Acquisition & Disposal policy

Date approved by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council: 13th June 2005

Date for Review: June 2008

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1 Introduction

1.1 Bolton Museums & Art Gallery

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery is part of Bolton Museums, Art Gallery, Aquarium, Archives and Local Studies, a service provided by the Education and Culture Department of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. The service as a whole cares for collections of objects, archives and live animal specimens. This policy relates only to the acquisition and disposal of objects by the Museum and Art Gallery. The Aquarium, Archives and Local Studies Library are subject to their own professional standards.

1.2 Objective and Key Aims of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery support Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council’s Objective to ‘improve the Quality of Life of Bolton’s Citizens’ and are committed to achieving its key aims of:
  • Regenerating deprived communities
  • Improving health care and supporting people in the community
  • Improving housing and the environment
  • Improving culture and well-being for all
  • Combating crime, the fear of crime and all drug misuse
  • Improving educational attainment and learning for all
  • Supporting the local economy

1.3 Community Strategy Priorities

The Community Strategy identifies nine priorities to which Bolton Museums & Art Gallery, through the development of its collections, can make a significant contribution:
  • Building on our strong local communities
  • Improving our image and strengthening our pride in the Borough
  • Improving health, well-being and the quality of life
  • Enhancing local living and the environment
  • Improving accessibility
  • Lifelong learning and developing potential
  • Improving safety, reducing crime and tackling drugs
  • Investing in our future – children and young people
  • Improving the economy and employment opportunities

1.4 Mission and Strategic Aims of the Education & Culture Department

Bolton Museum & Art Gallery has a key role to play in the Education and Culture Department’s mission ‘To ensure all people who live in, work in, or visit Bolton can benefit from the best possible learning and cultural experiences’. By providing access to its diverse collections the museum can help to achieve the department’s strategic aims to:
  • Improve attainment and achievement for children and young people
  • Improve participation, attainment and achievement in lifelong learning
  • Promote cultural activities and improve participation
  • Remove barriers and support everyone, particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged groups to participate in a range of learning and cultural activities
  • Ensure improvement in service delivery.

1.5 Museum Sites

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery operates two museum sites:
  • Bolton Museum & Art Gallery is housed in the purpose-built Civic Centre, completed in 1938, which also contains Bolton Aquarium, Bolton Archives and Local Studies Library and Bolton Central Library. Collections of Natural History, Social History, Archaeology and Art objects are stored and displayed at the museum.
  • Hall I’ th’ Wood was originally built as a half-timbered hall in the 16th century, but is most famous for its association with Samuel Crompton, who invented his spinning mule while he was a tenant there in 1779. The hall was purchased for the people of Bolton by Lord Leverhulme in 1899 and officially opened as a public museum in 1902. Today the museum displays 17th and 18th century furniture, as well as objects relating to Samuel Crompton and Lord Leverhulme.

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council also owns Smithills Hall, which is operated by Smithills Hall & Park Trust. The construction of Smithills Hall began in the 14th century and additions and alterations were made up until the 19th century. The earlier part of the house, which includes the medieval Great Hall, has been open to the public as a museum since 1963, and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The rest of the building is Grade I listed. The objects on display, which include pieces of 17th, 18th and 19th century furniture, are part of the collections of Bolton Museums & Art Gallery.

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2 Existing Collections

2.1    Fine Art

In addition to works of local importance, the Fine Art collection contains works of national and international significance. It can be divided broadly into the following categories:

2.1.1 Oil Paintings

This collection consists of approximately 500 paintings, the majority of which are British works of the 19th or 20th century. In addition, there is a small but significant group of 17th century paintings with good examples by Italian, French and Dutch artists including Romanelli, Giordano, Gaspard Dughet and Adam Colonia. The collection also contains British and Dutch portraits by lesser artists, mainly deriving from the 1902 Leverhulme bequest.

The 19th century works in oil include good examples by Thomas Creswick, J.E. Millais, Sir Francis Grant and John Linnell. The most significant work in the oil collection is Thomas Moran’s 1882 masterpiece ‘Nearing Camp, Evening on the Upper Colorado River, Wyoming’, which was added to the small existing collection of work by Moran in 1998.

The 20th century collection is particularly strong for the period 1920 to 1960, containing works by Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell, William Roberts, Edward Wadsworth, Charles Ginner, Walter Sickert, Roland Penrose, Ivon Hitchens, Prunella Clough, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and John Bratby.

The collection also features portraits of local personalities, local topographical views and examples of the work of significant artists associated with Bolton, including an important collection of 19th century decorative panels and doors by Thomas Kershaw.

2.1.2  Watercolours and Drawings

This collection consists of approximately 850 works, the majority of which are by British artists of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The British landscape tradition is well represented and local topographical views by artists associated with Bolton feature strongly. There are also drawings by artists of the French and Italian schools of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, as well as a small group of sketches by the 19th century Dutch artist Anton Mauve.

The collection contains works by many leading 18th century  watercolourists, including Gainsborough, Rowlandson, Francis Towne, William Blake, Thomas Girtin, Thomas and Paul Sandby, Joseph Farington, Thomas Hearne, Michael ‘Angelo’ Rooker, Thomas Jones and John ‘Warwick’ Smith.

The collection of 19th century watercolours includes works by J.M.W. Turner, J.S. Cotman, John Varley, Henry Edridge, Peter de Wint, Joshua Cristall, John Glover, Samuel Palmer, Copley Fielding, David Cox, Samuel Prout, J.F. Lewis, John Martin, Myles Birket Foster, Edward Lear and W.H. Hunt, as well as a small group of Pre-Raphaelite drawings.

