Privacy Policy: Last updated: May 2026

 

1. Who We Are

The Brown Collection is a privately funded museum based in England. We are committed to protecting the personal information of our visitors, newsletter subscribers, and all individuals who engage with us. 

This policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, and your rights under UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018).

2. Information We Collect

Visitors to Our Museum

When you visit The Brown Collection, our staff record a small number of anonymous details to help us understand and improve the visitor experience. This information is recorded by staff on your behalf and includes:

• Approximate time of arrival

• Source of visit (how the visitor came to learn of The Brown Collection)

• Visitor feedback regarding the space

Importantly, this information is entirely anonymous. We do not record your name, contact details, or any other information that could identify you. Because this data cannot be linked to any individual, it does not constitute personal data under UK GDPR.

Newsletter Subscribers

You can sign up for our newsletter in two ways:

• In person, by adding your name and email address to our physical sign-up book located in the museum space. Details collected this way are periodically uploaded to Mailchimp by our staff. 

• Online, via our website, where you can submit your name and email address directly to our Mailchimp mailing list.

We add individuals to our mailing list only after they have voluntarily provided their details through one of these two methods. We do not add anyone to our mailing list without their knowledge or consent.

When you subscribe, we collect:

• Your name

• Your email address

• Your consent record (date and method of sign-up)

Website Visitors

When you visit our website, we may automatically collect:

• Your IP address and browser type

• Pages visited and time spent on our site

• Data collected via Google Analytics (see Section 6)

Children

The Brown Collection occasionally runs programmes that may involve children under 16. Where we collect any personal data relating to children (for example, parental contact details for an event), we will always seek explicit consent from a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children without parental consent.

CCTV

We operate CCTV cameras on our premises for the safety and security of our visitors, staff, and collection. CCTV footage is recorded continuously during opening hours.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To collect anonymous visitor insight data (arrival time, how visitors found us, and enjoyment of the space) to improve our museum and programming and to inform the effectiveness of our marketing efforts 

• To send our monthly email newsletter and updates about exhibitions and events (with your explicit consent)

• To improve our website and visitor experience using anonymous analytics data

• To maintain the safety and security of our premises via CCTV

• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations

4. Our Lawful Basis for Processing

5. Email Newsletter

We use Mailchimp to manage and send our email newsletter. By subscribing, you agree to your data being processed by Mailchimp in accordance with their privacy policy, available at mailchimp.com/legal/privacy.

You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email, or by contacting us directly at contact@glenn-brown.co.uk.

6. Cookies and Google Analytics

Our website uses Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use our website. This involves the use of cookies – small text files stored on your device.

Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit the site, which pages they visit, and which other sites they visited prior to visiting. We use this data solely to improve our website and visitor experience. The data is anonymised and does not identify you personally.

You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

You may also manage or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time.

7. CCTV

CCTV footage is stored securely and is only accessed by authorised staff when required for security purposes. Footage is retained for 90 days, after which it is automatically overwritten unless required for an ongoing security matter or legal investigation.

8. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it only in the following limited circumstances:

• With Mailchimp, as our email newsletter provider, for the purpose of delivering our newsletter

• With Google, for the purpose of website analytics via Google Analytics

• With legal or regulatory authorities, if required to do so by law

All third-party providers we use are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with UK data protection law.

9. Data Retention

10. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you

• Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data

• Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances

• Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to limit how we use your data

• Right to object — you can object to us processing your data based on legitimate interests

• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 13.

11. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. Our email newsletter data is held securely by Mailchimp, and CCTV footage is stored on a password-protected system with restricted access.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The most recent version will always be available on our website and at our museum entrance. We will notify newsletter subscribers of any significant changes.

13. Contact Us & Complaints

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:

The Brown Collection 

Email: contact@glenn-brown.co.uk

The Brown Collection is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under registration number ZC152014.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

• Website: ico.org.uk

• Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF