoured Corps Centre and includes Allenby Barracks and Stanley Barracks. Bovington Tank Museum is adjoining.... - Bowes MuseumBowes MuseumThe Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.The museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher and a sizable collection of decorative art,...
, DurhamDurhamDurham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county... - Bristol City Council Museums, Galleries & Archives Service (Collections related to Bristol’s role as a manufacturing city and major seaport)
- Bristol City Museum and Art GalleryBristol City Museum and Art GalleryThe Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. It is run by the city council with no entrance fee. It holds designated museum status, granted by the national government to protect outstanding museums...
(main site) - Bristol Industrial MuseumBristol Industrial MuseumThe Bristol Industrial Museum was a museum in Bristol, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour, and which closed in 2006. On display were items from Bristol's industrial past – including aviation, car and bus manufacture, and printing – and exhibits documenting Bristol's...
- Georgian House
- Red LodgeRed Lodge Museum, BristolThe Red Lodge Museum is an historic building in Bristol, England.It is open to the public is a branch of Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.- History :...
- Blaise Castle House Museum
- Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
- Bristol City Record Office and Bristol Central LibraryBristol Central LibraryBristol Central Library is a historic building on the south side of College Green, Bristol, England. It contains the main collections of Bristol's public library....
’s Local Studies Service - Britten-Pears Library, AldeburghAldeburghAldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
- Cambridge University Museum of ZoologyCambridge University Museum of ZoologyThe Cambridge University Museum of Zoology is a museum of the University of Cambridge, located on the New Museums Site, just north of Dowing Street in central Cambridge, England....
- Cheltenham Art Gallery & MuseumCheltenham Art Gallery & MuseumCheltenham Art Gallery and Museum in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire was opened in 1899. It offers free admission, and has a programme of special exhibitions....
(The arts and crafts collections) - Colchester Castle MuseumColchester CastleColchester Castle in Colchester, Essex is an example of a largely complete Norman castle. It is a Grade I listed building.-Construction:At one and a half times the size of the Tower of London's White Tower, Colchester's keep is the largest ever built in Britain and the largest surviving example in...
(Archaeology collections) - Compton VerneyCompton Verney HouseCompton Verney House is an 18th century country mansion at Compton Verney near Kineton in Warwickshire which has been converted into the Compton Verney Art Gallery....
, WarwickshireWarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
(Archaic Chinese bronzes) - Cornwall Record OfficeCornwall Record OfficeCornwall Record Office , part of Cornwall Council, is situated at Old County Hall in Truro and is the main repository for the historical archives of Cornwall....
(The archives relating to Cornwall's hard-rock mining industry) - Corporation of LondonCorporation of LondonThe City of London Corporation is the municipal governing body of the City of London. It exercises control only over the City , and not over Greater London...
(Guildhall LibraryGuildhall LibraryThe Guildhall Library is administered by the Corporation of London, the government of the City of London, which is the historical heart of London, England. It was founded in the 1420s under the terms of the will of Lord Mayor Dick Whittington...
and London Metropolitan ArchivesLondon Metropolitan ArchivesThe London Metropolitan Archives are the main archives for the Greater London area. Established in 1997, having previously been known as the Greater London Record Office, they are financed by the City of London Corporation....
) (The History of London collection) - Courtauld GalleryCourtauld Institute of ArtThe Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
, London - Coventry Transport MuseumCoventry Transport MuseumThe Coventry Transport Museum is a motor museum, located in Coventry City Centre, England. It houses a collection of British-made road transport. It is located in Coventry because the city was previously the centre of the British car industry...
- Dulwich Picture GalleryDulwich Picture GalleryDulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London. England's first purpose-built public art gallery, it was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane and opened to the public in 1817. Soane arranged the exhibition spaces as a series of interlinked rooms illuminated naturally...
, London - Durham University LibraryDurham University LibraryThe Durham University Library is the centrally-administered library of Durham University in England. It was founded in January 1833 at Palace Green by a 160 volume donation by the then Bishop of Durham, William Van Mildert and now holds over 1.5 million printed items...
