The Arts Society Wirral | Hertiage Volunteers

Heritage Volunteers from The Arts Society Wirral work in small friendly groups to support local museums, archives and institutions by undertaking conservation work. Our members use their skills and talents to provide careful and supervised restoration, cataloguing or research, and enjoy finding hidden treasures or caring for old documents, maps and books. Restored artefacts can be displayed and enjoyed in temporary public exhibitions, used for research projects and conserved for future generations. All our teams receive full training and ongoing supervision to ensure the highest standards.

If you are interested in joining one of our Volunteer Groups please contact us using the contact button below.

Our current project is long-term work conserving books, prints and maps at The Athenaeum in Liverpool. Please note that these positions are only offered to Arts Society members.

Athenaeum Heritage Open Day

Throughout Athenaeum Heritage Day, visitors were invited into the Committee Room to watch the Arts Society Heritage Volunteers at work, offering a rare behind‑the‑scenes glimpse into the craft of book conservation. With more than 60,000 volumes in the Athenaeum’s historic library, the ongoing care of the collection is both essential and endlessly fascinating. Our volunteers demonstrated the specialist techniques used to preserve these remarkable books for future generations, showing how conservation blends patience and skill.

Across the day the Volunteers showcased a variety of items from the collection, including fragile maps, time‑worn bindings, and volumes in need of careful cleaning. Visitors could observe the gentle surface cleaning that begins the conservation process, followed by the stabilisation of delicate papers and the repair of small tears using heritage‑grade materials. Every mend is carried out using recognised conservation methods.

The demonstrations highlighted how conservation is as much about prevention as repair. Volunteers explained how correct handling, appropriate storage, and environmental awareness all play vital roles in safeguarding the Athenaeum’s holdings. Many visitors were surprised to learn how much can be achieved with simple, non‑invasive techniques—provided they are done with precision and care.

By opening the Committee Room and sharing their work, the Heritage Volunteers helped bring the Athenaeum’s extraordinary library to life. Their demonstrations not only showcased the craftsmanship behind conservation but also celebrated the dedication of those who quietly preserve the stories, knowledge, and artistry contained within this historic collection.

The Heritage Volunteers receiving extra training in the Board Room at the Atheneum.

Here they are being taught how to re-attach book spines using starch paste and museum grade acid free heritage paper.

These are pictures of the volunteers currently working in the Stacks at the Atheneum Library in Liverpool. The conservation team have worked in the library for many years on various different projects. At present all the obituary boxes have been cleaned, repaired and re-covered where necessary.

Photos © David Roscoe

Two of our our volunteers sorting the obituary cards into alphabetical order ready to be placed back into the newly repaired boxes.

Some recent discoveries from the Lever Brothers archive

A Daily Mail cartoon from 1934 showing Winston Churchill in the bath. It is a parody of the upper half of the advertisement 'he won't be happy 'till he gets it!'

A cartoon by Heath Robinson about which we no supporting evidence. Probably from around 1920, presumably intended for a advertisement but never used to our knowledge.

A painted terracotta replica of 'You Dirty Boy' for pharmacists to use as a shop display advertisement. Dates from around 1900. The original bronze by Giovanni Foccardi was copied as a coloured print and used in advertising from 1880. Often parodied in political cartoons.

Beautiful church vestments in Liverpool have recently been restored by our skilled textile team, who enjoyed working together on this long-term project

The Athenaeum Library, Liverpool

Since 1800 there has been a library at the Athenaeum in Liverpool. It houses over 60,000 books plus many maps, pictures and prints and pamphlets, some of which are very rare and valuable.

Over 200 years of wear and tear have naturally taken their toll on the collection and The Arts Society Wirral along with members of The Arts Society Liverpool and The Arts Society Crosby have, for nearly forty years, been beavering away cleaning and repairing items in the library.

Training is provided by Paper Conservator, Ann Stewart, in use of various grades of Japanese paper, heritage paper and starch paste to help prevent further degradation of the library contents by gentle cleaning techniques, mending torn pages, reattaching front and back boards and repairing broken book collars. If the damage is beyond our ability to repair, acid free boxes or wrappers are made. All work carried out has to be reversible.

Of course, volunteers frequently find they are distracted by the interesting contents of the material being conserved, but there is always satisfaction in returning a book that had been falling apart back to the shelf in a useable condition.

Conservator, Ann Stewart instructing the group on working with acid free heritage paper

Two volunteers, Rosemary Clifton and Suzanne Cook, working in the Athenaeum library.