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)
From Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire, 1810 at Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Chippenham
Good maps are a joy. This one of Salisbury and its immediate environs, from 1810, is full of interesting detail.
Today, just over two hundred years on, housing and other development links Bemerton (extreme left), West Harnham (and soon Netherhampton too), East Harnham, and Bishopdown to the city itself. But not yet Britford.
For a closer look…
To the east, but north and just outside the city as it then was, is a feature marked with a red dot – ‘Mismass (or Mizmaze) Hill. A mizmaze was, of course, a maze, and this may well have been an early name for Bishopdown or Castle Hill . Can any one tell us more?
Notice the blue dots to the east of the city. Close by you can see the map maker’s small drawings which are a representation of the frames on the tenterfields where locally woven cloth was stretched and dried as part of the finishing process. This was a late remains of the glory days of the weaving industry in Salisbury, an industry which just about lingered on into the early 19th century. Today some of these areas are possibly the same open spaces which remain – Bourne Hill Gardens, open land around Godolphin School and land also close to St Martins.
The Wheelhouse, by the way, was a pub. It is not clear why that gets a mention and no others are marked at all!
The green dot, again to the east but this time in the south of our map, shows ‘Muttons Bridge’. Somehow this seems the sort of name one would find on an early map, and there would be doubt about finding it on a modern map, but sure enough, Google maps has Mutton Bridge in front of B and Q DIY store on the Southampton Road. Today it is still the name for the section of that busy road which crosses the Bourne river where it runs south into the Avon, behind B and Q.
A brown dot is by the New Canal, clearly marked. It is all that remains of grand scheme to have a canal linking Salisbury with the south and east.
Harnham Bridge, marked with an orange dot, is, of course, the old bridge into the city, linking Ayleswade Road to St Nicholas Road. The route into the city in 1810 from Coombe Bissett, the Chalke Valley and Blandford Forum came down to the bridge along what is today the Old Blandford Road, with a dog-leg into Harnham Road.
Harnham Mill we know, of course, and marked with a black dot is the Town Path looking like quite a major route in 1810. At the northern end is a road right which would take you along Cranebridge Road and Crane Street to High Street but the turning left is Water Lane joining Fisherton Street which, in turn, heads off towards the junction which is now St Paul’s Roundabout. Next time you negotiate traffic at the roundabout remember it was the site of the Turnpike Gate, and the Gallows! The church shown at West Harnham is St George’s, while the mill on Mill Lane where it meets the River Nadder is Old Fisherton Mill (mill itself now gone, house partly rebuilt). The nearby church (black dot) which is marked on the 1810 map but which no longer stands, is St Clements, demolished in 1852 when St Paul’s was built. Today its graveyard is a small park.
Marked by a purple dot is the Church of St Andrew, Bemerton, sometimes referred to now as George Herbert’s Church. On a modern map, Church Lane marks the the presence of St Andrew’s, while nearby Brick Lane is a reminder of the Brick kiln marked on the 1810 map in the vicinity of today’s Ashfield Road, the name of that road probably no coincidence. The paper mill (purple dot) has gone but is mentioned here.
The Roman Road (yellow dot) is of course, in a sense, still there. It can be traced from London to Dorchester, and gives its name amongst modern buildings in Bemerton, before setting out to the south.
Two of the landmarks on the 1810 map remain, to this writer at least, a mystery. The Mizmaze mentioned at the beginning, and the Pleasure House on the Nadder outside Bemerton. Can you help?
A talk by Phil Harding about his book Joining the Dots: uniting Salisbury’s past through holes in the ground: Thursday, July 20, 2023
Salisbury is renowned for its superb medieval cathedral and planned city centred on its market. Traces of timber framed buildings, which served as homes for countless generations of Salisbury occupants, still remain. The lives of the former residents can now start to be reconstructed from the archaeological evidence, as parts of the city have been redeveloped. The everyday lives, health, diet, occupations, and social status of the residents can be illustrated using pottery, animal bones and food remains referencing how the urban population integrated with communities in rural areas. Phil and team have brought these diverse strands together for the first time to tell the story of the cathedral city and its residents through its engaging past.
