URL: https://democracy.ipswich.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=1400

Decision Maker: Officer Decision

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Purpose: This decision relates to the approval of seven loan requests for items in the Ipswich Borough Council museum collections. The loans to Essex Fire Museum, Hollytrees Museum and the Musée du Quai Branly are new requests and those to Uvedale Hall, Norfolk Museums Service,Colchester Museums and the National Horseracing Museum are renewals of existing loans.   1.    Essex Fire Museum, Grays (IPSMG: LO.2025.08) Loan commences: 19 December 2025 Loan ends: 19 December 2028   IPSMG:R.1954.123 A four-wheeled, wooden, horse-drawn manual fire engine. Painted red and with 'Ixworth Fire Brigade' on side in a tan colour. Shafts for two or more horses to pull the engine. Associated with Ixworth, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Height: 2.1 m; length: 3.6 m; width: 1.9 m.   The Ixworth fire engine has been on loan to The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, since 1992. The Food Museum no longer requires this loan and has asked to return it to Ipswich. However, there is no space for the fire engine to be stored by Ipswich Museums and there are no plans for it to be put on public display. As a result, it has been arranged that the fire engine will be loaned to the Essex Fire Museum, part of the Essex County Fire & Rescue Service. Due to time pressures at The Food Museum the fire engine needs to be removed from their premises and relocated to the Essex Fire Museum on 19 December 205. It is proposed that the loan is for three years with the option of further renewal for three-year periods.   2.    Hollytrees Museum, Colchester (IPSMG: LO.2025.09) Loan commences: 16 March 2026 Loan ends: 19 October 2027 Exhibition dates: 30 March 2026 – 4 October 2027   A collection of 18 geological fossils, botanical specimens and casts requested for a temporary exhibition entitled ‘Discover’ which focuses on objects not normally on display from Archaeology and Natural History to Fashion and Art. As the exhibition evolves over its 18-month run, visitors will have the opportunity to share stories of the objects that they have found and a chance to see their objects displayed as part of the exhibition. Some, at least, of these items will feature in a planned dinosaur exhibition at an Ipswich venue in 2028.   3.    Uvedale Hall Residential Care Home, Needham Market (IPSMG:2010.10) Loan commences: 1 February 2026 Loan ends: 1 February 2029 IPSMG:R.1918.41 ‘Portrait of Robert Uvedale’ by an unknown artist, early 18th century, oil on canvas.   This painting has been on loan to Uvedale Hall since 1989, with the loan being renewed in 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2022. It is displayed in the dining room at the care home. The portrait has been regularly reviewed in situ by Ipswich Museums’ Conservation Officer and was last seen in 2022. It is an important part of the history of Uvedale Hall and Ipswich staff have no current plans to display the painting in any forthcoming exhibitions or in the galleries of the redeveloped Ipswich Museum.   4.    Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris (IPSMG:LO.2025.02)   Loan commences: 14 September 2026 Loan ends: 7 February 2027 Exhibition dates: 28 September 2026 – 24 January 2027.   This loan is for a temporary exhibition, First Nations from the Northwest Coast of Canada, and relates to eight objects from the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America in the Ipswich Borough Council collections. The exhibition aims to illustrate, from both an anthropological and historical perspective, the extraordinary cultural and artistic development of the First Nations of the Northwest Coast of Canada. The arts have always been at the centre of First Nations’ preoccupations for transmitting information and, more recently, for revitalising important aspects of their culture and world views.   All but one of the objects requested were previously lent to the Sainsbury Centre for their 2023 exhibition ‘Empowering Art: Indigenous Creativity and Activism from North America’s Northwest Coast’. The exception is the copper club (IPSMG:R.1992.90.663).   The exhibition in Paris provides an opportunity to display Ipswich Museum objects in an international setting, thereby raising the profile of the town’s collections. It is also the chance to collaborate with a major European world cultures museum, providing an opportunity for Ipswich curators to discover more about the loaned items and as a result be better placed to interpret these items when they go on display in the refurbished Ipswich Museum.   5.    Norfolk Museums Service (NMS), Norwich Castle (LO.2013.07) Loan commences: 1 January 2026 Loan ends: 1 January 2029   IPSMG: R.1936.84 A modern replica of the Head of Claudius, the original Roman sculpture being in the British Museum.   The loan was originally approved for a three-year period in 2013 and subsequently renewed in 2016, 2019 and 2022. It is currently on display in the Boudica Gallery at Norwich Castle Museum, and its condition has been recently checked by an NMS conservator. There are no current plans to display this replica in an Ipswich museum venue. 6.    Colchester Castle Museum (LO.2014.09) Loan commences: 1 January 2026 Loan ends: 1 January 2029   These objects have been at Colchester Castle since 2014, with the loan last being renewed in 2022. The nine items were originally selected because they tell stories which cannot be illustrated from the objects available in the Colchester City Council museum collection. There are no current plans to display these objects in a temporary exhibition or in the new displays at Ipswich Museum.   7.    National Horse Racing Museum, Newmarket (LO.2015.02) Loan commences: 1 January 2026 Loan ends: 1 January 2029   IPSMG: R.1935.304 ‘The Hawking Party’ by Jan Wyck, c. 1700, oil on canvas This loan was originally made in 2015 and renewed in 2021.   Displayed in the Packard Galleries, Palace House, the Hawking Party forms an integral part of the displays and is well received by visitors. Ipswich Museum staff have no current plans for displaying this painting in an Ipswich museum venue.

