Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Collections

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums holds outstanding collections in the fields of archives, art, science and technology, archaeology, military and social history, fashion and natural sciences.

These are on display and accessible in museums and galleries across Tyne and Wear, via our online collections and at the Regional Museums Store. The collections are held for the benefit of visitors, researchers and other users, including anyone interested in culture and heritage. The art, natural science, archives and science and industry collections have been awarded Designated status by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in recognition of their national importance.

Collections range from small insects to large engines and working steam locomotives and include material of local interest as well as collections gathered from across the world. In date they range from items acquired as part of our contemporary collecting programme (including electronic games and MP3 players) to fossils which are hundreds of millions of years old.

We actively look to promote our collections and we welcome proposals from publishers and for commercial licensing.  Permission to reproduce works from our collections can only be granted if you have obtained the image from us. Complete our image licensing application form to request permission and obtain images.

Research service

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums offers a paid-for research service to members of the public – our expert staff can carry out research in response to individual requests, in order to give detailed answers to enquiries.

You can now request and pay for your research online via our secure online payments system. 

What sort of research can I have done?
 
Our staff will undertake any specific research relating to the collections held by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, which comprise:

How much does it cost?
 
The research service costs £30 per hour including VAT.

We will try to provide an accurate estimate of the amount of time needed to undertake your research, but this may not always be possible. You can set an outside limit, however, by telling us that you do not want more than two hours work, for example.

Payment, at least for initial work, is required in advance, and because of high bank charges, we can only accept payment in pounds sterling or by credit/debit card. You can now submit your application online using our secure online payments system.
 

Collections advice 

Our work with other museums
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums has designated collections of art, natural science and science and industry. These collections lie at the heart of our organisation and we care for, research, interpret and provide access to these collections through exhibitions and digital activity.  We see them as part of a distributed national collection through our partnerships with national and regional organisations.

Key partnerships with national museums include formally recorded agreements with the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.  We have also worked in partnership recently with Tate to deliver a series of blockbuster art exhibitions as part of the Great British Art Debate project.

Under the Renaissance North East programme we continue to work closely with museums in the region.   

Curatorial Knowledge and Collections advice
Our workforce has expertise across almost every area of museum work and staff are actively engaged regionally and nationally to develop their own knowledge and knowledge of others as:

We can also provide advice to other regional museums and archives about collections and objects. For more details please email Sarah Carr:  sarah.carr@twmuseums.org.uk

Renaissance North East commissioned a report which looked at collections by subject area across the region. The survey identified four areas in particular which require extra support:

• Maritime and shipbuilding
• Science and industry
• Costume and textiles
• Natural history

Renaissance North East has been running projects in each of these areas, to explore different ways of enhancing the knowledge base. This includes:

• Contracting specialists to work across the region on targeted pieces of work
• Working with volunteer museums to survey collections and develop knowledge
• Running training/skills sharing days
• The publication of information
• Networking with specialist groups outside the museum sector
• Linking with national Subject Specialist Networks (SSNs) and creating new regional and national networks