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
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!
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.
Thursday this week saw a full house for Dr Peter Guest’s talk ‘New Fieldwork at Hinton St Mary, Dorset: The Mosaic in Context’.
The new lecture room was warm and welcoming, the new lift fully in action. the talk excellent.
The extraordinary mosaic was found by chance when a young man was sent by his employer to dig a hole outside a blacksmith’s in Hinton St Mary in 1963. Small coloured tiles – tesserae – began to appear!
In June of last year, Peter wrote this on his website:
“This is the 3rd and final excavation season of The British Museum’s research project to find out more about the famous Roman mosaic discovered here exactly 60 years ago, and the mysterious ‘villa’ to which it apparently belonged.
This is also a training excavation and we’re pleased to welcome undergraduate archaeologists from Cardiff University again, as well as several early-career archaeologists helping out as volunteers.
Pupils from Yewstock School in Sturminster Newton will also come and visit the dig to see what the archaeologists are up to and help us reveal Hinton’s Roman past.”
The original 1960s excavation suggested a very large villa. The whole mosaic (the famous roundell is just the centrepiece) would clearly have provided flooring for two adjoining rooms. Peter said that the design tells us it is late Roman with what had become typically Romano-British features. It is one of the finest ever uncovered, suggesting great wealth involved, and suggesting it was designed and constructed for more important reasons than having just a pretty floor. The mystery, and perhaps the answer to why it was built, is the figure in the centre.
It is a mosaic picturing a Roman man, in toga, clean-shaven. The great surprise is the early Christian symbol behind the head – the chi rho – which, in that position, must be a statement about him. It has been thought that the image is of Jesus, who was sometimes depicted as Roman, but never without a halo, which seems to be missing in this mosaic.
Others think it is Constantine I (AD306 – 337), the first Roman emperor to become a Christian (after AD312).
The whole mosaic was bought by The British Museum after the original excavation, and moved to London in sections. Originally displayed there, it is now in store.
Peter Guest’s excavations were spread over three years, ending only recently, and he and his team were able to show that the buildings originally uncovered actually spread in an unexpected direction, and that two large rectangular open porches may have flanked the two rooms in which the mosaic lay.
Interpretation now follows. Read the on-going story here… It seems there is an intriguing mystery. Does the answer lie somewhere under the village of Hinton St Mary itself?
Two striking photographs of our museum as it begins to emerge from the scaffolding in all its restored glory.
Inside, the new display in the temporary exhibition room has been up and running for three weeks already. It is quirky, interesting, made up of old and new and recycled, and is proving to be a draw. well done all concerned.
And not be missed…
New Fieldwork at Hinton St Mary, Dorset: The Mosaic in Context – Talk by Peter Guest
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Location: Lecture Hall £9 Members; £12 Non-members
The mosaic from Hinton St Mary is one of the most celebrated and iconic survivals from Roman Britain. Discovered (accidentally) in 1963, its central roundel features the bust of a man with the Christian Chi-Rho symbol behind his head, which most scholars have concluded is among the first representations of Jesus Christ from the ancient world. This talk will present some of the ground-breaking results of The British Museum’s on-going archaeological excavations at the site and explore what these tell us about one of the earliest Christian communities in Britain.
This is a fundraising talk for Salisbury Museum (registered charity no 289850)
Behind the Scenes Tour: Saturday 3rd February 2.30pm.
🔍Following last year’s sell-out Behind the Scenes Tours, we are now running the tours on the first Saturday of every month, starting at 2.30pm.🔎
Led by the museum Director or another member of the team, this 90-minute tour is a unique opportunity to explore areas of the museum not seen by the public and view some of the many fascinating items in hidden away in the King’s House. Limited to 10 places, pre-booking advised.
Please see our website for more information & booking. £12 Members; £15 Non-members Pre-booking essential – book here
Potential WW2 Archaeological Sites Discovered Volunteers on the Champion’s of the Past project have discovered many interesting features during their work using the Cranborne Chase LiDAR Portal, which shows super detailed scans of the landscape, and can show up previously unknown archaeological structures and formations.
