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Collection Spotlight: South West Heritage Trust

Railway Accident at Flax Bourton, 1876 (oil on canvas), Thomas Howard Harker (1842-1926) / Weston Museum, Weston-super-Mare, UK © North Somerset Council and South West Heritage Trust / Bridgeman Images

South West Heritage Trust joins the Bridgeman archive. The trust remains dedicated to protecting and celebrating the rich heritage of Somerset and Devon. South West Heritage Trust was founded in 2014 as an independent charity for Somerset, Devon and the South West. Their goal is to celebrate and protect the region's rich heritage, helping everyone to enjoy it now and in the future, as well as bringing together services previously provided by Somerset and Devon County Councils, who remain their main funders.

Persian Cat, c.1908-20 (oil on canvas), Agnes Augusta Talboys (1863-1941) / The Somerset Heritage Centre, Taunton, UK © North Somerset Council and South West Heritage Trust / Bridgeman Images

Operating across six main sites, the trust delivers a wide range of heritage experiences for people of all ages while working with many local and strategic partners including Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund. 

'As guardians, interpreters and builders of museum collections we play a leading role in the Museum sector in Somerset and the South West. We create temporary exhibitions to tell important stories using contemporary methods. We seek funding to acquire key Museum objects, and we ensure that collections are cared for and interpreted excellently. Working in partnership with Somerset Military Museum Trust, we support them in running Somerset Military Museum. We also provide contracted services for other Museums and organisations.'

Delftware plate, 1740-1750 (earthenware, tin glaze), English School, (18th century) / Weston Museum, Weston-super-Mare, UK © North Somerset Council and South West Heritage Trust / Bridgeman Images

Set within Taunton’s historic 12th-century castle, The Museum of Somerset tells the county story from prehistoric times to the present day. The newly-refurbished Somerset Rural Life Museum tells the story of Somerset’s rich rural and social history. It provides a family-friendly destination which has learning, access and discovery at its heart. At the heart of the The Brick and Tile Museum is the only traditional brick kiln to survive in Somerset, and one of few remaining in England.

Try your weight! (w/c), Alfred Leete (1882-1933) / The Somerset Heritage Centre, Taunton, UK / © North Somerset Council and South West Heritage Trust © North Somerset Council and South West Heritage Trust / Bridgeman Images

The trusts' Museum Development Officer works with community museums in Somerset to improve skills, address shared issues and develop projects. They run the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Devon, Dorset and Somerset, to ensure that discoveries made by the public are appropriately recorded and to deal with newly discovered cases of Treasure.
They work in partnership with North Somerset Council and Weston-super-Mare Town Council to provide heritage services, including collections care for Weston Museum.

Weston-Super-Mare, 1927 (colour litho), Alfred Leete (1882-1933) / The Somerset Heritage Centre, Taunton, UK / © North Somerset Council and South West Heritage Trust / Bridgeman Images

The museum reserve collections are held at the Somerset Heritage Centre. They include Costume and Textiles, Fine and Decorative Art, Archaeology, Natural Sciences and Social History collections. The trust also looks after the collections of Somerset Military Museum Trust and North Somerset Council.

Discover the current range of images available from the South West Heritage Trust on Bridgeman Images, with new content being added daily.

Contact us if you have any questions or queries.

Reverend Wadham Pigott, c.1765 (oil on canvas), Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88) / Weston Museum, Weston-super-Mare, UK © North Somerset Council and South West Heritage Trust / Bridgeman Images

 

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