Hurleston Brooch


Hurleston Brooch on show in Museum

The Hurleston Brooch - in close-up and shown by Museum Curator, Anne Wheeler
A MEDIEVAL brooch discovered in 2009 during a metal detecting rally at Hurleston, near Nantwich, is on show at the Museum. Known as the Hurleston Brooch, the solid gold artefact, which is about 30mm across, is highly decorative, ornate and a fine example of its type. It must have belonged to a wealthy individual and would have served to symbolise that person's wealth and high status. The brooch has been acquired by the Museum (see below) where it makes an attractive addition to existing displays. It helps to illustrate the role that jewellery has played through the ages with particular reference to this locality. Previously, no brooches in the Museum's collection predated the 19th century. There is a plain buckle of similar date on permanent display in the Museum. Having been declared Treasure Trove, the brooch was offered to Nantwich as the nearest accredited museum to the find site.

We have reached the target to buy brooch GRANTS totalling £3,000 were awarded by the V&A / MLA Purchase Grant Fund and the Headley Trust to buy the Hurleston Brooch but that was only part of the cost of the artefact and the Museum had to find a further £500 from its own funds and local sources, including donations. Now we are pleased to say that we have reached our target and raised enough to cover the entire cost of purchasing the brooch. We received donations totalling £284.75 towards the purchase, and then a telephone call from David Fishburne of The Rotary Club of Nantwich confirmed that the organisation would donate £215.25 from their Christmas sleigh collection towards our fund. So we have reached our target and the appeal is closed. A Museum spokesperson said: "This is great news. Nantwich Museum is very grateful to the Rotary Club of Nantwich and to everyone who contributed to the purchase. "Donations were received from various individuals and organisations including an anonymous donation of £100 and £100 from Nantwich Town Council. The appeal fund got off to a good start when Nantwich Town Councillor Norma Simpson (left), a member of the Museum Trust, made a donation of £50. She commented at the time: "Nantwich's history is very important and must be preserved for the benefit of all. The addition of the Hurleston Brooch to the collection will help to attract more visitors to the Museum."
Hoard of Roman coins found at Barbridge \| The Worleston Ring