Collections catalogue
This is a selection of the records in the museum’s collections database, put online for researchers and visitors. It includes every object on the gallery highlights list and the archive series the museum holds. The full catalogue, about 14,600 records, can be searched on the terminal in the Study Room.
Objects
| Number | Object | Date | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| VGM 1964.31 | The Flood Bell | 1652 | River and Mill |
| VGM 1971.8 | Plaster model for the statue in the Market Square | 1897 | Lilac Room |
| LOAN 1988.2 | Borough seal matrix | Seventeenth century | Market Town |
| VGM 1966.204 | Pewter pint measure | About 1700 | Market Town |
| VGM 1979.12 | Inn sign of the Bell | About 1820 | Market Town |
| VGM 1982.5 | Pargeter’s Brewery sign | 1889 | Market Town |
| VGM 1964.2 | Master’s desk from the grammar school | Eighteenth century | Old Schoolroom |
| VGM 1964.7 | Rules of the free grammar school | 1712 | Old Schoolroom |
| VGM 1990.3 | Model of the Town Mill | 1990 | River and Mill |
| VGM 1973.44 | Eel traps from the weir | About 1900 | River and Mill |
| VGM 1985.19 | The Town Bridge in flood, 1795 | 1795 | River and Mill |
| VGM 2007.31 | Sandbag and notice | 2007 | River and Mill |
| VGM 1899.1 | Poster for the first Lilac Fair | 1899 | Lilac Room |
| VGM 1953.6 | Cordial bottle | 1953 | Lilac Room |
| VGM 1971.9 | Lilac wreath frame | 1971 | Lilac Room |
| VGM 1997.15 | The church guide | 1997 | Store |
| VGM 1898.2 | Programme for the unveiling of the statue | 1898 | Lilac Room |
| VGM 1897.1 | The Lilac Lady of Vengerberg | 1897 | Store |
Archive series
The borough records were deposited with the museum by the town council in 1975 and are held under a deposit agreement. Some volumes are fragile and are produced only in the Study Room.
| Reference | Series | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| BC/1 | Borough court books | 1603–1835 |
| BC/1/1 | Volume | 1603–1622 |
| BC/1/2 | Volume | 1622–1641 |
| BC/1/3 | Withheld from the online catalogue. Ask at the desk about consulting it in the Study Room. | 1641–1660 |
| BC/1/4 | Volume | 1660–1688 |
| BC/1/5–9 | Volume | 1688–1835 |
| BC/4 | Chamberlain’s accounts | 1598–1835 |
| BC/4/1 | Volume | 1598–1645 |
| BC/4/2 | Withheld from the online catalogue. Ask at the desk about consulting it in the Study Room. | 1645–1652 |
| BC/4/3–11 | Volume | 1652–1835 |
| BC/7 | Bridge wardens’ accounts | 1702–1834 |
| PR | Probate copies (wills and inventories of townspeople) Copies made for the Historical Society from the diocesan registry, 1962–71. | 1598–1858 |
| VGT/2 | Town Clerk’s letter books | 1871–1935 |
| VGT/5 | Lilac Fair committee | 1899–present |
| VGT/9 | Printed ephemera | 1780–present |
| PH | Photographs About 4,200 prints and negatives. | 1858–present |
Object records
The Flood Bell
VGM 1964.31 · 1652 · River and Mill
Bronze hand-rung bell in an oak headstock, 41 cm across the mouth, inscribed “WATCH AND RING 1652”. Hung in a frame on the Town Quay and rung by the quay master when the river rose; recorded as rung in 1795 and 1852. Taken down 1903. Conserved 2024–25, with a new headstock.
Plaster model for the statue in the Market Square
VGM 1971.8 · 1897 · Lilac Room
Painted plaster, 74 cm high, by Annie Sowter, made for the statue committee and shown at the subscription meeting in October 1897. The raised arm was broken and repaired with an iron pin before it came to the museum. Given by the sculptor’s niece.
Borough seal matrix
LOAN 1988.2 · Seventeenth century · Market Town
Brass, 62 mm across, with the eight-pointed star and the legend SIGILLVM BVRGI DE WENGEBERGE. The earliest surviving impression is on a lease of 1694. Lent by the town council.
Pewter pint measure
VGM 1966.204 · About 1700 · Market Town
Baluster-shaped pint stamped with the star of the borough as a verification mark, used by the clerk of the market to check the measures of the inns.
Inn sign of the Bell
VGM 1979.12 · About 1820 · Market Town
Painted wooden sign, 112 × 86 cm, showing a gold bell on a green ground. The Bell stood on the west side of the Market Square until 1937.
Pargeter’s Brewery sign
VGM 1982.5 · 1889 · Market Town
Cast-iron sign from the brewery gate on Tanners Lane, with the brewery’s mark of a wheatsheaf. The brewery closed in 1961.
Master’s desk from the grammar school
VGM 1964.2 · Eighteenth century · Old Schoolroom
Oak, on a raised platform, with a lifting lid. Cut into the lid are the initials and dates of pupils from 1741 to 1907.
Rules of the free grammar school
VGM 1964.7 · 1712 · Old Schoolroom
Painted board, 23 rules, including the penny fine for mud on the shoes and the order that “no boy shall go upon the river without leave”.
Model of the Town Mill
VGM 1990.3 · 1990 · River and Mill
Working model at 1:24 of the mill as it was in about 1890, made by a member of the Historical Society from the millwright’s drawings.
Eel traps from the weir
VGM 1973.44 · About 1900 · River and Mill
Two willow traps, the longer 1.4 m, from the timber weir replaced in 1956.
The Town Bridge in flood, 1795
VGM 1985.19 · 1795 · River and Mill
Watercolour, 28 × 41 cm, artist unknown, showing the river over the quay and up to the springing of the arches. Inscribed on the back “Feby 11th 1795”.
Sandbag and notice
VGM 2007.31 · 2007 · River and Mill
A sandbag issued to a house on Water Lane in July 2007, and the council’s notice of the flood warning.
Poster for the first Lilac Fair
VGM 1899.1 · 1899 · Lilac Room
Letterpress poster, 76 × 51 cm, for the “Lilac Fair and Procession, Thursday 18th May 1899”. The only known copy. The first fair was held on a Thursday, market day; it moved to a weekend in 1921.
Cordial bottle
VGM 1953.6 · 1953 · Lilac Room
Glass bottle with a handwritten paper label, “Lilac & Gooseberry, Coronation Year”, from the first year of the cordial stall.
Lilac wreath frame
VGM 1971.9 · 1971 · Lilac Room
Wire frame for the wreath laid at the statue during the fair, made for the flower guild of St Laurence’s and used until 2019.
The church guide
VGM 1997.15 · 1997 · Store
Seventh edition of the guide to St Laurence’s Church, with the account of the window in the north aisle.
Programme for the unveiling of the statue
VGM 1898.2 · 1898 · Lilac Room
Printed programme for Thursday 19 May 1898: procession from the Town Hall, address by the Mayor, unveiling, hymn, and tea for the children in Bridge Meadow.
The Lilac Lady of Vengerberg
VGM 1897.1 · 1897 · Store
Pamphlet, 16 pages, printed for the statue subscription, with the legend “as related by the old people of the town”. The earliest printed version of the legend.
Catalogue numbers: VGM, Vengerberg Museum; LOAN, objects lent to the museum. Dates and descriptions are as recorded and are revised as research continues. To report an error, email curator@vengerberg.org.