Jersey Heritage to clear out museum for first time since 1873

A charity dedicated to protecting heritage and culture is clearing out its museum collections for the first time.

Jersey Heritage’s museum collections were started by the Société Jersiaise in 1873 and have continued building for more than 150 years.

The charity said the project would involve getting rid of items which were either in very poor condition and beyond repair or were unnecessary duplicates.

Helena Kergozou, the charity’s senior registrar, said there were more than 300,000 museum pieces, including 199 chairs and 10 bathtubs. She said: “The pieces that we are deaccessioning are being offered to other heritage organisations or charities to use, or they will be recycled.”

She added: “Only as a last resort will a piece be scrapped altogether, for example, a wooden chair riddled with woodworm.

“We are being extremely careful and following a strict set of checks and balances before making any final decisions about what stays and what goes.

“This includes involving our conservation team and partners who own some of the collections in our care, such as the Société Jersiaise.”

She said it was “vital” to create room for future pieces and to preserve the island’s “incredible story”.

Stuart Fell, president of the Société Jersiaise, said many of the items had been accumulated by the société since the late 19th century, and added “some of these are now in very poor condition or have no significant value as museum pieces”.

He said: “It makes good sense that such objects should be withdrawn from the collections and disposed of in an appropriate manner.”