Works from the 20th century include drawings and watercolours by Albert Goodwin, Philip Wilson Steer, David Bomberg, Charles Ginner, Cedric Morris, LS Lowry, Paul Nash, Edward Bawden, Edward Burra, Graham Sutherland, Keith Vaughan, Norman Adams, Jacob Epstein, Frank Auerbach and Elizabeth Blackadder.

2.1.3 Prints

This collection consists of over 1000 works, the majority of which are by 20th century British artists. A wide range of printing techniques is represented in the collection which contains etchings, mezzotints, lithographs, screen prints and photolithographs. Of particular significance is the Sycamore Collection (acquired in 1990), which is broadly representative of British printmaking from 1900 to 1960. It contains works by artists including Paul Nash, David Jones, Edward Wadsworth, Graham Sutherland and John Piper, as well as 1960s Pop Art prints by Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, David Hockney, Joe Tilson, Patrick Caulfield and R.B. Kitaj.

2.1.4 Mass Observation

There is a collection of approximately 1000 items relating to the Mass Observation movement, which was based in Bolton from 1937 to 1939. Works include paintings, watercolours, drawings, collages, prints and photographs. Artists represented include Julian Trevelyan, Humphrey Jennings, Graham Bell and Humphrey Spender.

2.1.5 Sculpture

This collection consists of approximately 50 works, the majority of which are bronzes by 20th century British sculptors. There are significant works by Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Eduardo Paolozzi, Elizabeth Frink and Lyn Chadwick.

2.2 Decorative Art

2.2.1 Ceramics

The ceramics collection consists of approximately 700 items, the majority of which are British pieces. In addition there are small groups of Chinese, Japanese, Indian and continental ceramics. The collection ranges in date from the medieval period to the present day and is generally representative of the full range of ceramic bodies. There is a small collection of 18th century pottery, which includes examples of English delftware, creamware, lead-glazed earthenware and salt-glazed stoneware. There is also a representative collection of 19th century Staffordshire figures (approximately 65 items). Particular strengths include Royal Lancastrian Pottery (particularly lustreware), Della Robbia Art Pottery and a collection of contemporary ceramics (approximately 70 items), which includes works by most of the leading ceramicists working in Britain in the late 20th century.

2.2.2 Glass

There is a collection of approximately 180 glass items, ranging from the purely decorative to functional wares. The collection is largely 19th century in date, with a small collection of 18th century drinking glasses.

2.2.3 Metalwork

There is a small collection of metal items, which includes electrotype reproductions of objects from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

2.2.4 Japanese Collection

The Editha Taylor bequest (1959) contains approximately 150 Japanese items, mainly 19th century inro, netsuke and scent bottles.

2.3 Public Art

Public art currently falls outside the scope of the this policy. Bolton Museums & Art Gallery does not currently have overall responsibility for the selection, commissioning and care of Bolton’s public art.  The museum does have responsibility for a small number of individual pieces and Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council plans to develop a policy on public art in the future.  

2.4 Social & Local History

Most of the items in the collection date from the late 18th century to the mid 20th  century and relate to subjects including domestic, work and civic life, religious and other groups, entertainment and relaxation, childhood, folk art, death, war, science and medicine and transport. Object types include: clothing; textiles; ephemera; photographs; maps and plans; paintings and prints; furniture; domestic objects; musical instruments; scientific instruments; tools and machinery; clocks and watches; coins, medals and tokens; building materials; domestic/commercial fixtures and fittings. The most significant subject areas are outlined below.

2.4.1 Textile Industry

This collection is based around 37 18th and 19th century textile machines, deposited at the museum by the Bolton textile machinery firm of Dobson and Barlow, and includes the only surviving example of a spinning mule made by its inventor Samuel Crompton of Bolton. 10 items of this early machinery relate to Richard Arkwright, who was strongly associated with Bolton. The collection also contains 20th century cotton processing machinery made or used in Bolton, including a Dobson and Barlow fine spinning mule which is the only known example to survive in the North-West.

The machinery collection is supplemented by 800 tools, parts catalogues, text books and instruments used in the local cotton, silk and man-made fibre industries and ancillary trades. In addition there are items relating to bleaching, finishing, dyeing, design, printing and sampling, including a large collection (1131 items) of bleachers’ bolt stamps from Abraham Barlow Ltd and Slater & Co Ltd.

The collection of locally manufactured textiles (mainly cotton) includes what is thought to be the earliest example of cotton spun and woven in Lancashire, dating from 1607. There is also an extensive collection of pattern books, which includes 350 books from Joseph Johnson’s Ltd dated 1912 to 1968, 136 pattern books from Tootal Broadhurst and Lee dating from the 1840s to 1963, and the Peel Pattern Book from the calico printing works of Robert Peel (father of Sir Robert Peel) dating from 1807 to 1821. Each book contains an average of around 500 cloth samples. The textile collection also contains 630 examples of Bolton-made quilting, which includes 12 hand-woven Caddow Quilts, the earliest dating from 1795. There is also a collection of around 1000 different raw cotton samples from Barlow & Jones Ltd and a cop of 800 counts, the finest cotton yarn ever spun on a mule, from William Heatons Ltd of Bolton.

2.4.2 Heavy Industry

The heavy industry collection includes items relating to Bolton’s engineering works, which developed alongside, and because of, the textile industry. The collection ranges from 37 stationary steam engine models (the earliest of which is a wooden model of 1840 by Benjamin Hick) to a full-size mill engine of 1903 by J&E Woods of Bolton. The rest of the collection consists of ancillary tools, equipment, instruments and products of the local engineering industry.