In 2020 Phil was asked to consider revisiting a series of archives created by digs in Salisbury, with the aim of publishing them. The original digs were carried out in the early 1980s by the Manpower Services ‘Job Creation Scheme,’ but the results had not been published. Working with Lorraine Mepham and Lorrain Higbee, pottery and animal bones specialists respectively, Phil and team have created this broad narrative for all interested in the story of Salisbury.
There will be a book signing after the talk in the museum shop.
Pre-booking strongly advised as this event is expected to sell-out Pre-booking essential book via Eventbrite here
Tickets £18
Part of this years Festival of Archaeology at Salisbury Museum
This is a fundraising talk for Salisbury Museum (registered charity no 289850)
‘I was enthralled the whole one and a half hours and have told everyone about it!’
‘The whole experience was something very special and your enthusiasm was contagious’
Saturday, July 2, 2022
to Saturday, September 2, 2023 (first Saturday of each month)
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 but tickets may be available on the day – call to check.
Salisbury Museum on Bookshop.org
Buy books online and support The Salisbury Museum.
The museum now has a storefront on Bookshop– an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.
Visit our storefront on Bookshop and select from our carefully curated range of wonderful book titles for children and adults, including staff and visitor favourites – ideal for history-loving, curious-minded would-be collectors, curators and archaeologists of all ages!
Ordering via Bookshop is easy and convenient – with delivery, returns, and customer service all managed by the Bookshop team – and the museum receives a 30% commission on sales via our storefront.
So it’s the perfect way to feel good and do good, as every purchase helps to support The Salisbury Museum.
It’s Coming!
Festival of Archaeology: A unique weekend of heritage fun for the whole family! Explore living history, craft-making, storytelling and talks for all ages. Held annually during July.
Boles Barrow is sited on a windswept ridge of Salisbury Plain overlooking hillforts, barrows and vast tracts of open land.
It has been shelled, driven over, excavated three times, and been home to badgers but still retains mystery. Was it the resting place of combat victims? Is it a crucial piece in the Stonehenge bluestone conundrum? And why is the war poet Siegfried Sassoon connected with it? New fieldwork at this site has aimed to examine some of these questions whilst aiming to preserve this monument for future generations.
Richard Osgood MBE is a senior Archaeologist for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and has worked extensively on Salisbury Plain. This includes Operation Nightingale – an initiative to assist the recovery of wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans by getting them involved in archaeology.
On-line lecture. Pre-booking essential
£9 Members; £12 Non-members
This is a fundraising talk for Salisbury Museum (registered charity no 289850)
Salisbury in Camera: 50 years of the Salisbury Journal Archive (New Exhibition)
Saturday, April 29, 2023
to Sunday, October 29, 2023
Normal admission charges apply
No booking required
In 2015 Salisbury Museum acquired the Salisbury Journal photo archive. Over the past seven years a team of museum volunteers have been steadily digitising the collection – with over 300,000 images scanned to date. This exhibition is a celebration of the first fifty years of this significant archive which starts in 1953 and provides an incredible record of life in the city and surrounding area.
New Sarum 1086-1269 – ONLINE Talk by Chris Daniell
‘I was enthralled the whole one and a half hours and have told everyone about it!’
‘The whole experience was something very special and your enthusiasm was contagious’
Following last year’s sell-out Behind the Scenes Tours, we are reintroducing the tours on the first Saturday of every month from March to December, 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 but tickets may be available on the day – call to check.
Volunteer Alan Crooks has drawn our attention to the results of this year’s a Archaeologist of the Year, a competition run by Current Archaeology Magazine and nominees voted for by the public. There were three worthy contenders, David Jacques, well-known in this area as the Director of the Blick’s Mead excavations near Amesbury; Lilian Ladle, an independent archaeologist who is visiting professor at Bournemouth University and director of a 13 year excavation near Wareham; and Gabor Thomas, heavily involved with research-led community archaeology. and a small finds specialist whose publications are much used by PAS Volunteers here at the museum.
The winner was David Jacques! Many congratulations to him.
