Animal bones found in the ruins of a North Yorkshire monastery that could, thrillingly, be the remains of England’s last known wolf are part of the collection. As are a celebrated Vermeer masterpiece, the Duke of Wellington’s false teeth, more than 60,000 coins and almost 300 dessert plates. “It is eclectic,” said Kevin Booth, English Heritage’s head collections curator of the more than 1m objects in the charity’s care.
“It is a slightly random collection and is just so intriguing. It is such a broad spectrum of material that has, in some ways, been accumulated, unlike a classic collection where there might be an element of selection.” Booth was speaking about the launch of a fundraising campaign, , which aims to raise money to help care for and better understand the historic artefacts it looks after, whether neolithic flints or curtains.
English Heritage said rising costs and pressures on funding had put a strain on its ability to maintain and research what is an internationally important historic collection. “It’s a huge and expensive undertaking,” said Booth. “We need the public’s help.
” Booth said there were many stories still to be uncovered from objects in its collection including the tantalising story of the Fountains Abbey wolf. Although the abbey, near Ripon, is in the care of the National Trust, English Heritage is responsible for artefacts from the ruins. They include a canine skull and bones that were excavated from a latrine shaft in t.
