- Collection -

The collection consists entirely of donated exhibits (with one exception, see below). Although the show cases are well filled, we are always ready to accept new items although, regretfully, the curator sometimes has to refuse donations on grounds of size – there is simply not enough room to show them and we do not have a store room. Please contact us if you have anything you think may interest us, particularly if it is of local significance. The one artifact we purchased is a long case clock (a so called ‘Kitchen’ clock) which would have been used typically in a farmhouse kitchen. It was made about 1750 by a local maker called Phillips. The purchase was made possible by donations of £750 each by the Teme Valley Rural Challenge and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The collection of relics from Tenbury’s nineteenth century spa includes a bath with four taps (why so many?), a sink and the original drinking fountain for the spa water. There are also plans of the inside and outside of the building, which has recently been restored to its former glory. There is a cobbler's shop with tools and materials typically used by shoemakers and repairers during Victorian and early twentieth century times. There is a small kitchen with its built-in fire/oven and cooking implements. An early mechanical washing machine is complemented by flat irons which would have been heated in the fire. We have examples of early consumer items such as wind-up gramophones, a valve radio of the 1930s and even a mechanical vacuum cleaner. There are many examples of tools used in the local farming, hop and fruit growing industries.

Oil and acetylene lamps of the period crowd one showcase along with early simple cameras etc.

Sometime during the 1990s the Tenbury Advertiser office needed more space and offered the Museum its collection of old newspapers dating back to July 1871. The papers have proved popular with visitors and are regularly consulted by historical researchers. However, the newsprint is deteriorating and there was a danger the collection would soon become unusable. In late 2005 we received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund of £49,700 which would allow us to have the papers up to 1997 microfilmed and subsequently transferred to CDs. The work is presently being undertaken and we hope the whole collection will be available to the public by the end of 2006. In the meantime the hard copies remain available for consultation in the museum. Issues from January 1998 have been microfilmed by Worcester County Library and are available for consultation in the branch library in Teme Street, Tenbury Wells.