Donate an Object to the National Horseracing Museum

The National Horseracing Museum cares for a collection of almost 10,000 items. Objects in our collections are carefully documented and maintained at great time and cost. As a result, we cannot accept every item offered to the museum.

Objects accepted by the museum must closely align with our Collections Development Policy.

We may decline an offer if:

  • We have example(s) in our collections already or our collection is well developed in that subject matter.
  • The object is better fitted to another museum or collection. We will endeavour to provide contact details for suggested alternatives.
  • The proposed gift is in poor condition.
  • We do not possess space and/or resources to safely store and care for the object.
  • The current ownership of the object is unknown or disputed.
  • The condition or materials of the object pose a safety risk.

How to offer an item for donation

If you have an object that you would like to donate to the National Horseracing Museum, please fill out our Donation Offer Form and send it to twatson@nhrm.co.uk.

Or by post to:

FAO NHRM Packard Collections Manager,
National Horseracing Museum,
Palace St,
Newmarket,
CB8 8EP

Download Donation Offer Form (Word)

Download Donation Offer Form (PDF)

Donations by post or in person

The National Horseracing Museum does not accept offers of objects brought in or sent to the museum. Objects brought to the museum or send by post without a prior agreement will be returned or disposed of.

Ownership is only transferred to NHRM if we formally accept an object. Sending and bringing objects to the museum takes time and resources away from looking after our collections. Please only send or bring an object to NHRM if our Collections Manager has already agreed to accept it into our collections.

All potential donations are reviewed monthly by our collections committee. We endeavour to reply to all donation queries but we receive a high number of donation offers and may not be able to respond to all offers. If you have not received a reply within 2 months of your query, please assume that we will not be adding your item to our collection.