The Collection

The Society has a very large collection of artefacts which have been found in and around Rainford by people interested in preserving, documenting and exhibiting them. Some items were found using metal detectors or have come to light as gardens have been dug over or land developed. In addition, there is a significant number of artefacts that have been donated to, and occasionally purchased by, the Society.

Sadly, the Society does not have the facilities to exhibit the collection in its entirety and we are grateful to the owners of a local farm for allowing us to use some of their space for storage. Rainford Parish Council have recently agreed to have illuminated glass display cases positioned within the Village Hall and in these we will be able to exhibit selections of artefacts on a rotating basis for members of the public to view.

A project is underway to systematically examine, identify and catalogue the items in the collection. This is a painstaking and time-consuming undertaking but we hope that it will provide us with a complete and proper record of the collection and provide a basis for periodically exhibiting a selection of the artefacts to the public. To that end, a database is being developed to record the details of each item in the collection, including a unique identifier and photograph. Built into the database is a system for categorising objects called Nomenclature that was developed for use by museums in North America and defines a multi-level hiearchy of wide-ranging categories and descriptors.