Tips on Searching
Homepage Search
From this page you can search across all the collections for information about objects, art and photographs. Enter a word or phrase in the Search box at the top of the homepage and click 'Search'. Winchester Collections Online will then search for your word or phrase.
Please note that you need to be quite specific in your choice, or you may find some records that you did not expect. For example, if you type 'shop' in the Search box, Winchester Collections Online will find all records with the word 'shop' in and also the same string of letters within words like 'Bishop' eg Bishop's Palace, Bishops Waltham.
Searching a specific collection
Select a collection on the homepage, e.g. archaeology, photographs, etc. You can then explore each one of the museums collections in more depth, using the 'who', 'what', 'when', 'where' and 'categories' searches.
Searching 'Who'
This search will find people or organisations that are related to an object or image, for example
- A photographer
- An artist
- A portrait sitter
- A moneyer
- A manufacturer
- A company name
Either type a name in the free text search box or chose from the dropdown list.
Searching 'What'
This search will find a particular type of object e.g. an 'axehead' or an 'oil painting'. Either type an object into the free text search box or select an object from the dropdown list.
Searching 'Where'
This search will find a place relating to an object or image, be it a street name, town or Country. Either type a particular place in the free text search box or select a place from the dropdown list.
Searching 'When'
This search has two different ways of selecting a time period.
- You can either type in dates in the 'after' and 'before' date if you have a particular time span in mind (year only).
- Select a period from the dropdown list and press select for the Archaeology collections or select a date from the dropdown list for all other collections.
Clarification of time periods:
| Palaeolithic | 500000BC to 8000BC |
| Mesolithic | 8000BC to 4000BC |
| Neolithic | 4000BC to 2200BC |
| Bronze Age | 2500BC to 700BC |
| Iron Age | 700BC to 43 |
| Roman | 43 to 410 |
| Anglo-Saxon | 410 to 1066 |
| Medieval | 1066 to 1500 |
| post-medieval | 1501 - 1901 |
| Tudor | 1485 to 1603 |
| Stuart | 1603 to 1714 |
| Georgian | 1714 to 1837 |
| Victorian | 1837 to 1901 |
| Edwardian | 1901 to 1910 |
| Modern | 1901 to present |
Searching 'Category'
This search covers themes within a collection, e.g. within the photographic collection select 'churches' and the results will show all churches from all periods and locations. Either type a category into the free text search box or select a category from the dropdown list.
Search Results
This page shows the results of your search. At the top of the page you can see the word you searched for and how many objects, photographic and art records Winchester Online Collections found. Below this are thumbnail links to each object, picture or photograph. Scroll through the list until you find what you are looking for, or something that looks interesting, then click on the image to take you to the full record. You can refine your search by placing a tick beside the thumbnails you want to look at.
Record
This page gives you information about a specific object, picture or photograph in the collections. On the right of the screen is an image of the object/picture/photograph. To view a larger version of the image, click on the actual image. On the left of the image is information about the object/picture/photograph. As well as a description, Winchester Collections Online tells you where you can find it, if it is on public display, and its unique museum number.
If you want further information about an object or image, e.g. order a photograph, contact the relevant curator, whose details can be found on the Contacts page.
Topic Page
Topic pages provide background information relating to objects, pictures, photographs in the Winchester Collections Online. They may be about cultures, historical periods, specific places, archaeological sites, people, types of objects, materials and techniques.
To view a topic page either click on 'topic pages' from the homepage or click the link at the bottom of a record to view. The topic page will allow you to view all objects, picture, photographs relating to that particular topic.