Step back in time and explore our Library Collections
Learn about our region’s proud heritage through our impressive collections.
Delve into our archive materials and discover secrets from days gone by on our shelves.
Our collections include the Border Library Collection at Hexham Old Gaol, the mining library at Woodhorn Museum and the William Alfred Cocks music collection at Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum. Berwick Museum and Art Gallery also houses the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club Library.
Perhaps one of the best-known Libraries under our care is the Border Library Collection at Hexham Old Gaol. It’s made up of music, photographs, poetry and books related to the area and also includes hand written copies of Border Ballads – traditional songs sung by local families.
A star of Berwick’s collections is the “Quintet”; a bound collection of 13 volumes of illustrated letters, photographs, newspaper cuttings and watercolours – a snapshot of Edwardian life.
Keen to explore the area’s secrets? Turn the pages and visit key moments in our region’s vast history.
Please note that not all of the collections in the care of Museums Northumberland are on public display. If you’d like to see an object in the collections please get in touch with us using the online enquiry form.