The museum acquired a collection of 122 tools, clothing and iron samples from T. Walmsleys’ Atlas Forge in Bolton, the last iron works in the world to manufacture wrought iron by the puddling process, before it closed in 1981. This collection has since been supplemented by a representative sample of hand tools, forges etc. from the local jobbing iron foundry of W Bleasdale & Sons Ltd. In 1984, a collection of machinery, tools and samples was collected from the local lead works of RE Roberts Ltd prior to its closure.

2.4.3 Transport

This collection includes 15 working scale models of locomotives manufactured in Bolton and at the Horwich Locomotive Works, and railway ephemera and objects. Larger items include a 4-wheeled dray “the Extinguisher”, a 2-wheeled farm cart and a 2-wheeled milk float. This collection also includes early bicycles, wheelwrighting material and items relating to the stabling and maintenance of horses.

2.4.4 Coal, Stone, Bricks and Tiles

This is a reasonably comprehensive collection of locally-made bricks, tiles, terracotta and sanitary ware. A small collection of early coalmining material has been acquired since 1974, mainly as a result of local open-cast mining exposing old workings. Only a few items relating to local quarrying are held in the collections.

2.4.5 Local Businesses and Industries

This collection includes the non-industrial such as carpentry, clog-making and skip or basket-making. The collection of a complete skip and basket-maker’s premises, tools, stock, archive etc. of almost 500 items is considered to be unique. There is a fairly comprehensive collection of local mineral water and beer bottles which contains  over 300 individual examples from local companies, including nearly 50 local dairies.

2.4.6 Costume

This collection consists of around 1000 items of costume and accessories of mainly post-1870 period with some early 19th century material. The majority is late-Victorian or early Edwardian middle to upper class women’s dress, worn for special occasions.

There are a few items of men’s clothing, including a collection of Borough Police uniforms and some local regimental uniforms.

2.4.7 Photographs and Postcards

There are almost 2500 prints (mainly black and white) illustrating Bolton and outlying districts from 1860 to the present. In addition, there are 250 black and white glass plate negatives and positives, plus over 200 3 ¼ inch glass slides. Local picture postcards number around 300, dating from 1900 to the late 20th century.

2.4.8 Hall i’ th’ Wood

Hall i’ th’ Wood is a half-timbered hall dating from the 15th century. It was once the home of Samuel Crompton, who invented his revolutionary spinning mule there in 1779. The house was purchased for the people of Bolton by Lord Leverhulme and was opened as a museum in 1902. Lord Leverhulme also helped to finance the collection of 17th and 18th century vernacular furniture and domestic items purchased for display in the house, as well as a number of items relating to Samuel Crompton. The Hall i’ the Wood collection contains approximately 2500 items including paintings (now part of the Fine Art collection), furniture, pewter ware, treen ware and fire irons.

2.4.9 Furniture

The furniture collection was established mainly for display purposes at Hall I’ Th’ Wood and Smithills Hall museums. It consists mainly of English oak furniture of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, many pieces of which are of North West manufacture. A small number of 19th century pieces, most with local associations, have also been acquired.

2.5 Egyptology, Archaeology & Ethnography

2.5.1 Egyptology

Bolton’s connection to Egypt dates back to the 1860s when local cotton manufacturers began to trade with cotton merchants in Alexandria. From 1884 the museum acquired Egyptian artefacts through subscription to British excavations in Egypt. The ancient Egyptian collection consists of over 10,000 items, originating from 68 sites in the Nile Delta and Valley. These objects were found in funerary and domestic contexts and range in date from the Neolithic to the Roman/Christian periods. Excavators include many well-known names in British Egyptology, including Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie. Annie E.F. Barlow, Honorary Secretary of the Egypt Exploration Fund/Society in the area from 1887 to 1937, collected local subscriptions for the benefit of the museum as well as donating her own private collection. In more recent times Egyptian material has been transferred from the Wellcome Museum and Tamworth Castle Museum.  

2.5.2 Graeco-Roman and Christian Textiles

This collection of Egyptian and Sudanese textiles consists of approximately 1500 items from sites including Karanis, Antinoe, Oxyrhynchus, Mostagedda and Matmar. The collection is the third largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and has the widest range in date (c.5000 BC to the 12th century AD). The first curator of the museum, William Midgley, began the scientific study of Egyptian textiles in Great Britain, which was continued by his son, Thomas Midgley, also a curator of the museum. This collection remains an important resource for the study of early textile technology and design.

2.5.3 Ancient Near East

This collection includes material from British excavations in Palestine by Flinders Petrie between 1926 and 1938, as well as items from more recent excavations in Syria, Jordan and Iran. The private collection of John Rowland Ragdale, containing items from Iraq, was donated to the museum by the Stand Grammar School, Bury, in 1979.

2.5.4 British Archaeology

This collection consists of approximately 4000 items which have been acquired from British sites since the 1880s in order to provide an overview of British Archaeology. Particular strengths include: the contents of Silverdale Museum, collected by James Murton from mid 19th century excavations in Warwickshire, Kent and elsewhere; Neolithic, Bronze Age and Roman material from Derbyshire and other sites, including an important series of human artefacts from Derbyshire caves (the contents of the Castleton Museum, collected by J. Rooke Pennington); a series of flint tools from William Pengelley’s work at Kent’s Cavern, Devon (1865-1880); objects from the George Sandy collection of Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age flint tools. In addition, a relatively small number of local finds have been acquired since the late 19th century, including objects from excavations of local sites dating from the Mesolithic to the post-medieval period.

