Archaeology

The bulk of the museum archaeological collection originates from the site of the former Summerlee Iron Works on which the museum is situated. Most items are industrial and arise from the early 19th century to mid 20th century.

Applied Art

This collection is small and includes pottery, glass, silverware and horology.

Fine Art

This collection is very small and contains paintings, drawings and prints. Almost all the works have strong associations with the Monklands District, being historical views, portraits of local people or works illustrating aspects of daily life. The exception being three works by Ken Currie, which depict industrial workers.

Numismatics

The collection includes a small number of medals, Scottish trade tokens, miners' tallies and coins of the realm.

Social History

The social history collection relates mainly to the communities involved with iron and steel, coal and mineral extraction, engineering and associated industries. It covers the following main areas: (1) Domestic life - household items (including furniture), item associated with food, drink and tobacco, as wll as liesure time items; (2) Comunnity life - local and cultural traditions (including religious beliefs), guilds, tade unions, friendly societies, political groups, the Cooperative movement, law enforcement, health, welfare, education, housing, sanitation and wartime life; (3) Personal items - including items of costume (mainly female and child) and textiles; (4) Working life - industrial costume, hand tools, service industry items, retail trade, domestic, catering and communications.

Industrial History

The museum has a large collection of industrial material ranging from large individual plant to small hand tools. The collection covers the main industries of Scotland with an emphasis on iron and steel, coal and engineering.

Transport

Throughout Summerlee's 27 acre site a road, rail tram network is being developed.