Offers

We regret that we are currently unable to accept new offers to the collection, while we work through a large volume of recent acquisitions. We expect to be able to consider offers again from mid September. Please do not bring items into the museum without an appointment, as we will not be able to receive them.

Offers are considered against our Collections Development Policy, which details what we will and won’t collect.

We are unable to accept items that fall outside of this policy. In particular, the Museum will not accept:

  • Large items

  • Birds’ eggs

  • Newspapers or newspaper cuttings (except as part of a larger collection or archive)

  • Items with no connection to Stroud District

The museum will consider fixed term loans as well as gifts. We are unable to accept items on "permanent" loan.

We cannot accept objects on condition that they are permanently displayed. Objects not on display are a valuable resource for research, education and future exhibitions.

Research Enquiries

Enquiries are welcome. You can email or telephone us on 01453 763394 with a brief description of your enquiry.

Research enquiries which take more than 30 minutes of staff time may be subject to charges – any charge would be discussed with you prior to work commencing. 

Most objects not on display can be seen by appointment, but as the collections are stored on 3 different sites, we may not be able to accommodate all research requests. We will of course do our best to help whenever possible.

The museum has a set of research guidelines which you can review before contacting us with your request.

Object Identification

We regret that we are currently unable to receive objects for identification, while we work through a large volume of recent acquisitions. We expect to be able to receive objects again from mid September.

In the meantime, you can contact us or email an image of the object as an attachment to museum@stroud.gov.uk and we will do our best to identify it. As curators of a wide-ranging collection, we are not specialists. Should we be unable to offer an opinion on the object, we may be able to refer you to another museum with specialist curators.

To report archaeological finds to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, please contact the Finds Officer for Gloucestershire and Avon.

Please note that we are unable to give valuations.

Reproduction Requests

We can provide images of many objects in the collection. Charges vary according to use. Prices on application.