2.5.5 World Archaeology

This collection consists of approximately 1500 items and is made up of archaeological material from around the world, collected since the late 19th century. Objects of particular interest include artefacts from Swiss lake dwellings at Lake Bienne and Lake Neuchatel excavated by Professor Fellenburg in the 1860s (part of the Rooke Pennington collection); Pre-Columbian Peruvian pottery, wooden sculpture and mummies; Pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles; Aztec material from 1881 excavations near Mexico City; Stone tools from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, India, the Pacific and Australasia; a Greek Attic black-figure ware lekythos by the painter of Oxford 245, and an Etruscan red-figure skyphos.

2.5.6 Ethnography

The Ethnography collection consists of approximately 2000 items acquired since the1850s. Most of the objects originate from former British colonial territories in Africa, India, the Middle East and the Pacific, although there is some material from South America, China, Burma, Japan and parts of Europe. Many items were collected by local people or by those with local connections during their work or travels in these areas.

2.6 Botany

The Botany collection is based on a core of collections acquired for learning purposes very early in the history of the museum. As a result it contains comprehensive collections of specimens from all over the UK and parts of Europe, including a large number of specimens from the Bolton area. The original collections, though large in terms of numbers of specimens, are represented by a very small number of individual accessions. Many eminent 19th century botanical collectors are represented in the collections of Rev. Herbert Mann Livens, Dr Philip Brookes Mason and Alfred Deseglise.

The Botany collection consists largely of dried specimens and can be broken down into the following categories:

2.6.1 Algae

This collection consists of approximately 6500 specimens. These are mostly marine British species, the majority originating from Dorset, Devon and Northumberland. In addition there are approximately 200 specimens from the Adriatic Sea.

2.6.2 Fungi

This collection consists of over 9000 specimens, all of which are British. There are currently approximately 1000 local specimens which form a comprehensive reference collection. Active collecting is taking place to develop the local fungi collection and all new specimens will be recorded on the British Mycological Society database.

2.6.3 Bryophytes

This collection consists of approximately 8500 bryophytes, including around 2000 liverworts and over 6000 mosses. Most of the specimens are from the British Isles, with particular emphasis on Lancashire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. There are significant numbers of specimens from Ireland. The collection includes many type and cited specimens. A significant amount of local Voucher material has been collected recently in preparation for the publication of ‘The Flora of South Lancashire’.

2.6.4 Lichens

This collection consists of approximately 6500 lichens, all of which are British. The collection contains small numbers of type and cited specimens. Historically the collection has contained no local specimens, probably due to the effects of heavy air-pollution in the area, but recently small numbers have been collected.

2.6.5 Vascular Plants

The collection consists of approximately 35000 vascular plants, including around 2000 overseas specimens. The collection contains significant material from most areas of the United Kingdom, with large numbers of specimens from the South Lancashire area. The Rubus (bramble) collection is particularly strong and contains many type specimens.

2.6.6 Economic Botany

The collection consists of approximately 600 items of worldwide origin relating to agricultural food crops, timber production and other items of economic importance.

2.6.7 Botanical Models

This collection consists of approximately 60 items, the majority of which date from the early 20th century. These, along with some contemporary examples, are regularly used for teaching purposes.

2.6.8 Botanical Books & Journals

There are approximately 50 volumes of illustrated botanical works, most of which date from the 19th century. These are often used in displays alongside herbarium specimens. There is also a collection of approximately 80 local floras, which are an essential research tool for the collections. These range in date from the 19th century to the present.

2.7 Vertebrate Zoology (birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles & fish)

The Vertebrate Zoology collection consists of approximately 70,000 items including bird and mammal skins and mounts, wet-preserved specimens, skeletal material, bird eggs, molluscs and casts. Specimens are of local and worldwide origin, and there is an extensive British collection built up by Alfred Hazlewood and Eric Gorton from the 1950s onwards.

2.7.1 Mammals

This collection consists of approximately 2000 specimens. The skins are predominately of local origin, whereas the mounted mammals are largely non-local British specimens. There are approximately 60 overseas mounted specimens, the majority of which are of non-European origin.

2.7.2 Birds

This collection consists of approximately 5000 bird skins and 2000 mounted birds. The skins include significant numbers of local voucher specimens, as well as a complete British series with some accidental and rare vagrants. The mounted specimens are predominantly British in origin.

2.7.3 Reptiles & Amphibia

This collection consists of approximately 100 specimens of British and overseas origin. Most specimens are wet-preserved, although a small number of overseas specimens are mounted.

2.7.4 Fish

This collection consists of a small number of wet-preserved specimens, mounts and casts.

2.7.5 Skeletal Collections

This collection consists of approximately 500 items and includes British, European and non-European material

2.7.6 Bird Eggs

This collection consists of over 5000 items collected in Britain and overseas.

2.7.7 Photographic Slides

This collection consists of 2000 slides, the majority of which were originally produced to illustrate a series of Natural History lectures by Frank Lowe.

2.8 Invertebrate Zoology (including insects)

2.8.1 Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)

This collection consists of approximately 16,000 British specimens and 12,000 overseas specimens.

2.8.2 Coleoptera (Beetles)

This collection consists of approximately 70,000 specimens, including a number of type specimens and European examples. There is a small number of local Voucher specimens and about 3000 non-European overseas beetles.

2.8.3 Diptera (Flies)

This collection consists of approximately 25,000 predominately British specimens. There are small numbers of overseas specimens of European and non-European origin. Local voucher material is limited and only a few families can be considered adequate as reference material. There are some type specimens.

2.8.4 Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, Ants, Sawflies)

This collection consists of approximately 8000 specimens. The Aculeates (bees, wasps, ants, etc.) include reference collections of reasonable quality and contain a substantial European element. There are few local voucher specimens. The Symphyta (Sawflies) are predominately British and form a reasonable reference collection with large gaps in some genera. Local voucher material is negligible. The Parasitica are predominately European. Local voucher material is negligible.

