Harborough Museum was opened in 1983 in the former R & W H Symington corset factory that also houses the Harborough District Council offices in the historic

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

. It is run by a partnership between Leicestershire County Council, Harborough District Council and Market Harborough Historical Society. Since 2014, its affairs have been overseen by a new charitable organisation, the Harborough Museum Trust. The museum celebrates Market Harborough's history as a historic market town and centre of industry and trade between

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, and collects artefacts from S E Leicestershire and N Northants. Regular displays include Symington

corsets A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in the front called a busk which ...

, including the world-famous

liberty bodice The liberty bodice (Australian and British English), like the emancipation bodice or North American emancipation waist, was an undergarment for women and girls invented towards the end of the 19th century, as an alternative to a corset. In the ...

, Symington Soups, Table Creams and Pea Flour, the Harboro Rubber Company, Falkner's Boot and Shoe Making Workshop, an 18th-century long case clock made in Harborough, 17th-century toys found in the local church, local archaeology finds and many temporary displays. The museum is accredited by the

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was until May 2012 a non-departmental public body and a registered charity in England with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, Library, libraries, and archives. ...

(MLA).

Museum developments

Harborough Museum reopened in April 2014 after a year when the building was refurbished by the district council. Many improvements were made and the museum now occupies the first floor of the building together with the library as an integrated space. The displays are much improved, thanks to a generous grant from the Market Harborough and Bowdens Charity. One of the most significant

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

finds in Britain, the

Hallaton Treasure The Hallaton Treasure, the largest hoard of British Iron Age coins, was discovered in 2000 near Hallaton in southeast Leicestershire, England, by volunteers from the Hallaton Fieldwork Group. The initial find was made by Ken Wallace on 19 ...

, is the focal point of the displays. This project included purchasing and conserving the finds, displays at Harborough Museum and at

Hallaton Hallaton is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 523, which had increased to 594 at the 2011 census. History and description The village's ...

Museum, two touring exhibitions, web-based resources, workshops for schools and community groups, and events for the public. This installation in 2009 was funded with grants from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

The Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...

, The Headley Trust, Renaissance East Midlands and local contributions from the Friends of Leicester and Leicestershire Museums, the Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Fieldwork Group,

Leicestershire County Council Leicestershire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Leicester. The county coun ...

and the

Department of Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. I ...

among others. The treasure was discovered near

in the

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...

Valley in 2000 by local community archaeologists and the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

Archaeological Services. The treasure hoard includes over 5000 silver and gold coins, a silver gilt Roman helmet, jewellery and many other objects. Most of the items date to around the time of the

Roman conquest of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Great Britain, Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the ...

. The site of the treasure proved to be an internationally important ritual site dating mostly to the generations before and after the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD. The Hallaton Helmet underwent conservation and research for about ten years at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and has been exhibited at the Harborough Museum since January 2012. Also in the find was a silver cup, thought to be the earliest example of its type made in Britain. Other displays are in themed exhibition cases and include a selection from a unique hoard of more than 200 seventeenth-century toys found behind a bricked-up stairwell in St. Dionysius Church in the centre of Market Harborough. The toys include whip-tops, tip-cats, small balls and sap whistles, and were made from wood, pig's knuckle bones and fabrics, all easily obtainable materials to children who had to make their own toys long before such things were mass-produced. The Market Harborough Historical Society's collection is also displayed.

References

External links

Harborough Museum
- Harborough Museum Trust

- Leicestershire County Council
Harborough District Council WebsiteLeicestershire Museums BlogMarket Harborough Historical Society
{{Coord, 52, 28, 43.25, N, 0, 55, 14.43, W, region:GB, display=title Museums in Leicestershire Local museums in Leicestershire Museums established in 1983 1983 establishments in England Market Harborough