The below image shows features that volunteers think were dug around 1940. These were possibly anti-landing pits – dug with the intention of preventing the landing of enemy aircraft. These were usually dug in a rough grid formation. On the image, you can see the pits as rows of ‘dots’ between the roads, covering the area. What do you think they could be??
The below image shows an early field system of banks and ditches, situated near the village of Chettle. These aerial images and LiDAR visualisations show how farming was organised in by-gone eras, and possibly inspire surveys for settlements or evidence in the field.
Volunteers have identified a whopping 1000+ new potential archaeological sites so far while using the LiDAR Portal, but there is plenty more to be found and discussed.
If you’re interested in finding out more, why not have a closer look by visiting the portal here:
The portal is free to use, and features training modules if you get stuck understanding the visualisations.
You’ll be able to join our other volunteers and explore the archaeology of the area from your home, and discover amazing buried secrets using this wonderful resource!
You can read more on our Volunteer Hub or email us at chaseandchalke@cranbornechase.org.uk
AND…
In 2023 The Chase & Chalke team launched the Creative Writing Competition, and over 80 of you responded to the theme ‘Cranborne Chase: A Sense of Place’ with an amazing range of entries. From short poems, to long form pieces.
We’ve learnt so much over the course of the competition.
Our wonderful panel of expert judges took to the task of delving into your wonderful words, and selecting the pieces that they felt best represented the response to the theme. Thank you to all entrants to the competition!
Chalke History Festival has a brand new website, name and branding for 2024. Visit the new website and take a look.
James May, The Rest is History’s Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook, Max Hastings & Bettany Hughes are just some of the big names already scheduled to appear.
Volunteer Co-ordinator Kate, and her team, made sterling efforts to ensure The Salisbury Museum’s Volunteers’ Christmas Party took place as planned yesterday.
A minor delay in the museum’s building works meant that the intended venue, the new meetings and lecture room, would not be ready until the end of this week. Somewhere else had to be found, and we were treated to an afternoon at the excellent Salisbury Methodist Hall.
It meant, of course, that equipment, food and drink and other party goodies had to be transported to the hall, and the equipment, certainly, had to be carted back.
Over forty Volunteers, together with museum staff and trustees, enjoyed music, refreshments, a fiendish quiz and magnificent raffle.
A small band from the museum gathered at St Thomas’ church this morning in preparation for their annual Christmas tree festival which looks to be lovelier than ever this year. It opens tomorrow, Tuesday, runs until Sunday 10th and is free.
What a magnificent setting for this delightful display each year!
A group of incredibly talented Salisbury Museum Volunteers have produced an amazing array of tree decorations, loosely linked to traditional folk tales and crafts. Amongst them are Sally, Mary, Elizabeth and Maggs, and look for the tiny star, front and centre, made from Downton lace by Pompi.
Many of the decorations were brought in anonymously. We hope that all our makers will see their work in the photographs here and go along to the church to see how wonderful the tree is, as a result of their efforts.
A Giant among greater giants
Thank you to all involved. Thank you to St Thomas’, and to all the other charities, organisations, businesses and schools who are part of the display. Do go along and enjoy it all, including refreshments and music.
Last week The Salisbury Museum welcomed a friend, Christina Richard of Tisbury, who came bearing gifts.
Lucy Bridal receives a copy of the book from Christina Richard
Christina (Tina) has recently had a new local history book published by Hobnob Press – The Pythouse Rioters – official launch on 2 December, but already available on Amazon and in local shops.
Tina was writing her book, about the people caught up in the Wiltshire machine riots of 1830, when, during the pandemic, your blogger was researching the same period of unrest. The ‘Swing’ Riots, as they were called, will feature in our new galleries next year.