2.8.5 Hemiptera (Bugs)

This collection consists of approximately 10,000 specimens, mainly British in origin. There is little local voucher material. Type specimens are present. The collection contains a number of microscope slides and type specimens of the group Homoptera Sternorhyncha.

2.8.6 Neuroptera (Lacewings)

This collection consists of approximately 200 British specimens, 24 overseas specimens and a few local voucher specimens.

2.8.7 Odonata, Trichoptera, Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera and Megaloptera

These collections consist of approximately 800 British specimens and include adults and larvae, some preserved dry, others wet-preserved. There are significant numbers of local voucher material.

2.8.8 Siphonaptera (Fleas)

This is a small order of insects and the collection consists of around 60 specimens of British origin, including significant numbers of local voucher specimens.

2.8.9 Collembola, Thysanoptera, Psocoptera, Thysanura, Diplura, Orthoptera, Phasmida, Dictyoptera, Dermaptura and Isoptera

These are small orders of insects and the collections consist of around 100 specimens of mainly British origin. Local voucher material is negligible.

2.8.10 Marine Invertebrates (excluding molluscs)

The collection consists of small numbers of the following groups of organisms, with the exception of Crustacea:

  • All species of Ascidea, Cephalochordata, Ctenophora, Echinodermata, Echiura, Hemichordata, Kinorhyncha, Phoronidea, Pogonophora, Priapulida and Sipuncula.
  • All marine species of Annelida, Bryozoa, Cnidaria, Crustacea, Entoprocta, Gastrotrichia, Nematoda, Nemertea, Platyhelminthes, Protozoa, Rotifera, and Tardigrada.

2.8.11 Molluscs

This collection consists of over 15000 items (mostly shells) and includes specimens from the Bolton area, a British reference collection (of terrestrial, freshwater and marine species) and an overseas collection.

2.8.12 Terrestrial and Freshwater Invertebrates (excluding molluscs and insects)

The collection consists of small numbers of British species of the following groups:

  • All terrestrial and freshwater species of Annelida, Arachnida, Bryozoa, Cnidaria, Crustacea, Entoprocta, Gastrotrichia, Myriapoda, Nematoda, Nemertea, Platyhelminthes, Protozoa, Rotifera, and Tardigrada.

2.8.13 Galls

This collection consists of approximately 700 specimens. All are British, although there are no local specimens.

2.9 Geology

2.9.1 Fossils

This collection consists of approximately 15000 specimens, including some Type and Figured specimens. The fossils, mostly British in origin, are from a wide range of geological horizons and localities. The collection contains specimens of national significance, including the George Vine Bryozoa collection, the sub-fossil animal material from Creswell Crags, Windy Knoll and Castleton (part of the contents of the Castleton Museum, collected by J. Rooke Pennington) and sub-fossil material from Kents Cavern in Devon (collected by William Pengelly). The Coal Measures plants collection is also significant.

2.9.2 Minerals

This collection consists of approximately 6000 specimens. They are of worldwide origin, although the majority are British. There are few local mineral specimens due to the scarcity of good mineralised localities in the Bolton area. There is a small collection of radioactive mineral specimens.

2.9.3 Rocks

This collection consists of approximately 3000 specimens. They are of worldwide origin, but most are British or European. There are very few local specimens.

2.9.4 Display Models

The geology collection contains a number of models that were originally acquired for display purposes. Most notable is the collection of prehistoric animal models made by Vernon Edwards.

2.9.5 Geological Books and Journals

There are approximately 300 books and journals relating to geology, ranging in date from the early 19th century to the present.

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3 Future Collecting Policy

3.1 Use of Collections – Permanent Collections

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will only collect items for which there is an identifiable use. All new acquisitions to be accessioned into the permanent collections must fall into at least one of the three use categories outlined below, as well as meeting the detailed collecting criteria for the relevant curatorial department described later in this section.

3.1.1 Display

Items that can be used to improve or enhance permanent or temporary displays at any of the museum sites today or in the future.  

3.1.2 Research

Items acquired for informal study by museum users or for formal research by external bodies. Items that will help Bolton Museums & Art Gallery to develop or build on links with research institutions or projects.

3.1.3 Learning

Items that will provide opportunities for learning in its broadest sense. Items that can engage, stimulate or motivate museum users as life-long learners, as well as those that can be included in formal teaching sessions.

3.2 Use of Collections – Other

In addition, Bolton Museum & Art Gallery may from time to time acquire on a temporary basis items which do not fit the departmental acquisition criteria. These items will not be accessioned into the permanent collections, but managed separately as assets and disposed of if/when no longer required. In such cases it will be made clear to the donor that the museum does not intend to retain the item in perpetuity. Items will be acquired on this basis for the following uses:

3.2.1 Exhibition/Display Dressing

Objects may be acquired on a temporary basis for the purpose of dressing temporary/permanent displays or room settings. Objects will only be acquired on this basis where specific exhibition needs cannot be fulfilled through loans from other institutions or individuals.

3.2.2 Working Exhibits

Objects may be acquired for use as working exhibits or as consumable parts for such exhibits. They will be acquired on the understanding that they are expendable.

3.2.3 Environmental Samples

The museum may acquire natural science samples or specimens collected in the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area or from Wigan, Blackburn, Salford, Bury, Chorley or the West Pennine Moors, for specific environmental research purposes. Such collecting will be carried out in partnership with the Manchester Museum, the World Museum in Liverpool and other external research bodies. Items in these collections will be made available for destructive research in line with Bolton Museums & Art Gallery’s Research Policy.

