Our archive material dates from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day and spans the history of rugby from its amateur origins through to materials which reflect the game in its present professionalised form. Our collection is the world's leading resource of research material for charting the history of the game.

Of outstanding archival importance are the game's first written laws which, together with the RFU's minutes, date from 1871. The RFU's minutes form undoubtedly the single most important, continuous archive in rugby's history. They give a unique insight and perspective into every major issue and development the sport has seen. The archive is complemented by over 9,500 photographs, beginning with 'A Bigside at Rugby' which dates from 1860 and is the first known photograph of the sport, through to the current day.

We also have a large range of ephemera, including tickets, dinner menus and programmes.

Our fine and decorative art collections include oils and watercolours, charcoal, pastel and ink drawings, bronze sculptures and plaster casts. We have a number of gifts and trophies given to the RFU over the organisation's long history. The significance of these objects to our collection is both historical and aesthetic, giving an insight into the development of rugby across the world and a window on different cultures.

Our collection of approximately 650 posters and prints span from the nineteenth century to the present day and include some classic London Transport and wartime recruitment posters. Included in this collection is a beautiful, original study by Dame Laura Knight and some wonderful early typographical examples.

We also have a large range of ephemera, including tickets, dinner menus and programmes.

Object donations

The museum collection is always growing and new items are often acquired through generous private donations. If you would like to offer an object for donation to the museum collection, please email [email protected] and include:

• Details of what is being offered. If you are offering multiple items, please send an itemised list so that we can check our collection for duplicates.
• Provenance - Are you the legal owner? How did you acquire the object(s)? Do you know anything about the original/previous owner(s)?
• Photographs of the object(s) to help us to assess condition and relevance.

We will then let you know whether the objects meet our collecting criteria and if so, we will advise on how to get them to the museum.

Please do not send objects to the World Rugby Museum, Rugby Football Union or Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, before a member of the museum team has confirmed that we are able to accept them.

Unsolicited donations

Please do not send any objects to the World Rugby Museum, Rugby Football Union or Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, without prior arrangement. This costs us storage space and valuable staff time.

Please do not send donations anonymously. The acquisition process makes the museum the legal owner of the object, so it is important that we know who sent it.

If we are unable to contact the sender within eight weeks of receiving the object(s), the object(s) will be deemed transferred to the museum. The object(s) will be disposed if our collecting criteria are not met.

Please note:

• We cannot guarantee that any donated item will be put on display. About 99% of our collection is in storage, but these items are still important - they may be displayed in exhibitions, consulted by researchers or featured in online content.
• The museum is not able to provide valuations. If you have an item that you would like valued, please contact a specialist sports memorabilia auctioneer.
• Before contacting us about an object that has a family connection, please ensure that the rest of the family is happy for the object(s) to be donated. Once accessioned, the museum becomes the legal owner of the object, and it cannot be easily returned.
• If you would prefer to retain ownership of an item, the museum may consider a long-term loan (usually five years), depending on the object's display potential. Please get in contact, following the same procedure as per object donations, above.
• Some items may be more suitable for club / county archives. If this is the case, we will let you know.
• We do not acquire photocopies or scans, except in rare circumstances.
• Please do not bring items to the museum without contacting us. Curatorial staff may not be available to discuss the items at the time of your visit. The museum is unable to store items for consideration or return them by post.