(The Bishop Cosin’s Library and The Sudan Archive) - Durham University Oriental MuseumDurham University Oriental MuseumThe Oriental Museum, formerly the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, is a museum of the University of Durham in England. The museum has a collection of more than 23,500 Chinese, Egyptian, Korean, Japanese and other far east and Asian artefacts...
(Egyptian and Chinese collections) - Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum, London
- Fitzwilliam MuseumFitzwilliam MuseumThe Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
, CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the... - Hampshire Record Office, WinchesterWinchesterWinchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
- Harewood HouseHarewood HouseHarewood House is a country house located in Harewood , near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of Treasure Houses of England, a marketing consortium for nine of the foremost stately homes in England...
, HarewoodHarewoodHarewood is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. The A61 runs through the village, from Leeds city centre in the south to Harrogate in the north...
, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... - Horniman MuseumHorniman MuseumThe Horniman Museum is a museum in Forest Hill, South London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Arts and Crafts style....
and Gardens, London (The musical instruments collections and ethnographic collections) - Institute of Engineering and TechnologyInstitute of Engineering and TechnologyThe Institute of Engineering and Technology Lucknow is a state government-funded engineering college in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is a constituent college of Gautam Buddh Technical University .- History :The IET was established by the government of Uttar Pradesh in 1984, for imparting...
, London - Institution of Civil EngineersInstitution of Civil EngineersFounded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
, London (The library, archive, and works of Art) - Ironbridge GorgeIronbridge GorgeThe Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the River Severn in Shropshire, England.Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there...
Museum Trust- Museum of Iron and Darby
- Furnace (main site)
- Blists Hill Victorian TownBlists Hill Victorian TownBlists Hill is an open air museum, one of ten museums operated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, built on a former industrial complex located in the Madeley area of Telford, Shropshire, England...
- Coalport China MuseumCoalport China MuseumThe Coalport China Museum is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums based in the village of Coalport within the Ironbridge Gorge at Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale on the bank of the River Severn in Shropshire, England...
- Jackfield Tile MuseumJackfield Tile MuseumThe Jackfield Tile Museum is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums based in the village of Jackfield on the south bank of the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire, England...
- Broseley Pipe Works
- Darby Houses
- Library and Archives
- Jewish Museum, London (The Ritual Judaica collection)
- John Rylands University LibraryJohn Rylands University LibraryThe John Rylands University Library is the University of Manchester's library and information service. It was formed in July 1972 from the merger of the library of the Victoria University of Manchester with the John Rylands Library...
, University of ManchesterUniversity of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group... - King’s College London (Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives)
- Kingston upon Hull City Museums and Art Galleries
- Ferens Art GalleryFerens Art GalleryThe Ferens Art Gallery is an art gallery in the English city of Kingston upon Hull. The site and money for the gallery were donated to the city by Thomas Ferens, after whom it is named. Opened in 1927,...
- Hull and East Riding Museum
- Hull Maritime MuseumHull Maritime MuseumThe Hull Maritime Museum is a museum in Kingston upon Hull , England, that explores the seafaring heritage of the city and its environs...
- Streetlife Museum
- Wilberforce HouseWilberforce HouseWilberforce House is the birth place of William Wilberforce, the famous abolitionist, and is located in High Street, Kingston upon Hull, England. Like the nearby Blaydes House and Maister House, it was formerly a Merchant's house with access to quayside on the River Hull...
- Ferens Art Gallery
- Lambeth PalaceLambeth PalaceLambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...
Library - Lancashire County Museum Service (The textile industry collections)
- Higher Hill Museum, HelmshoreHelmshoreHelmshore is a village in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England. It is situated south of Haslingden, broadly between the A56 and the B6235, approximately 16 miles north of Manchester.- Early history :...
- Whitaker’s Mill, Helmshore
- Queen Street MillQueen Street MillQueen Street Mill is in Harle Syke, a suburb to the north-east of Burnley, Lancashire. It was built in 1894 for The Queen Street Manufacturing Company. It closed on 12th March 1982 and was mothballed...
, BurnleyBurnleyBurnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
- Higher Hill Museum, Helmshore
- Lapworth Museum of GeologyLapworth Museum of GeologyThe Lapworth Museum of Geology is a major geological museum run by the University of Birmingham in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England.The museum is located within the Grade II listed, Aston Webb Building, which retains the original Edwardian features. The museum has a history which dates back 1880...
, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... - Leeds Museums and Galleries (Natural science, fine and decorative arts, and industrial collections)
- Leeds City Art Gallery
- Leeds City MuseumLeeds City MuseumLeeds City Museum, originally established in 1819, re-opened on 13 September 2008 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in the former Mechanics' Institute built by Cuthbert Brodrick, in Millennium Square, which has been redeveloped to a design by Austin-Smith:Lord architects and Buro...
- Lotherton HallLotherton HallLotherton Hall is a country house near Aberford, West Yorkshire, England. It lies a short distance from the A1 motorway, 200 miles equidistant between London and Edinburgh....
- Temple Newsam House
- Armley Mills Industrial MuseumArmley Mills Industrial MuseumThe Armley Mills Leeds Industrial Museum is a museum of industrial heritage located in Armley, west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It includes collections of textile machinery, railway equipment and heavy engineering amongst others....
- Thwaite Mills Museum
- Leeds University Library Special Collections (The English Literature Collection, The Romany Collection, The Cookery Collection, The Leeds Russian Archive)
- The Library and Museum of Freemasonry, Freemasons' Hall, LondonFreemasons' Hall, LondonFreemasons' Hall in London is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England and a meeting place for the Masonic Lodges in the London area. It is in Great Queen Street between Holborn and Covent Garden and has been a Masonic meeting place since 1775...
- Lincolnshire ArchivesLincolnshire ArchivesLincolnshire Archives is the county record office of Lincolnshire, England. It was established as a county service in 1948 by the Lincolnshire Archives Committee, which had been formally constituted on 24 October 1947 with Sir Sir Robert Pattinson as chairman...
, LincolnLincoln, LincolnshireLincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
(Episcopal Rolls and Registers) - Liverpool and Merseyside Record Offices (Photographic image collection)
- London Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
(The Women's Library) - London School of Economics and Political Science
- London Transport Museum
- Manchester City Galleries (Fine and decorative art, and Costume collections)
- Manchester City Art Gallery
- Platt Hall, the Gallery of Costume
- Wythenshawe HallWythenshawe HallWythenshawe Hall is a 16th-century medieval timber-framed historic house and former stately home in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England. It is east of Altrincham and south of Stretford, five miles south of Manchester city centre, in Wythenshawe Park.-History:The half-timbered Tudor house was the home...
- Heaton Hall
- Manchester MuseumManchester MuseumThe Manchester Museum is owned by the University of Manchester. Sited on Oxford Road at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, it provides access to about six million items from every continent and serves both as a resource for academic research and teaching and as a regional...
- Mary Rose TrustMary Rose TrustThe Mary Rose Trust is a limited charitable trust based in Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. Its primary aims are to preserve, display and spread knowledge about the 16th century warship Mary Rose which sank in the Solent on 19 July 1545 and was salvaged by the Trust in October 1982.The Mary Rose...
, PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... - Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of CambridgeMuseum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of CambridgeThe MAA : Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge houses the University's collections of local antiquities, together with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world...
- Museum of Domestic Design and ArchitectureMuseum of Domestic Design and ArchitectureThe Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture is a museum in North London, England, housing one of the most comprehensive collections of 19th- and 20th-century decorative arts for the home....
, London (The Silver Studio collection) - Museum of LondonMuseum of LondonThe Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
and Museum of London Docklands - Museum of Science and Industry in ManchesterMuseum of Science and Industry in ManchesterThe Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England, is a large museum devoted to the development of science, technology, and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields...
