Decision details

The object is un-accessioned, in poor condition (consultation with a specialist at Beamish has brought to light that the carriage has in the past – prior to Heritage Doncaster acquiring it – been poorly restored. The Rear Carriage wheels not belonging to this model of carriage) and does not have a strong Doncaster Borough Provenance or connection. The recommendation to dispose relates particularly to section 5.3.1 of the Collections Development Policy (2019-2023) which refers to the criteria for disposal from the Social History Collections. As the object is un-accessioned and has never been formally accepted into the collection, the collecting criteria for Social History, outlined in Section 4.1 and in particular 4.1.2 which refers to considerations over care and storage of items. The Omnibus is a large object and would be both difficult to store and very space consuming.

This, when considered against its poor condition (poor historic restoration) and lack of a strong connection to the Borough of Doncaster (as defined at this time by the Borough’s Local Government boundaries) make it a candidate for disposal.

That approval is given by the Governing Body of Heritage Doncaster for the decision to dispose of an un-accessioned item known as The Womersley to Pontefract Omnibus, currently held in the Heritage Doncaster Collections, in line with the Heritage Doncaster Collections Development Policy (2019-2023 approved by the Governing body by ODR on 08/04/2019) sections 16.6, the Museum Association Code of Ethics and the Museum Association’s Disposal Toolkit.

Options considered and rejected:
See attached decision record for details.