Fancy a Walk?

ChalkEscape 2024 Walking Festival

With the very welcome arrival of spring there has never been a better time to get out and about in Cranborne Chase, with flora and fauna springing to life all around, the countryside is a wonderful mix of inviting colours, sights and sounds.

This year’s ChalkEscape Walking Festival provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy self-led or guided walks.  Our programme of events is available on Eventbrite.

Click for Full Programme

We would also like walkers of all ages and abilities to join us at Broad Chalke on Sunday 26th May where a series of routes, from 1 mile to 10+ miles will be available for people to follow – from ’treasure hunt’ style routes for families (what birds, flowers and more can you spot on your walk?!) to longer more challenging routes for experienced walkers.  At the end join us for a cup of tea/coffee and a chat to the team.

More soon, but the walks are available from 10am to 5pm on 26th May – watch this space!

THE WARDROBE by Volunteer Linda Robson

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Volunteering, Wardrobe, Wilts OPC

You may remember a Blog item from Volunteer Linda Robson a while ago. Her work for Wiltshire OCP on houses in the Close is progressing, and she has promised to send us snippets from time to time. Thank you Linda!

The Wardrobe which  now houses the Military Museum was, in the beginning, the residence of one of the canons who served the Cathedral. It later passed into the hands of the Bishop of Salisbury. It is probable that its use as a storehouse and administrative base for the Bishop’s household led to its name of Le Warderobe, a title first recorded in 1543.

In 1568 the reforming Bishop John Jewel gave it to the Dean and Chapter in exchange for the glass house, where the Cathedral’s windows were made. Possibly because it was closer to the Cathedral and also because now he had no need of the glass house for window making, as he had decreed the smashing of the idolatrous stained glass!
 
With thanks to Annie Boag who used her imagination to do this amusing drawing to picture the Bishop in the Wardrobe…

Love it!

Some of us remember that in the 20th century it was used as accommodation for the students at the College of Sarum St Michael, the teachers’ training college headquartered at The Kings House.

What’s On?

The Salisbury history, ceramics and natural history galleries are currently being fitted out with objects in preparation for re-opening which will be on 13 JULY with a free celebration event.

Entry will be free to all with an official ribbon cutting and placement of the last object in the Salisbury Gallery at 2pm. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Wessex and temporary exhibition galleries remain open.

NB Members and Volunteers ONLY Friday 12 July by arrangement.

Last weekend: Our delightful temporary exhibition entering its last two days…

This exhibition tells the stories of clothes and accessories from the past that have been repurposed, mended, altered and looked after. It asks whether this can inspire us to think differently about sustainable fashion in the future.

Two Rex Whistler events:

Rex Whistler: The Artist and His Patrons – Talk by Nikki Frater

7.30pm Thursday, May 16, 2024 

• £9 Members; £12 Non-members
• Please book here via Eventbrite. 

EXHIBITION Rex Whistler: The Artist and His Patrons

Monday, May 27, 2024 

to Sunday, September 29, 2024

Half Term:

May Half Term ~ Maypole Dance special!

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 

With no Cuckoo Fair in Downton and no Spring Fayre at the museum this year we have combined to create this fun family day at the museum to celebrate the arrival of spring in a truly traditional way.

Watch this space for updates and dance times on this day of May fun for all the family!

FOXTROT CHARLIE sent by Volunteer Alan Crooks

A Chance To Dig!

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Archaeology, Coombe Bissett, Excavation

Coombe Bissett Landscape Research Project 
Experience an archaeological dig

Join us for an upcoming excavation of interesting archaeological features, spotted during recent investigations with LiDAR and geophysical surveys.  

The excavation will run from Monday 6 May to Saturday 18 May (except Sunday 12 May), 1/4 mile up the Old Blandford Road (just past the black barn).  

Experience working on an archaeological dig, and help process the objects that are found. Find the Bronze Age barrow, farm enclosure and lots more…! 

To get involved in all or part of it, sign up as a Chase and Chalke volunteer below…

Sign Up Here

Two Hundred Years Ago

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JMW Turner, John Constable, Salisbury 1824

A view of Salisbury Cathedral, from 1824…

‘Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds’ John Constable 1824

 This was a full-scale study for the picture of 1826 now in the Frick Collection, New York. It was one of several of this view, following a commission from the Bishop, John Fisher and who appears in the bottom left of the painting.

The bucolic view, and casually wandering cattle, tells us quite a lot about Salisbury at that time.

Turner portrayed a similar view about twenty-five years earlier…

‘South View of Salisbury Cathedral’ JMW Turner 1797-98

Even today, the meadows for grazing are only just the other side of the River Avon, which winds south, then east around the Cathedral Close, but in the early nineteenth century, and beyond, cattle were a common sight in the streets, especially on market days.