- Museum of the History of Science, OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
- Museums of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, London (The Hunterian Collection)
- National Co-operative Archive, Co-operative CollegeCo-operative CollegeThe Co-operative College is a University in the United Kingdom which provides "inspirational learning and resources based on co-operative values and principles for individuals and organisations to support the development of sustainable co-operative, mutual and social enterprises throughout the world"...
, Manchester - National Motor MuseumNational Motor MuseumThe National Motor Museum is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the English county of Hampshire.- History :...
, BeaulieuBeaulieu-England:* Beaulieu, Hampshire, a village in the New Forest* Beaulieu Abbey, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu Palace House, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu River, running through Beaulieu, Hampshire...
, HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force... - National Tramway MuseumNational Tramway MuseumThe National Tramway Museum, at Crich, in Derbyshire, England, is situated within Crich Tramway Village, a period village containing a pub, cafe, old-style sweetshop, including the tram depots. The village is also home to the Eagle Press, a small museum dedicated to Letterpress Printing including...
, CrichCrichCrich is a village in Derbyshire in England. It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Village, and at the summit of Crich Hill above, a Memorial Tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I.Built in 1923 on the site of an... - Norfolk Record Office (Collections relating to the history of Norfolk)
- Northampton Central Museum and Art Gallery (Boot and Shoe Collection)
- Norwich Castle Museum and Art GalleryNorwich CastleNorwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. It was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England when William the Conqueror ordered its construction because he wished to have a fortified place in the important city of...
- Oxford University Library (Special collections at the Bodleian LibraryBodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
: Rare books, Manuscripts and Archives, Maps, Music, and Oxford University Archives) - Oxford University Museum of Natural HistoryOxford University Museum of Natural HistoryThe Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It also contains a lecture theatre which is used by the...
- People's History MuseumPeople's History MuseumThe People's History Museum in Manchester, England is the United Kingdom's national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people in the UK...
, Manchester - Petrie Museum, London
- Pitt Rivers MuseumPitt Rivers MuseumThe Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed through that building.The museum was...
, OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through... - Plymouth City Museum and Art GalleryPlymouth City Museum and Art GalleryPlymouth City Museum and Art Gallery in the Drake Circus area of Plymouth, Devon, England is the largest museum and art gallery in the city. It was built in 1907-10 by Thornely and Rooke in Edwardian Baroque style. Its interior was restored in 1954 after being gutted in The Blitz.The Museum has...
(The Cottonian collection) - Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of MusicThe Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, London (The Special Collections and Archives of the Royal Academy of Music Library) - Royal Albert Memorial MuseumRoyal Albert Memorial MuseumRoyal Albert Memorial Museum on Queen Street, Exeter, Devon, England is the largest museum in the city.-History:Initially proposed by Sir Stafford Northcote as a practical memorial to Prince Albert, an appeal fund was launched in 1861 and the first phases of the building were completed by 1868...
, ExeterExeterExeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
(The world cultures collections) - Royal Engineers MuseumRoyal Engineers MuseumThe Royal Engineers Museum, Library & Archive is a military engineering museum and library in Gillingham, Kent, England. It tells the story of the Corps of Royal Engineers and British military engineering in general.-History:The Library was founded in 1812...
, Chatham - Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
(with Institute of British Geographers) (All geographical collections) - Royal Institute of British ArchitectsRoyal Institute of British ArchitectsThe Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
, London (The British Architecture Library) - The Royal Mail Archive, London
- Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums (Brighton and Hove) (Decorative arts, World Art and Anthropology, and Natural History)
- Brighton Museum & Art GalleryBrighton Museum & Art GalleryBrighton Museum & Art Gallery is a free-to-view municipally-owned public museum and art gallery in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England...
- Royal PavilionRoyal PavilionThe Royal Pavilion is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. It was built in three campaigns, beginning in 1787, as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, from 1811 Prince Regent. It is often referred to as the Brighton Pavilion...
- Preston ManorPreston Manor, BrightonPreston Manor is the former manor house of the ancient Sussex village of Preston, now part of the coastal city of Brighton and Hove, England. The present building dates mostly from 1738, when Lord of the manor Thomas Western rebuilt the original 13th-century structure , and 1905 when Charles...
