The collection includes easel paintings, miniature portraits, ceramics, jewellery, plate, furniture, books, manuscripts, prints, photographs, sculpture and textiles. Many items are available to view in the Portland Collection Museum and on guided tours of Welbeck Abbey.
The Curatorial department receives a high volume of research enquiries, which we aim to reply to within two weeks of receipt. Our catalogue is not currently accessible to the public. However, we are happy to undertake basic searches up to a maximum of 30 minutes. After this, if the staff member believes that a longer search might be beneficial, you will be given the choice whether to continue at a charge of £20 per hour; however, there is no guarantee that the additional time will yield the desired results.
To make a research request, please complete the contact form at the bottom of this page, giving as much specific information as possible about your research focus.
The majority of the Welbeck archive is now held by the University of Nottingham Special Collections and Nottinghamshire Archives. Please consult their catalogues in the first instance. The remaining manuscripts at Welbeck include recipes collected by family members of the Dukes of Portland, fragmented correspondence, and the Welbeck Abbey visitor books, among other varied items. The library contains over 4,000 individual volumes dating from the 15th to the 21st centuries.Â
We do not currently have a publicly accessible catalogue of the archival collection or library. However, we are happy to undertake basic searches up to a maximum of 30 minutes. After this, if the staff member believes that a longer search might be beneficial, you will be given the choice whether to continue at a charge of £20 per hour, however, there is no guarantee that the additional time will yield the desired results.
Please note that we are unable to answer enquiries relating to the history of properties owned by, or formerly owned by, the Welbeck Estate. The archives do not contain information about dates of construction for individual buildings or historic photographs of properties.
To make a research request, please complete the contact form at the bottom of this page, giving as much specific information as possible about your research focus.
Over the course of Welbeck’s history, thousands of people have worked or lived on the Welbeck Estate.
Our Curatorial Department have compiled a database that lists staff and servants dating back to the 17th century.
We offer research access to the Portland Collection at a cost of £40 per day. Visits are by appointment only, and as a busy department we are not always able to accommodate researchers on the day of their choice. Usual opening hours are between 10am and 3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Appointments must be made with a minimum of two weeks’ notice, in order to arrange access and retrieve objects. No guarantee can be given to access additional objects not requested in advance. The Curatorial team are happy to undertake searches of the catalogue up to a maximum of 30 minutes, after which there is a charge of £20 per hour.
To submit a research visit application, please complete the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Researchers may take their own photographs of library and archival items for the purposes of non-commercial research and private study during a visit. For other collection items, photography is permitted at the curator’s discretion.
The charge for this is £15 per day, and you will be asked to fill in a copyright declaration form. No photography of the interiors of Welbeck Abbey or estate buildings is permitted.
The Curatorial team can provide images for non-commercial research or private study purposes. Please complete the contact form below with details of your request.
Where new scans or photography are required, there is a charge of £8 for the first image of each item, then £0.80 per subsequent image of the same item. This covers the cost of retrieving the item, setting up equipment and carrying out a condition check.
If a high-resolution image is required, we may be able to arrange for a quote from a professional photographer.
If you wish to reproduce an image in a publication, exhibition or online, you must obtain a high-resolution image and a license. All licensing enquiries should be directed to Bridgeman Images: uksales@bridgemanimages.com
If you have an item of historic relevance to Welbeck that you think we would be interested in acquiring, please contact the Curatorial Department using the form below with as much information as possible about the item(s). Donations are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Please contact us in advance and do not send items through the post or leave them at any Welbeck building anonymously. If your donation is accepted into the collection, you will be asked to sign a transfer of title agreement.
The Curatorial Department can advise on the cultural, social or historic importance of items but cannot provide monetary valuations.
The Portland Collection Museum displays the historic art collection of the Dukes of Portland and their families.
On display is an astonishing selection of fine art and objects, which range from ancient Roman gems to the pearl earring that Charles I wore at his beheading. Artists include Van Dyck, Michelangelo, Marcus Gheerhaets and Brueghal the Elder.