And 1824 was before the improvements that were made within the City to clear its by-then infamous open drains, so the centre, just beyond the Cathedral as it appears in these paintings, was often filled with muck and stench.

Salisbury had struggled since the glory days of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, and by the late 1700s it was thought that close to half the population was close to the poverty line. The following offer something of a snapshot of life in the City that year. All are from the Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 22nd November 1824:

Poverty tended to beget crime, albeit generally on a small scale, though many minor crimes could earn the guilty a sentence of transportation. If you would like to read more about poverty and crime in Salisbury, try using the search box at the top right.

We have some earlier blogs on the coming of railways to Salisbury. Try this.

‘Trendies’ in Salisbury who have been shopping in Mrs Fisher’s or the Clement’s? From https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1820-1829/ !! if you would like to see more.

From Our Friends…

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CCAONB, Chalke History Festival, Museum of East Dorset

What’s On?Events on Cranborne ChaseCharacters of the Chase – Performance Evening 📅 Wednesday 1st May⏰ 7:00 – 10:00pm 📍 Ancient Technology Centre, Cranborne🪙 FREE ENTRY (Booking Required) Join us, for a very special evening where historical characters of Cranborne Chase will come to life in a performance at the atmospheric Ancient Technology Centre. Book Here

The Chase & Chalke resident artists are currently sharing the wonders and stories of Cranborne Chase National Landscape in a special exhibition supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

⏰During Salisbury Library opening times

📅 30th March – 11th May

📍 The Young Gallery, Market Walk, Salisbury

🪙 FREE ENTRY

Dive into Dorset’s rebellious past at the Museum of East Dorset’s new exhibition, “Rebellion and Revolt.” Explore the tough choices locals faced during the English Civil War and Monmouth Rebellion. Go beyond battles – delve into the moral dilemmas that divided families and friends. The exhibition opens April 27th and runs until October 12th. Don’t miss this chance to see history come alive!

Click here for more information

Day and talk tickets are on sale now!

Festival Programme
 
See the full festival programme, including talks, living history, performances, experiences and much more!
 
CLICK HERE

LUDWELL IN A POSTCARD by Volunteer Alan Clarke

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Ludwell

Salisbury Museum has a large number of postcards in its collection. 

In the “olden days” people’s photographs were made into postcards.  There are many examples of these from before WW1.  We know the dates because of the clear postmarks on them.  Thus we have many photographs of everyday scenes represented in this collection of images.  All the postcards have  been scanned, both front and reverse.

With these photographic postcard images we might know the date but usually little else.  As they were not mass produced, there is seldom any information about the scene.  But is is amazing what one can achieve with a little detective work and Google.  

Here is a street scene of a grand house and a shop.  There are a number of people in the scene including three small girls.  From the reverse we have the date as March 31st 1909.  The postmark says it was posted at Donhead.  The address is just a name followed by the village; namely Master T Hewitson at Ludwell.  The postman was expected to know every villager by name in those “olden days”!  Can you locate the scene?

By using Google street view I have found a match.  To my amazement, the village shop today looks much the same as it did over 100 years ago. It has lost some of its frontage to road.  The grand house has the same three bedroom windows and two chimney stacks.  The front door has been moved, and all the decorative ironwork, from both house and shop, has gone!
The scene is Ludwell, still recognisable 115 years later.

Wonderful photos, as always, from Alan. Thank you.

Something a Bit Different…

The British Pilgrimage Trust

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British Pilgrimage Trust

Last week, the latest of The Salisbury Museum’s regular lectures was given by Dawn Champion, Head of Community Engagement at the British Pilgrimage Trust.

A Historian, and Pilgrim, her enthusiasm was obvious and infectious, and had the uninitiated in the audience re-evaluating the whole idea of “going for a walk”.

Most of us know that walking is good for us, the brain, as well as the body, reacts positively. We read, or are told, that regular walking stimulates the release of endorphins, often referred to as “feel-good” hormones, which can alleviate symptoms of depression, reduce stress levels, and improve overall mood.

Dawn referred frequently to intention. Pilgrimages were, still are in may countries, to do with religion, but to walk with intent, to enjoy the history, heritage and environment can be spiritual as well, as can the act of walking in the footsteps of others from other times.

During the talk, we saw sites (and wonderful views) from ancient routes still walked today, here and abroad. We heard about people who, on guided walks with Dawn, have discovered something which has chimed with them and was helpful to them.

There were lots of questions at the end which added much, and several about the Medieval pilgrim badges, of which the museum has a great many. One man in the audience was able to answer a question about how they were worn by holding up his hat!

Click on the link above to go to the Pilgrimage Trust website, and be sure to look at news of their book, here.

And you might like to read (or re-read) Alan Crooks’ blog item on the museum collection of pilgrim badges, and related matters, from a few years ago