The 1824 Room at the Royal Pump Room Museum will be closed on Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th October for a private event.
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. Plan your visit.
Preserving our unique collections is central to our mission. Our archives span centuries and include a wide range of materials—from historic parchment and paper to modern photographic formats and born digital records. Ensuring their long term survival requires specialist care, controlled environments, and thoughtful access practices.
Ensuring that every item is stored and handled with the highest level of care. Our preservation practices include:
Before items are packaged, they are cleaned and dried if necessary. Our strongrooms are equipped with specialist fire detection systems and robust security measures to safeguard the collections.
Careless handling can cause irreversible damage. In our search room, we provide appropriate supports such as weights and book cushions and offer guidance to help visitors handle documents safely.
If an item is too fragile for public use, it is added to our conservation programme. Where immediate access is essential, we explore alternatives such as digital surrogates or supervised access.
All conservation and preservation work is overseen by a specialist conservator and carried out in accordance with recognised sector standards, including:
Our conservation team cares for millions of documents dating from the 12th century to the present day, including:
Conservation involves the physical repair of items that have deteriorated over time. We follow a principle of minimal intervention—retaining as much original material as possible while ensuring long term stability and usability.
Our five repositories—housing more than five miles of shelving—are carefully monitored to prevent deterioration. We track:
This ensures optimal conditions for paper, parchment, and other sensitive materials.
Our conservation team prepares items for display both onsite and at external venues. We host two to three exhibitions each year in our foyer, ensuring that all items are mounted and supported to the highest conservation standards.
We welcome enquiries from the public and offer advice on storage, handling, and conservation needs. Our team also provides conservation services for external clients, including assessments, treatments, and training sessions.
We currently have an inhouse digital preservation set-up, that allows us to manage digital files when they are deposited.
For further information on digital preservation, please contact us.