Our Collection
Overview
The Museum cares for over 6000 objects. Many of these are on display for the public to see, but many are also in storage. Our collections can be divided into a number of categories:
- Objects connected to extracting minerals from below ground
- Items involved in moving minerals underground and up to the surface
- Pumping engines and devices that remove water
from mines - Personal items belonging to miners
- Objects that were used to process the mineral, e.g. for crushing, washing and smelting
- Rocks and minerals – we have thousands of minerals, including local, national and international collections
- Photographs, maps and documents
A wide selection of objects from our collection are available to browse below. These have been divided into the categories shown above. If you would like us to help you find a particular item, or items relating to a particular place or person, please contact us as we can search the full database.
If you cannot find what you are looking for, or require more
detailed information about an object please contact us.
What we collect
Our policy is to collect items relating to the mineral mining industry in Derbyshire, the Peak District and the surrounding area. We do not collect items relating to coal mining – for enquiries in this area it is best to contact the National Coal Mining Museum for England.
We also collect any items relating to the history of Matlock Bath, as part of the Matlock Bath Through Time collection.
Donate an object to our collection
The museum welcomes donations of items relating to the mineral mining industry in Derbyshire, the Peak District and the surrounding area. If you have an item that you would like to donate to us, please contact us, so that we can arrange a time for you to bring it in. If you decide to donate the item we will ask you to complete a short form as confirmation of the donation. If for any reason we cannot accept your dontation, we will try to help you find another museum that may be able to.
