
The name Tolkien has a long association with Birmingham. The writer J. R. R. Tolkien spent some of his childhood nearby and many local landmarks have been linked to locations in The Lord of the Rings. However, at Winterbourne we have an object that demonstrates a different kind of creativity in the Tolkien family; our…

In our Collections Centre at Winterbourne, we have a room dedicated to archival material relating to Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds (GKN). I have been working on a catalogue of items manufactured by a subsidiary of GKN called Joseph Sankey & Sons, dated March 1905. Sankey’s came into being when Samuel Joseph Sankey bought out the…

Claire Young, who has been volunteering at Winterbourne for over a decade, gives us an insight into her work, from her very first day to the present. I’ve been a volunteer in the archive group at Winterbourne for over ten years, joining the original team when extra help was needed to transcribe several of Margaret…

By Collections Officer, Henrietta Lockhart On 18 May we celebrate International Museums Day, and one of this year’s themes is “the power of community building through education”. Here at Winterbourne, education takes many forms, from Royal Horticultural Society courses to University of Birmingham internships. Our collections also provide a useful resource for academic departments. I…

University intern Hannah Clynes explores the history of the University Herbarium, which is now located at Winterbourne. During my 20-day internship as part of the University of Birmingham’s Experience Arts scheme, I had the opportunity to catalogue the historic documents of the University Herbarium, which was relocated to Winterbourne House in March 2021.…