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21st February 2018

This month I am visiting one of Northamptonshire's most interesting exhibits. It's hidden away in plain sight and costs nothing to visit. It has WiFi, a great view of the town, and you are assured of the warmest of welcomes. I am visiting the National Leather Collection, located on the second floor in the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Northampton. It is probably the largest collection of leather objects in the world.

Northampton has long been the spiritual home of leatherworking in the UK, so when the National Leather Collection was looking for a home, our Borough Council felt it made sense to relocate it to our County town. It's been with us since 1978, most recently housed in a few rooms in Abington Park Museum. In 2016 the collection was lovingly packed up and moved to the centre of town, and hard work began to convert what had previously been offices into an exciting space where members of the public can engage with this truly awesome collection. There are over 5000 leather objects, the oldest being over 3500 years old from Ancient Egypt, and the most recent being a pair of shoes belonging to the James Bond from 'Spectre', autographed by Daniel Craig.

I met the curator, Philip Warner who is leading the renaissance of this museum. He is enthusiastic about the potential of the site to provide a resource for visitors to engage with the collection in the way that works best for them. He and his team are happy to demonstrate leather working techniques. Visitors can have a go, and it is such fun! The leather industry is not without its controversies, and there are conversations to be had about the ethics of humans using animals as a resource. Philip is open to discussion, and supports PETA in many of its aims, but he points out that leather has played an important role in the civilisation of humanity. The Museum is taking part in the BBC 'Civilisations' Festival, with a special exhibition in early March. It will include items that have 'been essential to life, and also items of exquisite luxury'. It sounds fabulous!

So what can you see? Anything that you expect to find made of leather, and many more items besides. There are some wonderful tales to be told about the owners of some of the items, such as the legendary Leslie Swaby who made a fortune gambling on greyhound racing in the 1960s. He loved to flash his cash, and bought his wife Vera an Ocelot fur coat with some of his huge winnings. Not something anyone today might approve of, but at nearly 60 years old the coat looks to be in perfect condition.

I asked Philip which was his favourite item. He picked up a small leather covered lime wood box, embellished with incised decoration including the Virgin and Child. It is French, it might be as much as 700 years old and was probably made to hold a relic. 'There is so much to learn about this box, who made it? Where did they copy the decoration from, was it a manuscript perhaps?' If this sort of thing interests you, there are opportunities for volunteer researchers to help the team learn more about the collection. In fact, Philip is looking for volunteers to do all sorts of things, to welcome visitors, to help with crafting, or even to suggest their own roles, there's plenty to do!

The Collection has been funded by an HLF grant, the Leathersellers Guild, and the Northamptonshire Borough Council. The future of this internationally important museum is not yet clear, and donations of time, objects and cash are welcome.

For opening times and to learn more about the National Leather Collection, please visit www.nationalleathercollection.org

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