3.2.4 Education/Handling

Museum Education staff maintain a small collection of objects for use in Museum education sessions and outreach activities. These are acquired on the understanding that they will undergo a certain amount of wear and tear and are therefore expendable.

3.2.5 Museum Loans Service

The Museum Loans Service maintains a discrete collection of objects, which is used by school and non-school borrowers in the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area.

3.3 Fine Art

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will collect good examples of work by high quality artists who were born, trained or practised in the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area, including works which represent the diversity of today’s cultures and communities.

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will collect works which represent the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area or portray local people or events. The museum will also consider the acquisition of works which represent the wider North West region. In such cases other museums and galleries in the North West which may have an interest in the work will be consulted.

The museum will acquire 18th and 19th century watercolours and drawings by British artists, where these works will add value to the use of the existing collections.


The museum will acquire 20th century oils, prints and watercolours by British artists, where these works will expand the range and depth of representation in the existing collections.

The museum will seek to acquire further works by Thomas Moran, who was a key figure in the development of late 19th century Anglo-American artistic relations. The museum will also acquire works by other 19th century American artists associated with Bolton in order to develop a nationally significant collection which will illustrate the links between British and American landscape painting in the 19th century. Particular reference is made to other members of the Moran family (Edward, John, Peter and Mary Nimmo Moran) and to Thomas Cole (born Bolton 1801, emigrated to USA 1818).


Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will acquire sculpture which adds value to the use of works in the existing collection, particularly in relation to mid 20th century artists

3.4 Decorative Art

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will acquire high quality examples of studio pottery and glass by contemporary British makers in order to develop and update the existing collection.


The museum will acquire historic ceramic and glass pieces by artists who were born, trained or practised in the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area. Ceramic and glass items that are associated with Bolton by their subject matter, such as commemorative pieces, will be acquired by the Social History department.

The museum will also consider acquiring historic ceramic and glass pieces of British origin, where the piece illustrates a technique or style not already represented in the existing collections.

3.5 Social & Local History

The aim of the Social History collection is to tell the stories of the people of Bolton past and present and of the events that have affected them. The collections should reflect the diversity of today’s communities as well as exploring experiences of the past.

The Local and Social History collections, of which Industrial History forms an integral part, will be developed on a thematic basis. Bolton Museum & Art Gallery will collect items which have been manufactured in, used in or associated with the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area and which relate to one or more of the following spheres of life experience:
  • birth and death
  • marriage, family and domestic life
  • work, business and technology
  • transport
  • health and medicine
  • conflict
  • leisure and sport
  • religion and belief
  • politics
  • civic and national life
  • law, punishment and control
  • childhood and education

In particular, the museum will actively seek to acquire items that reflect the diversity of communities and culture within the Bolton Metropolitan area.

In order to develop a historically rich collection in which objects can be tied to specific individuals or events, all Social History acquisitions must be supported by at least two pieces of contextual information. These could take the form of a document, photograph or oral testimony.

Film, video and sound recordings will be collected only as contextual information for existing collections/new acquisitions or for display purposes. All other locally relevant material offered to the museum will be redirected to the North West Film or Sound Archive.

3.6 Egyptology, Archaeology & Ethnography

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will acquire Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern items which relate to sites and time periods represented in the existing collections.


The museum will also acquire Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern items which have a strong historical link to the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area.

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will acquire archaeological finds discovered within the boundaries of the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area.


Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will acquire Ethnographic items which have a strong historical link to the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area, which are of significance to Bolton’s communities or which relate to items or collectors in the existing collections.

3.7 Botany

There are only three museums in the North West of England which actively collect botanical specimens. These are the World Museum in Liverpool, The Manchester Museum and Bolton Museum & Art Gallery. Staff from these three institutions meet regularly as The North West Herbarium Group. Part of the remit of this group is to consult on all Botany acquisitions to ensure that duplication is avoided.


Bolton Museum & Art Gallery will acquire botanical specimens collected in the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area or in Wigan, Blackburn, Salford, Bury, Chorley or the West Pennine Moors, for the local voucher  collection

The museum will acquire specimens collected in other parts of Great Britain, where those specimens improve the existing reference  collections.

The museum will acquire specimens collected in other parts of Europe only where they add value to the use of the existing collection.

The museum will acquire broader collections that contain a significant number of specimens that match the above criteria and/or that were accumulated by people with a strong association with Bolton.

The museum will acquire botanical models where they add value to the use of existing collections.


Economic Botany specimens will be acquired where they add value to the use of the current range of specimens.

3.8 Vertebrate Zoology (birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles & fish)

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will acquire vertebrate specimens collected in the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area or in Wigan, Blackburn, Salford, Bury, Chorley or the West Pennine Moors, for the local voucher collection.


The museum will acquire collections that contain a significant number of specimens that were collected in the area described above.

The museum will acquire collections that were accumulated by people with a strong association with Bolton.

The museum will not acquire specimens that were collected in other parts of Great Britain or the world, except:

  • where the specimen is associated with a collector already represented in the existing collections
  • such collecting supports the needs of the identification service or users

The museum will not acquire collections of bird eggs.

3.9 Invertebrate Zoology (including insects)

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will acquire invertebrate specimens collected in the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area or in Wigan, Blackburn, Salford, Bury, Chorley or the West Pennine Moors, for the local voucher collection.

The museum will acquire collections that contain a significant number of specimens that were collected in the area described above.

The museum will acquire collections that were accumulated by people with a strong association with Bolton.

