A record nine museums, libraries and archives across England have earned an award of Designation for their collections in the most recent Panel meeting. An award of Designation recognises a particular collection as being of national and / or international importance based on their quality and significance, as assessed by the Designation Panel.
Established in 1997, the Designation Scheme shines a spotlight on the excellence, diversity and creativity to be found in museums, galleries and archives across England, and how they enrich our shared cultural lives. An award of Designation means that the importance of the collection can be further demonstrated to funders, researchers and the wider public – all benefitting from a national or internationally recognised collection on their doorstep.
The collections awarded Designated status at the most recent meeting of the Panel were:
- Dorset Museum and Art Gallery – Thomas Hardy Memorial Collection: The world’s largest collection dedicated to the writer and poet Thomas Hardy, including manuscripts, poetry, notebooks, correspondence, artworks, and even Hardy’s study.
- Durham Cathedral – Durham Priory Archives and Library: The largest and most complete archive of a medieval monastery still housed in its original building. Contains three issues of the Magna Carta, and holds extensive records on society, culture and the local economy in Medieval North East England.
- Durham University Oriental Museum – Japanese Collection: The most complete collection of its kind in North East England, spanning over 8,300 objects and covering everything from 16th Century pottery to 21st century Japanese street fashion and animation.
- Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery – Peterborough’s Prehistory Collection: A unique collection that covers the occupation of Peterborough by humans from the Palaeolithic Age, bringing to life the lives of prehistoric peoples in the area, preserved objects, tools and weapons, and even a site – ‘Must Farm’ – expertly conserved as ‘Britain’s Pompeii’.
- Brunel Museum London – Thames Tunnel Collection: Documents the design, construction and operation of the world’s first underwater tunnel: the Thames Tunnel. Includes original designs, project management, and chronicles the difficulties and challenges faced.
- Charleston Trust – Charleston Collection: Home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, prominent ‘Bloomsbury Group’ members, the house holds more than 20,000 works by the Group alongside other prominent 20th century artists.
- University of Exeter – Bill Douglas Cinema Museum Collection: Functioning as a ‘People’s History’ of cinema, the collection spans 400 years – from shadow puppet shows right through to today’s blockbusters. This collections includes memorabilia, posters, fan mags, scripts and more – totalling over 94,000 items.
- University of Liverpool – Science Fiction Collections: Europe’s largest catalogued Science Fiction collection, documenting the genre in Britain and worldwide, visitors and researchers enjoy over 35,000 books, original collections of some of the most prominent Sci-Fi authors, and authentic fan culture objects.
- World Rugby Museum – Rugby Union Football Collection: The most extensive collection of rugby memorabilia in the world and holding 41,000 items in total, this collection covers lesser explored areas of rugby history. This includes rugby’s relationships to class, empire and social change, and the underrepresented story of the women’s game.
The Designation Panel is composed of experts in a diverse range of fields, reflecting the varied collections the Panel encounter. Panel members include working in fields such as arts, cultural heritage and historic research. A full list of the Panel’s members can be found on the Arts Council’s website.
The Panel meet twice a year and consider four main areas:
A collection’s national significance
- What stories, histories or ideas the collection communicates effectively
- Its relevance to particular historic events or periods, geographical areas or economic and social developments
- How it demonstrates the development of particular ideas, schools of thought, artistic movements or scientific advancements
- Relevance to individuals, communities or groups of people
A collection’s local / place-based significance
- How the collection is grounded in its local community
- The local significance of the collection and what it means to the local people engaging with it
- The effectiveness of the collection’s objects in demonstrating its subject focus’ development, diversity and depth
- The quality of objects available in the collection – for example, items of particular historic or aesthetic importance
- The curation and coherence of the collection as displayed in communicating its subject matter
- How gaps in the collection’s coverage are managed creatively (e.g. with loans, digital documentation)
- How / if this collection supports research activity and academia
- Any research activity taking place currently
- The reputation of the collection as a credible academic source
- The development of research partnerships with individual researchers and other organisations, including universities
For more information on the work of the Designation Panel, read our dedicated webpage.
