South Somerset Heritage Collection

South Somerset Heritage Collection is a historic collection reflecting the story of Yeovil and South Somerset

Overview

South Somerset Heritage Collection is a historic collection which includes 30,000 objects and 6,000 photographs reflecting the story of Yeovil and South Somerset. We operate a museum store with Accredited Museum status where we house, care for and research a diverse range of items from Roman mosaics to Yeovil Town Football Club programmes. The collection tells the story of the area’s people and places through its extensive collections of archaeology, social history and industrial items.

Email: [email protected]

Our Collections

Costumes and textiles

We hold a significant collection of costume and textile items, ranging from samplers and Friendly Society banners to a hat believed to have been worn by Queen Victoria. Our highlight is a beautifully embroidered Georgian era wedding coat of Swayne Harbin from Newton Surmaville House, near Yeovil.

Gloves and gloving

Yeovil and the surrounding area was a gloving industry hub from the 14th century, until the last factory linked to the industry closed in 2023. The Heritage Collection is home to an extensive collection of gloves made by local manufacturers along with the designs, tools and machinery vital to the industry that made them.

Fine Art

We are home to a broad collection of artworks, including a 1603 carved panel from the Angel Inn (now the site of Yeovil’s NatWest Bank) and formal portraits of local industrialists. We hold contemporary works by Martock-based artist Arlie Panting and satirical political cartoons from the collection of the late Yeovil MP Paddy Ashdown.

Industrial

The collection reflects the area’s industrial heritage, from gloving and motor vehicles to aircraft and cheesemaking. The story of Petters Limited is represented through the collection’s objects, from their origins as a Victorian iron foundry to building an 1895 ‘Horseless Carriage’ engine and establishing the famous Westland Aircraft Works.

Archaeology

The archaeology collection represents the area’s history from its first inhabitants, including a Neolithic hand axe found on Wyndham Hill. The collection holds many Roman artefacts including large mosaics from Yeovil’s villas, and cannonballs likely to be reminders of the English Civil War’s 1642 Battle of Babylon Hill.

Ceramics and glassware

From commemorative items to collectables, our extensive ceramic collection includes the Riot Jugs presented to the Mudford Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry during the political reform riots of 1831. The Pinney glass collection includes a significant bequest of 18th and 19th century domestic glassware.

Coins and medals

We hold a notable bequest of Roman coins from Ilchester collector James Stevens-Cox, including a rare coin of Gaius Marcus Aurelius, who reigned for only a few days in AD269. We also care for a number of First and Second World War Medals, along with a selection of pub and trade tokens.

Photographs

The Heritage Collection cares for over 6,000 photographs relating to South Somerset’s people, places, transport and industry. This includes the collection of local businessman and keen photographer Henry Stiby, with photographs and glass plate negatives which chart scenes of Yeovil from the 1880s to 1910.

Loan boxes

South Somerset Heritage Collection has a series of Loans Boxes available for schools, colleges, community groups and care homes to borrow. Each box contains a selection of objects to spark imagination and conversation in the classroom, at a special interest group or during a reminiscence session. Themes available include Roman South Somerset, Gloving, the 1950s and Wartime Yeovil, with new boxes currently under development. The boxes are free to borrow with donations welcome.

For more information contact: [email protected]

Heritage talks, walks and volunteers

Information

While the South Somerset Heritage Collection is currently closed to the public, our Heritage Team is working behind the scenes to prepare 36,000 historic objects for possible relocation.

Because of this, we are not able to offer group tours at the moment, and we are limiting the number of talks we can provide to community groups.

Heritage Talks

We run popular monthly Heritage Talks during the winter at the Westlands Entertainment Venue.

Heritage Walks

From Spring to Autumn we offer a range of guided Heritage Walks at Yeovil Country Park and Ham Hill Country Park.

Check our Facebook page for the latest dates and details.

Volunteers

The South Somerset Heritage Collection is supported by a team of volunteers. They help care for and record the collection, and support our work in the community.

Take a look around

Discover highlights of the collection below.

