Research

Colchester + Ipswich Museums support research because it helps us to understand and use our collections better. Further information about how we work with researchers can be found in our Research Policy.

Here, staff and visitors reveal what they’ve been getting up to…

Latest Articles

A stone with a light blue surface and darker background. The shape of a fly has been carved into it

Stories In Stone

By Glynn Davis, Senior Collections and Learning Curator * Click on the photos below to visit our Collections Online database and discover more about that object. * Colchester Museums care for a fascinating collection of Roman intaglios. These small gems are carved...

A painting of a white cottage. Beside the building is a large tree and an expanse of water. In the sky are large white clouds

Creating Constable

John Constable (1776-1837) - Willy Lott’s House, Flatford, 1816, oil on canvas Family, Friends and Artists in East AngliaEmma Roodhouse, Collections and Learning Curator 2021 is a significant year for the artist, John Constable 1776-1837, being the 200th anniversary...

Takeaways from China

The following is taken from an ICON article written by Conservator, Robert Entwistle Over the past 4 years Colchester + Ipswich Museums have had partnerships with 2 Chinese Museums, Xuzhou and Nanjing to put on exhibitions in Colchester Castle. I was lucky enough to...

Conserving Bones

The following is taken from a presentation given by Robert Entwistle ACR and Emma Hogarth, Conservation Officers for Colchester + Ipswich Museums, at a NatSCA conference The article by Lori Covington “A Sticky Solution”, in Icon News issue 65 for July 2016, was...

Rendlesham; Further Finds acquired by Ipswich Museum

Philip Wise, Heritage Manager for Colchester + Ipswich Museums The following is an article written for SAXON: In the ghost story ‘A Warning to the Curious’ (1925), the writer M. R. James mentions the discovery in 1687 of a crown at Rendlesham said to be that of...

Researching the Ichthyosaur at Ipswich Museum

The Ipswich Ichthyosaur

Back in the summer, Dean Lomax from the University of Manchester visited Ipswich Museum and gave staff the opportunity to see an exhibit close-up for the first time in over 70 years. As a world expert on fossilised sea monsters, he has studied most specimens in...

Wolsey’s Portrait; the Recurring Image

Philip Wise, Heritage Manager for Colchester + Ipswich Museums The following is an article written for the Friends of Ipswich Museums newsletter: An unexpected outcome of the exhibition ‘Thomas Wolsey – Ipswich’s Greatest Son’ has been the opportunity to continue the...

Fossil Plants

Hugh Pearson - visited Ipswich Museum on 3 April 2019 The plant fossils at Ipswich Museum range from Devonian (eg Archaeopteris) to Quaternary (eg archaeological sub-fossils) in age. They include Carboniferous adpressions from the UK’s Coal Measures, Mesozoic...