Content: This decision relates to the approval of seven loan requests for items in the Ipswich Borough Council museum collections. The loans to Essex Fire Museum, Hollytrees Museum and the Musée du Quai Branly are new requests and those to Uvedale Hall, Norfolk Museums Service,Colchester Museums and the National Horseracing Museum are renewals of existing loans.   1.    Essex Fire Museum, Grays (IPSMG: LO.2025.08) Loan commences: 19 December 2025 Loan ends: 19 December 2028   IPSMG:R.1954.123 A four-wheeled, wooden, horse-drawn manual fire engine. Painted red and with 'Ixworth Fire Brigade' on side in a tan colour. Shafts for two or more horses to pull the engine. Associated with Ixworth, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Height: 2.1 m; length: 3.6 m; width: 1.9 m.   The Ixworth fire engine has been on loan to The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, since 1992. The Food Museum no longer requires this loan and has asked to return it to Ipswich. However, there is no space for the fire engine to be stored by Ipswich Museums and there are no plans for it to be put on public display. As a result, it has been arranged that the fire engine will be loaned to the Essex Fire Museum, part of the Essex County Fire & Rescue Service. Due to time pressures at The Food Museum the fire engine needs to be removed from their premises and relocated to the Essex Fire Museum on 19 December 205. It is proposed that the loan is for three years with the option of further renewal for three-year periods.   2.    Hollytrees Museum, Colchester (IPSMG: LO.2025.09) Loan commences: 16 March 2026 Loan ends: 19 October 2027 Exhibition dates: 30 March 2026 – 4 October 2027   A collection of 18 geological fossils, botanical specimens and casts requested for a temporary exhibition entitled ‘Discover’ which focuses on objects not normally on display from Archaeology and Natural History to Fashion and Art. As the exhibition evolves over its 18-month run, visitors will have the opportunity to share stories of the objects that they have found and a chance to see their objects displayed as part of the exhibition. Some, at least, of these items will feature in a planned dinosaur exhibition at an Ipswich venue in 2028.   3.    Uvedale Hall Residential Care Home, Needham Market (IPSMG:2010.10) Loan commences: 1 February 2026 Loan ends: 1 February 2029 IPSMG:R.1918.41 ‘Portrait of Robert Uvedale’ by an unknown artist, early 18th century, oil on canvas.   This painting has been on loan to Uvedale Hall since 1989, with the loan being renewed in 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2022. It is displayed in the dining room at the care home. The portrait has been regularly reviewed in situ by Ipswich Museums’ Conservation Officer and was last seen in 2022. It is an important part of the history of Uvedale Hall and Ipswich staff have no current plans to display the painting in any forthcoming exhibitions or in the galleries of the redeveloped Ipswich Museum.   4.    Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris (IPSMG:LO.2025.02)   Loan commences: 14 September 2026 Loan ends: 7 February 2027 Exhibition dates: 28 September 2026 – 24 January 2027.   This loan is for a temporary exhibition, First Nations from the Northwest Coast of Canada, and relates to eight objects from the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America in the Ipswich Borough Council collections. The exhibition aims to illustrate, from both an anthropological and historical perspective, the extraordinary cultural and artistic development of the First Nations of the Northwest Coast of Canada. The arts have always been at the centre of First Nations’ preoccupations for transmitting information and, more recently, for revitalising important aspects of their culture and world views.   All but one of the objects requested were previously lent to the Sainsbury Centre for their 2023 exhibition ‘Empowering Art: Indigenous Creativity and Activism from North America’s Northwest Coast’. The exception is the copper club (IPSMG:R.1992.90.663).   The exhibition in Paris provides an opportunity to display Ipswich Museum objects in an international setting, thereby raising the profile of the town’s collections. It is also the chance to collaborate with a major European world cultures museum, providing an opportunity for Ipswich curators to discover more about the loaned items and as a result be better placed to interpret these items when they go on display in the refurbished Ipswich Museum.   5.    Norfolk Museums Service (NMS), Norwich Castle (LO.2013.07) Loan commences: 1 January 2026 Loan ends: 1 January 2029   IPSMG: R.1936.84 A modern replica of the Head of Claudius, the original Roman sculpture being in the British Museum.   The loan was originally approved for a three-year period in 2013 and subsequently renewed in 2016, 2019 and 2022. It is currently on display in the Boudica Gallery at Norwich Castle Museum, and its condition has been recently checked by an NMS conservator. There are no current plans to display this replica in an Ipswich museum venue. 6.    Colchester Castle Museum (LO.2014.09) Loan commences: 1 January 2026 Loan ends: 1 January 2029   These objects have been at Colchester Castle since 2014, with the loan last being renewed in 2022. The nine items were originally selected because they tell stories which cannot be illustrated from the objects available in the Colchester City Council museum collection. There are no current plans to display these objects in a temporary exhibition or in the new displays at Ipswich Museum.   7.    National Horse Racing Museum, Newmarket (LO.2015.02) Loan commences: 1 January 2026 Loan ends: 1 January 2029   IPSMG: R.1935.304 ‘The Hawking Party’ by Jan Wyck, c. 1700, oil on canvas This loan was originally made in 2015 and renewed in 2021.   Displayed in the Packard Galleries, Palace House, the Hawking Party forms an integral part of the displays and is well received by visitors. Ipswich Museum staff have no current plans for displaying this painting in an Ipswich museum venue. To approve the loans to Essex Fire Museum, Hollytrees Museum and the Musée du Quai Branly and to approve the renewal of loans to Uvedale Hall, Norfolk Museums Service, Colchester Museums and the National Horseracing Museum.   Reason: To allow for the Ipswich Borough Collections to be seen by the wider public.

Date of Decision: December 16, 2025