Tina gave unstinting support to us, including a peek at the drafts of her chapters and a wonderful tour of the sites around Tisbury and Pythouse itself where events took place. What a beautiful part of the county, despite some turbulent history. Next year, as the new galleries open, we hope to have Tina with us as a speaker. Meanwhile she brought copies of the book as a gift to the museum and is already giving talks to local organisations as her book appears in the shops.
The Salisbury Museum Volunteers’ Christmas Party will be held this year in the NEW Lecture Hall. It will be, as always, a happy occasion, but in the new hall, it will also be a very special one. Please remember to RSVP to the Volunteer Co-ordinator.
EXHIBITION CLOSING SOON! Salisbury On Camera: 50 Years of the Salisbury Journal Archive 29 Apr 2023- 29 Oct 2023 Make sure to head down to Salisbury Museum over the next month so you don’t miss out on this fascinating exhibition, Salisbury On Camera: 50 Years of the Salisbury Journal Archive.
This exhibition celebrates the first fifty years of this significant archive which starts in 1953 and runs through to 2003. Providing an incredible record of life in the city and surrounding area. This exhibition focuses on major events, fashion, sport, music, environment, buildings, famous visitors, local interests and social history.
244 images have been selected by museum volunteer Ken Smith which have been arranged according to the decade they came from.
COMING SOON! The Art of Wessex Exhibition 11 Nov 2023- 28 Jan 2024
In the build up to the opening of the new museum this exhibition will explore all the different Wessex artists represented in the museum’s collection.
Our collection includes over 5,000 paintings, prints and drawings. This careful selection will look at artists connected with the Wessex area from 18th century to the present day, ranging from the oil paintings of George Beare to the wood engravings of Howard Phipps. It will include well known pieces as well as hidden treasures and new acquisitions not seen by the public before.
THE ANNUAL CLARENDON LECTURE 2023
Politics as Recreation – The Annual Clarendon Lecture, from Professor Chris Given-Wilson, St Andrews University.
This year’s Annual Clarendon Lecture will focus on three separate occasions at Clarendon palace in the fourteenth century, in 1317, 1355 and 1370 when the English kings hosted their European contemporaries for talks – a medieval camp David. The main characters being discussed will be Edward II of England, along with King Charles II of Navarre and his brother Philip of Navarre during periods of conflict and especially the Hundred Years War in the later fourteenth century.
Clarendon provided a different setting for these meetings away from London and Westminster. This talk will consider the role of the palace in these international diplomatic events.
Speaker: Professor Chris Given-Wilson
Chris is a professional Emeritus in Late Medieval History specialising in fourteenth and fifteenth century history. He grew up in the New Forest. Recent works includes a biography of Henry IV and as a general editor of the acclaimed Parliament Rolls of Medieval England online.
Tickets £12 or £9 for Friends of Clarendon Palace or Museum Members. This lecture will be held at Salisbury Methodist Church, Thursday 16 Nov 7pm Pre-booking essential – book here
The Spectacular Ambitions of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury – A Talk by Tony McAleavy
One of the most extraordinary characters associated with the history of Salisbury was Bishop Roger (1102–1139) who controlled the diocese in the early 12th century and was also the chief advisor to King Henry I.
In today’s terms, Roger was the prime minister and was, after the king, the most powerful person in the country. In this talk Tony McAleavy will describe the life and colourful character of Roger. He will explain the latest research concerning Roger’s role in the building of the Romanesque work at Malmesbury Abbey and his plan to turn Malmesbury into a second cathedral for the bishops of Salisbury which led to a bitter conflict with the Malmesbury monks.
Tony McAleavy studied history at Oxford. He was for many years the schools history adviser for Gloucestershire County Council. In this talk he will draw upon the findings about the career of Roger recently published in a new book about the history of Malmesbury Abbey in the Middle Ages.
This is a fundraising talk for Salisbury Museum (registered charity no 289850)
£9 Members; £12 Non-members
This lecture will be held in The Salisbury Museum Lecture Hall 18 Jan 7.30pm Pre-booking essential – book here