Green coat on a mannequin

Swain Harbin coat 1760

A green corded velvet coat worn by Swayne Harbin of Newton Surmaville House, Yeovil. This was possibly worn for his wedding to Barbara Abingdon, Heiress of Sutton Bingham.

St.Ivel advertising image

Aplin and Barrett of Newton Road, Yeovil were famous for their St. Ivel lactic cheese and often used local scenes to advertise their products.

A ceramic dish held up by two monks

St.Ivel cheese dish

Aplin and Barrett produced this Parian ware cheese stand as a marketing tool for their St.Ivel Cheese.

Bird glove cutter shape

Before helicopters, gloving was Yeovil’s key industry reflected in the nickname of Yeovil Town Football Club as “The Glovers.” This shape was used to decorate the top of a glove.

Station Masters hat 1962

A hat worn by the last ever Station Master at Martock Station formerly on the Yeovil Branch of the Great Western Railway.

Friendly Society ceramic jug 1782

Friendly Societies helped to look after the poor and sick in villages before the introduction of National Insurance in 1911.

Petter Horseless Carriage engine 1895

The collection features some significant objects from the early years of the Petter Westland story.

Fine art collection

The fine art collection includes portraits, local country houses, modern artists and maps.

Old black and white image of ladies football team

Football 1936

Tink Robbins Gloving Factory Ladies Football Team.

Painted panel showing an angel and a tree

Angel Inn panel 1603

One the highlights of the fine art collection, this panel was part of a collection in the Angel Inn formerly in the centre of Yeovil. The panel depicts Adam and Eve and the Biblical account of Abraham and Isaac.

East Chinnock Friendly Society banner

Friendly Societies often had their own Club symbol and banner to parade with on the annual Club Day. The photograph shows the banner being checked for condition.

Gloving donkeys

The gloving Donkey came before the mechanised sewing machine. The Donkey was patented in Stoke sub Hamdon in 1807 and helped to standardise the number of stitches to an inch and was said to take the ‘Donkey’ work out of glove production.

Festival of Britain gloves 1951

Southcombes Bros of Stoke sub Hamdon produced this pair of prototype gloves with the Festival of Britain motif, but we understand they did not go into mass production.

Riot jug 1831

Presented by the inhabitants of Yeovil and it’s vicinity in testimony of their approval of the conduct of the Mudford Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry during the political reform riots in 1831. Followed by the name of the person it was presented to.

Mars statuette Roman

A figure of Mars Rigisamus excavated from the Chessells site at West Coker in 1862. The inscription reads ‘DEO MARTI RIGISAMO, IVENTIVS SABINVS V.S.L.L.M’ To the god Mars Rigasamus, Juventius Sabinus has willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow’

High Street Yeovil around 1972

Do you remember these shops?

Visitor Information

Research and enquiries

The South Somerset Heritage Collection building is currently closed to researchers wishing to visit our resources on-site.

If you have an enquiry or research request relating to the collection, please get in touch with our team who can discuss your requirements further and help you access the information that you need.

Enquiries Charges

Collection enquiry (under one hour), Free with donations welcome.
Collection enquiry (over an hour), £22 per hour.
Black and white photocopy (A4/A3), 50p (postage charged at additional rate).
Colour photocopy (A4/A3), £1.50 (postage charged at additional rate).
Identification service, Free with donations welcome.

Email: [email protected]

Donate an object

Many of the 30,000 objects in our collection have been kindly donated by members of the public.

We welcome donations which relate to our Collections Development Policy, ordinarily items linked to the story of Yeovil and South Somerset.

However, we are unable to accept everything that is offered to us and apply careful consideration to any offers that we receive.

If you have an object that you may like to donate, please email [email protected] providing information on what the object is, it’s condition and any information that you know about its history.

Please note that we are unable to accept any donations of objects without prior arrangement.

Contact Us

Address:

South Somerset Heritage Collection
7 Artillery Road
Somerset Council Lufton Depot
Yeovil
BA22 8RP

Contact number: 07971 111 890