Manor House Museum’s collection of archaeology was on the move recently, leaving behind it’s home in Kettering and heading down the road to the Archaeological Resource Centre (ARC) – Northamptonshire’s purpose-built archaeological storage facility.

Located at Chester House Estate near Wellingborough, the artefacts will be under the watchful eyes of ARC’s professional archaeologists, who will care for and curate the objects in perfect environmental conditions.

Kettering’s collection, consisting of more than 600 archive boxes from various time periods, was previously located in the Museum’s external store room and inaccessible to researchers and the public. The vast majority of these objects are unsuitable for museum exhibitions, unlikely to ever be displayed in Manor House Museum, and only of value to historians and academics.

Heritage Officers from Cornerstone on the day of the big move.

By moving to the ARC, Kettering’s archaeology collection is now more accessible than ever before. Whether you are curious about local history, or an academic conducting research, the collection is open to anyone interested in archaeology. Already holding more than 24,000 archive boxes from over 3,000 sites, the ARC is led by Curator Ben Donnelly-Symes:

“These collections will be freely accessible to the public and can be viewed on one of our free public tours of the ARC building that we run most weeks or could be accessed for research by booking an appointment.

“Over the next several years, we will be re-packing, sorting and cataloguing the collections to modern standards to ensure they are preserved for future generations. The collections will be stored in our state-of-the-art facilities and kept at the correct temperature and humidity to ensure their long-term preservation.”

ARC volunteers begin cataloguing the new arrivals.

Kettering’s collection joins other museums from Northamptonshire in choosing to move their extensive archaeology collections to the ARC, where each object is meticulously categorised and logged by the ARC’s expert team of curators and volunteers. Kettering’s archaeology may now be stored outside of the town, but all that’s changed is the storage – they remain part of Manor House Museum’s collection and will now be even easier to access by Kettering’s curators for future exhibitions.

This has been developed over a number of years and only affects archaeological artefacts in the Museum’s collection. The majority of the collection remains in Kettering and is cared for and maintained by Cornerstone Heritage Officers. The relocation of archaeological artefacts to the ARC is the culmination of months of preparation and planning behind-the-scenes, a collaborative effort that involved the Heritage Team from Cornerstone as well as curators and volunteers from the ARC.

For more information on the ARC and the work that they do, head to their website.