museum project: introduction

As a group of Rovers fans we want to tell the story of DRFC. We have begun cataloguing the heritage items in fan collections, the club's official archive and elsewhere. We aim to make that collection available both digitally online and physically in an exhibition people can visit: the Doncaster Rovers Football Museum.

We have almost 150 years of history. So the Museum Project will not be a quick fix. Nor will this simple pilot website be the final version. This is just the start. It's merely a way of visualising the types of content and thinking through what we want to achieve and how we'll achieve it.

The project began in September 2023 when the suggestion of creating a DRFC 'virtual museum' was discussed via the online forum of the  Viking Supporters Co-operative (the Supporters' Trust for DRFC). There followed several meetings of interested fans and a great deal of thought, discussion and research around what this might look like. There were more meetings with external parties and possible partners. We discussed how and when it could be achieved, who would produce it and what it might cost - if we had any money.

We soon realised just how complex the task was. The online or 'virtual' always seems to promise something quick and easy in contrast to the problems of the 'real' world.  The reality is often different. It was obvious at an early stage that a virtual museum is still based around physical objects, hence many of the problems are the same  for a 'virtual' collection as for a 'real' museum.

So we decided to embrace this idea and work towards both a digital and physical collection simultaneously. We knew neither would be achieved quickly or without cost. 

In November 2024 we decided to start an Instagram account as a way of demonstrating content and kicking off the project without any funds.  Later we mirrored the same content via Facebook. It's known as Doncaster Rovers Virtual Museum.

That work continues. Effectively it is a pilot 'virtual museum' but without much structure or easy means of navigation for the user. It was a simple, cheap and cheerful way of getting the ball rolling and engaging fans and others with the idea.

We have also held 'Heritage Happenings' in public libraries around Doncaster. These pop-up exhibitions have further demonstrated what we're doing and engaged more people in the idea.

But social media are not as accessible and open as a website. To access our content on Instagram and Facebook, users must first be registered with those platforms. Many people, for various reasons, do not use those platforms at all, or not much. The web is far simpler, more open and accessible. 

So in November 2025 we have started building a very simple pilot website.

Our aim once again is to test ideas, think through the process, see what works for now and which elements we will have to leave for the future. We can envisage a far more complex searchable online resource in future. But this basic 'Under Construction' website is where we are for now.