- Booth Museum of Natural HistoryBooth Museum of Natural HistoryBooth Museum of Natural History is a municipally-owned museum of natural history in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England. It is part of "Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton and Hove". Admission is free....
- Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
- St John's College, CambridgeSt John's College, CambridgeSt John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
(Old Library collection) - Salisbury and South Wiltshire MuseumSalisbury and South Wiltshire MuseumSalisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, commonly known as Salisbury Museum is a museum in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It houses one of the best collections relating to Stonehenge and local archaeology....
(The archaeology collections) - Sedgwick Museum of Earth SciencesSedgwick Museum of Earth SciencesThe Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, opened in 1904, is the geology museum of the University of Cambridge in England. It is part of the Department of Earth Sciences and is located on the University's Downing Site in Downing Street, central Cambridge, England.The Sedgwick has a collection of more...
, CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the... - Shakespeare Birthplace TrustShakespeare Birthplace TrustThe Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is an independent registered educational charity based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, that came into existence in 1847 following the purchase of William Shakespeare's birthplace for preservation as a national memorial. It can also lay claim to be...
and Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, Stratford Upon Avon (All collections relating to Shakespeare’s life and times) - Sheffield City MuseumSheffield City MuseumWeston Park Museum, one mile west of the centre of Sheffield, England, lies beside Weston Park and surrounded by the University of Sheffield. It is managed by Museums Sheffield....
(Metalwork collections) - Sir John Soane's Museum, London
- Southampton City Council Cultural Services
- Southampton City Art GallerySouthampton City Art GalleryThe Southampton City Art Gallery is an art gallery in Southampton, southern England. It is located in the Civic Centre on Commercial Road.The gallery's art collection covers six centuries of European art history, with over 3,500 works. It is housed in an example of 1930s municipal architecture...
- Museum of Archaeology, Southampton
- Southampton City Art Gallery
- Stoke-on-Trent Museums Service
- Potteries Museum
- Etruria Industrial MuseumEtruria Industrial MuseumThe Etruria Industrial Museum is located in Etruria, Staffordshire in England. Located along the Caldon Canal, the museum is a Grade II* listed building which includes a working steam engine called "Princess". The museum buildings were originally a bone and flint mill built in 1857 to grind...
- Ford Green HallFord Green HallFord Green Hall is a Grade II* listed farmhouse and historic house museum, originally built in 1624, located in Smallthorne, area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England....
- Tyne and Wear Archives (Shipbuilding, Marine and Maritime Trade Collection)
- Tyne and Wear MuseumsTyne and Wear MuseumsTyne & Wear Archives & Museums is a regional group of United Kingdom national museums located across the Tyne and Wear area of north-east England. They have been administered by a joint board of local authorities since the abolition of the Tyne and Wear Metropolitan County Council...
(Fine and Decorative Arts, Natural Sciences, and Science and Technology Collections)- Discovery Museum
- Laing Art GalleryLaing Art GalleryThe Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England is located on New Bridge Street. It was opened in 1904 and is now managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. In front of the gallery is the Blue Carpet.The gallery holds oil paintings,...
- Monkwearmouth Station MuseumMonkwearmouth Station MuseumMonkwearmouth Station Museum served Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, England. The railway station was closed in March 1967 as a result of the Beeching Axe and featured a restored booking office dating from the Edwardian period....
- Shipley Art GalleryShipley Art GalleryThe Shipley Art Gallery is an art gallery situated in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. It is at the south end of Prince Consort Road, near to Shipcote.-Origins:The Shipley Art Gallery first opened to the public in 1917...
- South Shields Museum and Art Gallery
- Stephenson Railway MuseumStephenson Railway MuseumThe Stephenson Railway Museum is managed by Tyne and Wear Museums on behalf on North Tyneside Council, and is located at Middle Engine Lane in North Shields, England....
- Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery
- Washington ‘F’ Pit Museum
- UnileverUnileverUnilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
Archives & Records Management (Unilever plc), Manchester (Archive of the United Africa CompanyUnited Africa CompanyThe United Africa Company was a British company which principally traded in West Africa during the 20th century.The United Africa Company was formed in 1929 as a result of the merger of the Royal Niger Company, which had been effectively owned by Lever Brothers since 1920, and the African &...
) - University of BirminghamUniversity of BirminghamThe University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
Library (The Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern Manuscripts) - University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
Churchill Archives Centre - University of NottinghamUniversity of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
(The D. H. LawrenceD. H. LawrenceDavid Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
collection; collections related to the Portland (London), Portland of Wellbeck and Newcastle of Clumber families) - University of ReadingUniversity of ReadingThe University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
(Archive of British Publishing and Printing)- Library (The Beckett Collection)
- Museum of English Rural LifeMuseum of English Rural LifeThe Museum of English Rural Life is a museum dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. It houses designated collections of national importance that span the full range of objects, archives, photographs, film and books.The museum is run by the University of...
- University of SussexUniversity of SussexThe University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
Library (The Mass-Observation Archive) - University of WarwickUniversity of WarwickThe University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
Modern Records Centre - Waterways Trust
- National Waterways MuseumNational Waterways MuseumThe National Waterways Museum holds the inland waterways collection at three museum sites in England: Gloucester, Ellesmere Port, and Stoke Bruerne....
, GloucesterGloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
(lead site) - Boat Museum, Ellesmere PortEllesmere PortEllesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
- Canal Museum, Stoke BruerneStoke BruerneStoke Bruerne is a small village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton.-History:...
- National Waterways Museum
- Weald and Downland Open Air MuseumWeald and Downland Open Air MuseumThe Weald and Downland Open Air Museum is an open air museum at in Singleton, Sussex, England. The museum covers , with nearly 50 historic buildings dating from the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries, along with gardens, farm animals, walks and a lake....
, ChichesterChichesterChichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings... - Wedgwood Museum, BarlastonBarlastonBarlaston is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is roughly halfway between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the small town of Stone. According to the 2001 census the population of the parish was 2,659.-History:The old parish church of...
, Stoke on Trent - Wellcome TrustWellcome TrustThe Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
(All collections within the Wellcome Library) - Westminster Libraries and Archives (The Art and Design collection)
- Whipple Museum of the History of ScienceWhipple Museum of the History of ScienceThe Whipple Museum of the History of Science holds an extensive collection of scientific instruments, apparatus, models, pictures, prints, photographs, books and other material related to the history of science. It was founded in 1944, when Robert Whipple presented his collection of scientific...
, CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the... - Whitworth Art GalleryWhitworth Art GalleryThe Whitworth Art Gallery is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The museum is located south of the Manchester University campus, in Whitworth Park....
, Manchester - Wiltshire Heritage MuseumWiltshire Heritage MuseumThe Wiltshire Heritage Museum, formerly known as Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is still run by, the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society , a registered charity founded in 1853. After...
, DevizesDevizesDevizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week... - Wordsworth TrustWordsworth TrustThe Wordsworth Trust is a living memorial set up to celebrate the works of the poet William Wordsworth and his contemporaries. Wordsworth, conscious of the need for poetry to renew itself within a tradition speaks of writing for 'youthful poets' who 'will be my second self when I am gone.'An...
, Dove CottageDove CottageDove Cottage is a house on the edge of Grasmere in the Lake District. It is best known as the home of the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy Wordsworth from December 1799 to May 1808, where they spent over eight years of "plain living, but high thinking"...
, Lake DistrictLake DistrictThe Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth... - York Museums Trust
- York Castle MuseumYork Castle MuseumYork Castle Museum is a museum located in York, North Yorkshire, England, on the site of York Castle, originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068...
- York City Art Gallery
- The York Story
- Yorkshire MuseumYorkshire MuseumThe Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It is the home of the Cawood sword, and has four permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology and astronomy...
- York Castle Museum