Collections

The North Lincolnshire Museums collection of over 300,000 objects and archive material tells the rich history of North Lincolnshire and its people.

Collections

The North Lincolnshire Museums collection of over 300,000 objects and archive material tells the rich history of North Lincolnshire and its people.

The Collections
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The Collections

The North Lincolnshire Museums collection of over 300,000 objects and archive material tells the rich history of North Lincolnshire and its people. The collection reflects the geology, natural history, archaeology, and local history of the region. Items from the collection are displayed at North Lincolnshire Museum, Normanby Hall Country Park and Brigg Heritage Centre.

For donations, research enquiries and more information about the collection, please visit the Collections page on the North Lincolnshire Museum website.

Scent flask dating to c1825-1830. During the 1910s it was given as a Whist Drive prize to William George Wilkinson, a Normanby Estate worker, by Sir Berkeley Sheffield.

Decorative and Fine Arts

The Decorative and Fine Arts collection consists of decorative homeware and works of art. A large part of the collection dates from the Regency period and can be seen on display at Normanby Hall. The displays feature furniture, ceramics, and artworks from the collection. They include a carved mahogany bookcase by Gillows of Lancaster from c.1810 and pieces of Regency silverware.

There are paintings and sculptures from the 17th Century onwards. This includes a collection of local paintings dating from 1960-1990. A highlight of the collection is ‘Emperor Otho’ by Peter Paul Rubens, part of a series of the first Twelve Emperors of the Roman Empire.

View part of the Fine Art collection on the ArtUK website.

Cotton velvet suit from the Parkinson Collection. The Reverend John Parkinson wore these items in the 1790s while taking undergraduates on tours of the continent.

Costume

The North Lincolnshire costume collection is regionally significant. It includes male and female costume and accessories. Items from the collection are displayed in the costume galleries at Normanby Hall.

A large part of the collection dates from between the early 18th Century and the early 20th Century. It includes a collection from the Sheffield family of Normanby Hall consisting of uniforms, clothing worn by Lady Sheffield on cruises and servant's uniforms.

The farmers cottage display at the Rural Life Museum.

Social History

The local social history collection features objects, photographs and ephemera. It tells the story of North Lincolnshire and its people from the post-medieval period to the modern day. The collection covers agriculture, industry, transport, and domestic life.

Part of the agricultural collection is on display at the Rural Life Museum. This includes machinery from Fletchers of Winterton and Marshall’s of Gainsborough. The Transport Gallery displays include bicycles, motorcycles, farm wagons and a tractor.

Most of the domestic life collection dates from between the mid-19th Century and mid-20th Century. Items from the collection create the cottage display in the Rural Life Museum.

The archive and ephemera collections contain historic documents, books, posters, leaflets, maps and sound recordings. This includes a number of family and personal archives. Among them are the Sheffield Family and Estate papers, which are on deposit at North East Lincolnshire Archives, and the Peacock Family archive including their dialect card index of local words and phrases.