Social and Industrial History Collections

The Social and Industrial History collection aims to reflect the history of Coventry and to show how its people have lived and worked from the 1600s until today. The collection ranges from tiny watch parts to a 5 metre high ribbon weaving loom and from a 17th century hat to a 21st century Slipknot T-shirt.

As well as collecting objects and photographs, we also collect people’s memories – we have over 200 oral history recordings from Coventry people of all ages and backgrounds.

Highlights of the collection include:

The ribbon weaving collection

The unique ribbon weaving collection contains thousands of beautiful samples of woven silk ribbons, as well as over 250 sample books of ribbons. It also features a jacquard loom and other weaving equipment and probably the finest collections of woven silk pictures and bookmarks in the country. Ribbon weaving was Coventry’s main industry from the early 18th century to the 1860s.

The costume collection

This fine collection spans some 400 years, but its particular strength is 19th and early 20th century women’s costume. This charts the main changes in women’s fashion during this period. We are now trying to collect more modern clothes and items from different ethnic communities in Coventry.

Watchmaking

We have a good collection of Coventry made clocks and watches, the earliest being Samuel Watson’s clock made for Charles II in 1680. We also have a wide range of watchmaking tools from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Coventry was a major centre for watchmaking from about 1740 till about 1920.

Life on the Home Front in World War 2

Coventry suffered a number of bombing raids in World War 2. The worst of these was the 'Blitz' of 14th November 1940 during which the Cathedral was destroyed. Our collection reflects the experiences of ordinary people on the Home Front during the War. It includes an Anderson air raid shelter, gas masks, ration books, Civil Defence uniforms, medals, utility furniture and much more.

Toys and Dolls

This collection includes some wonderful 19th century dolls and a wide range of toys including popular favourites such as Lego, toy trains, Action Man and a space hopper. The collection comes right up to date with a Teletubby figure, Spice Girl doll and micro scooter.

Domestic Life

This includes a fine collection of radios, televisions and sewing machines, many made in Coventry, as well as domestic cleaning and cooking items.

InVisible Histories

We have recently completed a project called InVisible Histories. This focussed on the experiences of people whose stories have not normally featured very much in museums. In particular we collected memories, photographs and objects which reflect the lives of women and people from the African Caribbean and South Asian communities in Coventry. This is now an ongoing and important part of our work.

Future Collecting

We want to bring the Social and Industrial History collections up to date and we also want them to reflect the multicultural nature of Coventry today. We are therefore particularly trying to collect items dating from the 1970s onwards, items of popular culture and items representing the many different communities in Coventry.

Examples of the types of items we have collected recently include: a wedding sari; an African Caribbean cooking pot; a scrapbook belonging to Coventry’s first Asian magistrate; a Playstation console; 1980s legwarmers; a Sinclair pocket calculator from the 1970s; and a sitar.

Huw Jones
Keeper of Industry
huw.jones@coventry.gov.uk
Tel: 024 7629 4758

Ali Wells
Keeper of History Collections
ali.wells@coventry.gov.uk
Tel: 024 7629 4763

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