Collecting Policy

The collecting policy for Carisbrooke Castle Museum is:

“To collect objects, artefacts, books, documents and pictures which illustrate or are related to the particular history and culture of the Isle of Wight from the Norman conquest to the present day, or which illustrate the history of Carisbrooke castle and its inhabitants”.

Objects will usually be considered for acquisition if they satisfy at least one of the following criteria:

  • Illustrate the Isle of Wight’s particular history and culture
  • Relate to a significant person, place or event connected with the Isle of Wight
  • Made on the Island, or by an individual associated with the Island and of recognised significance

The full Collections Development Policy can be downloaded here.

Donations to the Museum Collection

In seeking to develop the museum collection Carisbrooke Castle Museum is reliant on the generosity of the many people who offer to donate objects.

As an Arts Council England Accredited Museum, we are obliged to make sure that acquisitions are in line with our collection policy, and that we have the resources to conserve and store each object properly. As a result, it is not always possible for us to accept donations of objects.

If you have anything you would like to donate to the museum please contact us. Please do not bring or send unsolicited objects to the museum.

Areas for future collecting include but are not limited to:

Applied Art

Costume and textiles; ceramics; silver and metalwork; horology; other applied art:

  • illustrating the Island’s particular history or culture
  • associated with a significant Isle of Wight person, place or event
  • made on the Island or by a person associated with the island and of recognised significance

Priority collecting: 20th Century and contemporary IW handcrafted ceramics

Fine Art

Fine art created on the Island or by people associated with the island and of recognised significance.

Priority collecting: fine art associated with Carisbrooke Castle and its environs; fine art relating to other fortifications of the IW to providing the opportunity to illustrate a wider history of Island defence.

Photography

Original photographs:

  • illustrating the Island’s particular history or culture
  • illustrating a significant Isle of Wight person, place or event
  • made on the Island or by a person associated with the island and of recognised significance

Social History

Social history collecting will only be conducted in areas which illustrate the particular history and culture of the Isle of Wight. General social history objects will not be collected if they do not satisfy the above condition, even if they have an Isle of Wight provenance.

Potential themes for social history collecting include:

  • Rural Life
  • Governance of the Isle of Wight, to include: Politics; Law and Order
  • Island Industries
  • Tourism, in particular seaside heritage
  • Religious Life
  • Oral Histories of Island Life
  • Maritime Life, in particular smuggling and shipwrecks (excluding the history of shipbuilding on the Island which is a collection strength at the Isle of Wight Council collection)
  • Isle of Wight Institutions (except where there are pre-existing collection strengths in other local collections eg. IW Records Office)
  • Island Transport (except where there are established alternative local collections, for example the IW Steam Railway and the IW Bus Museum)

Priority collecting: Governance of the Island, in particular the history of the Lords, Captains and Governors of the Island

Arms, Armour & Militaria

Arms, Armour & Militaria:

  • illustrating the history of the defence of Carisbrooke Castle or the Isle of Wight
  • associated with a significant Isle of Wight person, place or event

Priority collecting: the history of the IW Riffles; the defence of Carisbrooke and the Isle of Wight

Coins and Medals

Coins and medals:

  • Illustrating the particular history and culture of the Isle of Wight
  • associated with a significant Isle of Wight person, place or event

Archives

Archives and documents associated with local history will normally be offered to the Isle of Wight Record Office, except where there is a compelling connection to an established part of CCM’s existing collection or to an identified future collecting theme.

Archaeology

Archaeological finds should normally be offered to the Isle of Wight Council except in the case of Norman and later finds where there is a compelling connection to an established part of CCM’s existing collection or to an identified collecting theme. All pre-Norman objects or archaeological finds should be offered to the Isle of Wight Council Collection.

Science and medicine

Scientific and medical objects:

  • Illustrating the particular history and culture of the Isle of Wight
  • Associated with a person, organisation, or event of significance to the Island’s history

Priority collecting: Robert Hooke; John Milne

Other priority collecting areas by theme

  • The history of Carisbrooke Castle and its inhabitants
  • The English Civil War, specifically in relation to the Isle of Wight and the imprisonment of Charles I at Carisbrooke Castle
  • Prince Henry and Princess Beatrice of Battenberg
  • The early history of Carisbrooke Castle Museum and the other museums on the Island established in the 19th century (since closed).

If you have anything you would like to donate to the museum please contact us