Haslemere Educational Museum
Social History
This is a mixed collection of almost 10,000 British artefacts including domestic items, coins/seals/medals, agricultural objects, industrial equipment and scientific instruments.
Our domestic artefacts include items such as cooking utensils (cutlery, dishes, kettles etc), cleaning equipment (vacuum cleaners, laundry bags, irons, etc), textile production/mending implements (spinning wheels, bobbins, etc), smoking paraphernalia (tobacco tins, pipes, ashtrays etc) and ornamental objects (vases, paperweights, etc). Most are from the late 19th century and early 20th century.
We hold a charming collection of local pots, jugs, dishes and ornaments made by the Hammer Vale Pottery Works of Radley Young and William Stallworthy in Shottermill dated 1901-11. We also hold many types of toy from yesteryear, including dominos, jigsaws and Victorian dollhouses with their fine detail.
We hold over 500 British coins dating back to the time of the Romano-British occupation (1st century). We hold both commemorative coins and regular British currency over the years, from groats up to the more recent shillings and farthings. Many of our seals are extremely old and we hold over 2000 of them. Our oldest seal is the 11th century seal of Edward the Confessor, and we hold many more ecclesiastical, monarchical and aristocratic seals over the years.
Our medals are mainly to honour war bravery or to commemorate important events/monarchs, for example we hold the Africa Star, Italy Star and 1939-45 Stars from World War II and medals commemorating the preservation of George III from assassination in May 1800.
Our collection of agricultural objects includes items such as a wimble for twisting straw and ropes, an adze for trimming timber, a dibbling iron for making seed holes in farm fields, a rinder for stripping oak bark for tanning leather, a yoke, a flail, a bow saw and part of a plough.
Our collection of industrial objects contains several items from a blacksmith’s workshop, including different types of bellows, tools and horseshoes. We also care for items from the local brickworks/pottery and textile industry. Our scientific equipment includes microscopes and taxidermy tools.Highlights from the Collection
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| T.2006.5 & HS.04.7 Recorders and a record made by Carl Dolmetsch, early 20th century |
We hold tools, a work bench, records and musical instruments belonging to the Dolmetsch family. Arnold Dolmetsch was a famous musician who settled in Haslemere in 1917 and established workshops creating period musical instruments. He also began the Haslemere Festival of Chamber and Early English Music in 1925 and it continues to attract visitors from all over the world. In the same year, Arnold passed over the management of recorder production to his son Carl.
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| Section of the Hindhead Gibbet 18th century |
In 1786 a sailor was murdered on the local Hindhead hills. The three culprits were caught and hanged at the spot of the murder. Their bodies were taken down, preserved in tar and then chained to the gibbet. This served as a warning to passing travellers. The murder was infamous at the time and is referred to in Dicken’s ‘Nicholas Nickleby.’
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| Man Trap from Lythe Hill Estate, Haslemere c.1820 |
This trap was used on the Lythe Hill Estate, Haslemere circa 1820. The estate was surrounded by notices warning trespassers of man traps and spring guns. The use of these traps became illegal in 1827, although they were only banned from outdoor use and could still be set in properties between dusk and dawn as burglar deterrents.