The museum will not acquire specimens that were collected in other parts of Great Britain or the world, except:
  • where the specimen is associated with a collector already represented in the existing collections
  • such collecting supports the needs of the identification service or users

Bolton Museum & Art Gallery will not collect marine invertebrates (excluding molluscs).

3.10 Geology

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will acquire geological specimens collected in the Bolton Metropolitan Borough area.

The museum will consider acquiring specimens originating from other parts of Great Britain, particularly the North West, where those specimens have scientific or historic relevance to items in the existing collections.

The museum will acquire collections that that contain a significant number of specimens that match the above criteria.

The museum will acquire collections that were accumulated by collectors with a strong association with Bolton.

Contextual information, including documents and photographs, will be acquired by all departments to support new acquisitions and existing collections. This material will not be accessioned, but will form a related archive.

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4 Limitations on Collecting

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery recognises its responsibility, in acquiring additions to its collections, to ensure that care of collections, documentation arrangements and use of collections will meet the requirements of the Accreditation Standard. It will take into account limitations on collecting imposed by such factors as inadequate staffing, storage and care of collection arrangements.


When a new acquisition is proposed it will be considered by the Acquisition & Disposal Group, which meets on a monthly basis, and includes as a minimum the Collection Services Manager or Collections Officer, the relevant subject keeper, one other keeper and a member of the Conservation Team. The group will take into account the following factors in reaching a decision:

4.1 Cost

Any costs associated with the initial  acquisition of an object (e.g. purchase price, estimated auction price, transport costs, administration costs) must be identified in the acquisition proposal. Where a financial implication has been identified, a source of funding (e.g. museum purchase fund, grant aid) must be named. If the costs are prohibitive or no funding source can be found, the acquisition will not proceed.

4.2 Storage

The storage requirements of an object (e.g. environmental conditions, space, packing materials), including staff time and associated costs, must be identified in the acquisition proposal. Where these requirements cannot be met, due to the size or weight of an object and/or lack of space, funding or staff time, the acquisition will not proceed.

4.3 Conservation

The immediate and long-term conservation needs of an object (e.g. remedial work, stabilization, freezing), including staff time and associated costs, must be identified in the acquisition proposal. Advice will be sought from the Conservation Officer. Where these needs cannot be met, due to lack of funding or staff time, the acquisition will not proceed.

4.4 Documentation

The documentation requirements of an object/group of objects, including staff time and associated costs, must be assessed in the acquisition proposal. Advice will be sought from the Collections Officer. If the staff time or funding to ensure that objects are documented to Accreditation standards are not available, the acquisition will not proceed.

If an acquisition proposal does not proceed for any of the above reasons, a rationale for the decision not to acquire will be recorded and retained.

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5 Collecting Policies of Other Museums

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will take account of the collecting policies of other museums and other organisations collecting in the same or related areas or subject fields. It will consult with these organisations as part of the acquisition process where conflicts of interest may arise or to define areas of specialisms, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and waste of resources.


Specific reference is made to the following museums:

The World Museum, Liverpool – As a member of The North West Herbarium Group Bolton Museum & Art Gallery regularly consults with this museum on Botany acquisitions

The Manchester Museum – As a member of The North West Herbarium Group Bolton Museum & Art Gallery regularly consults with this museum on Botany acquisitions

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will consult with the following art galleries on acquisitions to the Fine or Decorative Art collections which relate to the wider North West region:
  • The Whitworth Art Gallery
  • Manchester Art Gallery
  • Bury Museum & Art Gallery
  • Salford Museum & Art Gallery
  • Burnley Museum & Art Gallery
  • Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery
  • Abbot Hall Art Gallery

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will proactively seek to develop robust and transparent collecting relationships with other accredited museums in the North West.

In the future Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will seek to develop a joint collecting policy in partnership with other members of the North West Regional Hub.

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6 Policy Review Procedure

The Acquisition and Disposal Policy will be published and reviewed from time to time, at least once every five years. The date when the policy is next due for review is noted above.


The Regional Agency (MLA North West) will be notified of any changes to the Acquisition and Disposal Policy, and the implications of any such changes for the future of existing collections.

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7 Acquisitions not covered by the Policy

Acquisitions outside the current stated policy will only be made in very exceptional circumstances, and then only after proper consideration by the governing body of the museum itself, having regard to the interest of other museums.

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8 Acquisition Process

a. The museum will exercise due diligence and make every effort not to acquire, whether by purchase, gift, bequest or exchange, any object or specimen unless the governing body or responsible officer is satisfied that the museum can acquire a valid title to the item in question.

b. In particular, the museum will not acquire any object or specimen unless it is satisfied that the object or specimen has not been acquired in, or exported from, its country of origin (or any intermediate country in which it may have been legally owned) in violation of that country's laws. (For the purposes of this paragraph 'country of origin' includes the United Kingdom).

c. In accordance with the provisions of the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which the UK ratified with effect from 1st November 2002, and the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003, the museum will reject any items that have been illicitly traded. The governing body will be guided by the national guidance on the responsible acquisition of cultural property issued by DCMS in 2005.

d. So far as biological and geological material is concerned, the museum will not acquire by any direct or indirect means any specimen that has been collected, sold or otherwise transferred in contravention of any national or international wildlife protection or natural history conservation law or treaty of the United Kingdom or any other country, except with the express consent of an appropriate outside authority.

e. The museum will not acquire archaeological antiquities (including excavated ceramics) in any case where the governing body or responsible officer has any suspicion that the circumstances of their recovery involved a failure to follow the appropriate legal procedures, such as reporting finds to the landowner or occupier of the land and to the proper authorities in the case of possible treasure as defined by the Treasure Act 1996 (in England, Northern Ireland and Wales) or reporting finds through the Treasure Trove procedure (in Scotland).

f. Any exceptions to the above clauses 8a, 8b, 8c, or 8e will only be because the museum is either:

  • acting as an externally approved repository of last resort for material of local (UK) origin; or
  • acquiring an item of minor importance that lacks secure ownership history but in the best judgement of experts in the field concerned has not been illicitly traded; or
  • acting with permission of authorities with the requisite jurisdiction in the country of origin; or
  • in possession of reliable documentary evidence that the item was exported from its country of origin before 1970.

