Donating to our collection

Collecting Mission Statement

Jersey Heritage shall collect, document, preserve and make widely accessible unique collections of artefacts, works of art, archival material, specimens and information relating to the history, culture and environment of the Bailiwick of Jersey.

The collections cared for by Jersey Heritage have been built up over the past 150 years, since the founding of the Société Jersiaise, and are rich and varied, although some gaps still exist. Therefore, we welcome offers of material to our collections.

How to donate

If you have something that you think may be of interest to us, please contact RegistrarTeam@jerseyheritage.org for museum objects or archives@jerseyheritage.org for archive material, with a description of the item, a photograph and any interesting details about the item’s story.

We are unable to accept everything that is offered to us and our Collecting Policy (Museum) and Acquisitions Policy (Archive) summarises what we can and cannot accept.

Please do not send objects or archive material through the post or leave them at one of our visitor sites anonymously.

What happens next?

Our Collections Team will assess whether the material is something that we would be interested in acquiring for the collections and they will promptly inform you of their decision.

If accepted, they will arrange collection or deposit of your item. During this appointment you will be asked to complete an Entry Form which legally transfers ownership of the item or sets out the terms of the deposit.

If your item is accepted into the collection, it will be catalogued and made available for research, learning and display. Please note that it is unlikely that your donation will be put on display straight away as the collections contains hundreds of thousands of items and displays are planned years in advance.

Handling Collection

If your object is something that we already have examples of, we may ask if you would be willing to donate it to our handling collection as an alternative. This collection is predominantly used for reminiscence, outreach and with school groups to allow people to connect more closely with history. Due to the nature of these activities, your object may experience wear and tear and over time may be disposed of.

Please be aware that:

• Jersey Heritage does not accept museum objects on long-term loan, however archival material may be deposited as a long-term loan.
• Material is not accepted when there are specific conditions attached.
• Unless there are compelling and legitimate reasons, hazardous objects and substances will not be accepted under any circumstance (e.g. firearms, objects containing asbestos, explosive, flammable, poisonous, potentially carcinogenic or radioactive material).
• Under our ethical codes, we are not able to provide valuations for any material.