In these cases the museum will be open and transparent in the way it makes decisions and will act only with the express consent of an appropriate outside authority.

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will not acquire any item where contextual information to support its use is unavailable.
In the case of items being offered for acquisition by a minor, written agreement will be obtained from the person’s parent or legal guardian


Where possible, copyright and other rights in the item will be acquired through informed consent.

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery will not normally accept donations where special conditions are attached.

Bolton Museums & Art Gallery recognises that in general an institution cannot acquire legal title to human remains and that it is therefore preferable to formulate holdings in terms of rights and responsibilities. The museum may acquire human remains removed in the course of archaeological excavations, provided that the excavation, removal and export of the human remains have been conducted in accordance with legal requirements of the country concerned, with the consent of relevant religious authorities, and comply with published standards of archaeological investigation. All authorisations must be fully documented.

The final decision to acquire an item will be made by the Acquisitions Group, as part of the Acquisition procedure.

The acquisition of any item into the permanent collections of Bolton Museum & Art Gallery will be governed by the procedure outlined in detail in the Documentation Procedural Manual. This procedure meets the minimum standard defined by SPECTRUM: The UK Museum Documentation Standard, as required by the MLA Accreditation Scheme. 

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9 Spoliation

The museum will use the statement of principles 'Spoliation of Works of Art during the Nazi, Holocaust and World War II Period', issued for non-national museums in 1999 by the Museums and Galleries Commission (now MLA).

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10 Repatriation & Restitution

The museum's governing body, acting on the advice of the museum's professional staff, if any, may take a decision to return human remains, objects or specimens to a country or people of origin. The museum will take such decisions on a case by case basis, within its legal position and taking into account all ethical implications.

Bolton Museum & Art Gallery acknowledges that human remains have a unique status within the museum, distinct from all other museum objects, and require special consideration and treatment. The museum is committed to developing a policy on human remains based on the recommendations of the DCMS Working Group on Human Remains Report (2003).

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11 Management of Archives

As the museum holds archives, including photographs and printed ephemera, its governing body will be guided by the Code of Practice on Archives for Museums and Galleries in the United Kingdom (3rd edition, 2002).

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12 Disposal Process

By definition, the museum has a long-term purpose and should possess (or intend to acquire) permanent collections in relation to its stated objectives. The governing body (Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council) accepts the principle that there is a strong presumption against the disposal of any items in the museum's collections.

Bolton Museum & Art Gallery will consider disposing of items from the permanent collections in cases where:

  • an item is too badly damaged or deteriorated to be of any use for the purposes of the museum (display, learning or research)
  • an item poses unavoidable health and safety risks or an unavoidable serious conservation threat to other items in the collections
  • a request has been made to return cultural property to its country or people of origin (see Repatriation and Restitution above)
  • an item is an exact duplicate of another in the collection (although differences in provenance or field collection may mean that duplicates should be retained)
  • an item would be better owned by another accredited museum, for reasons of access or collections care. In such cases, the disposal must result in improvements to the care of the item or to public access to it
  • archive material (which does not relate directly to existing collections or new acquisitions) would be better housed with the archive service for reasons of access or collections care

The museum will establish that it is legally free to dispose of an item. Any decision to dispose of material from the collections will be taken only after due consideration.

When disposal of an object is being considered, the museum will establish if it was acquired with the aid of an external funding organisation. In such cases, any conditions attached to the original grant will be followed. This may include repayment of the original grant.

Decisions to dispose of items will not be made with the principle aim of generating funds.

Any monies received by the museum governing body from the disposal of items will be applied for the benefit of collections. This normally means the purchase of further acquisitions but in exceptional cases improvements relating to the care of collections may be justifiable. Advice on these cases will be sought from MLA.

A decision to dispose of a specimen or object, whether by gift, exchange, sale or destruction (in the case of an item too badly damaged or deteriorated to be of any use for the purposes of the collections), will be the responsibility of the governing body of the museum acting on the advice of professional curatorial staff, if any, and not of the curator of the collection acting alone.

Once a decision to dispose of material in the collection has been taken, priority will be given to retaining the item within the public domain, unless it is to be destroyed. It will therefore be offered in the first instance, by gift, exchange or sale, directly to other Accredited museums likely to be interested in its acquisition.If the material is not acquired by any Accredited museums to which it was offered directly, then the museum community at large will be advised of the intention to dispose of the material, normally through an announcement in the Museums Association's Museums Journal, and in other professional journals where appropriate.

The announcement will indicate the number and nature of the specimens or objects involved, and the basis on which the material will be transferred to another institution. Preference will be given to expressions of interest from other Accredited museums. A period of at least two months will be allowed for an interest in acquiring the material to be expressed. At the end of this period, if no expressions of interest have been received, the museum may consider disposing of the material to other interested individuals and organisations.

Full records will be kept of all decisions on disposals and the items involved and proper arrangements made for the preservation and/or transfer, as appropriate, of the documentation relating to the items concerned, including photographic records where practicable in accordance with SPECTRUM Procedure on deaccession and disposal.