Since 2005, David has been project director of Blick Mead, the oldest and longest-used occupation site in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. The Blick Mead excavations began as one long weekend dig a year, carried out on a shoestring budget with the help of the local community and other volunteers, but has since become a multi-university research effort, which uses the latest technology to address important new questions about the origins of the Stonehenge landscape. The project continues to value and enable its volunteers, and retains the community of Amesbury at its heart. This connection is symbolised by the building of Amesbury History Centre, which was created as a result of over 90% of locals voting to increase their precept to pay for it. The work has been very much a team effort, but David’s colleagues see him as the lynchpin and catalyst behind the collective strength of the project.
The Amesbury History Centre, by the way, is close to opening, and will be well worth visiting.
Sunday 26 March; 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (lunch included).
Not to be missed if interested in the archaeology of Wiltshire. The Salisbury Museum’s own Finds Liaison Officer, Sophie Hawke and previous FLO Wil Partridge will be speaking, amongst a stellar cast of others.
Archaeology in Wiltshire Conference 2023 The outline programme includes:- Melanie Pomeroy-Kellinger – Overview of Recent Fieldwork across Wiltshire David Roberts & Alyson Tanner – Recent survey and excavation of a Late Iron Age and Roman site at Coombe Bissett, University of Cardiff Sophie Hawke – Recent Finds reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme Andy Hood – Purton Old Hospital site, Foundations Archaeology Royston Clarke – Wroughton, A C Archaeology Brandiers Farm Roman Tile Kiln, Cotswold Archaeology Barrows outside Salisbury, Cotswold Archaeology Wil Partridge – Wiltshire Museum Research Agenda Recent Fieldwork at Seend and All Cannings, Wiltshire Archaeology Field Group Richard Osgood – Aldbourne – Band of Brothers revisited, MOD DIO Date: Sunday 26 March; 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (lunch included). Location: Corn Exchange, Market Place, Devizes
Tickets: £37.50 (WANHS member – £27.50; student – £17.50 (with proof of status))
This eight-mile walk on the southern side of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site will look at the history of the landscape from prehistory to more recent times.
The walk will start in Amesbury and take in Great Durnford, Lake, Normanton Down, Coneybury and return via West Amesbury.
Please bring clothing suitable for the weather and stout footwear, sun protection (if necessary!), drink and snacks as required. Please bring your own lunch.
Details for the meeting point will be sent in your booking confirmation email.
Pre-Booking essential – Limited to 30 places
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Other things to look forward to (or spread the word!):
Family Discovery Days: Drop-in activity sessions covering everything from arts and crafts to trying out archery! Every Tuesday outside of term time. Suitable for children of all ages.
Under Fives Fridays: Lively activities focusing on a different theme each session. Includes a baby play area. Suitable for children 2-5 years old. Every second Friday of the month.
Festival of Archaeology: A unique weekend of heritage fun for the whole family! Explore living history, craft-making, storytelling and talks for all ages. Held annually during July.
Seasonal Family Events: From Tudor Christmas to Easter Egg hunts, the museum hosts a variety of fun themed events throughout the year.
The museum’s family activities are directly linked with our temporary exhibitions, the collections and local heritage, making learning engaging and fun and helping to develop an interest in a range of subjects – history, art, nature, science and more – from a young age.
Please see our What’s On section for further details about upcoming family events.
There is no additional cost for family activities and events; only our regular admission charges to the museum apply. Museum membership will guarantee free access. Our family programme is funded through the generous support of Salisbury City Council.
During the weeks of the hottest British summer on record, a number of The Salisbury Museum Volunteers and friends have been excavating not far from the City in our beautiful Wiltshire countryside.
A brief exploratory ‘dig’ took place on the site last October, revealing a lot of pottery and animal bone. It was all interesting enough for this summer’s work to be shared with students from Cardiff University, as well as local people.
Fortunately (it isn’t always the case, for many reasons), the landowner is as keen as everyone else and we were well looked after.
We hope to have a detailed report of the excavation soon, and perhaps even more later, when analysis of finds is complete. Meanwhile, a flavour…
A lot of pot…. this is Black Burnished Ware from the south coast area (made in Poole where pottery of course continued to be made into our own lifetimes). It was ubiquitous in the Roman period, locals having been successful, it seems, in persuading the army to buy in bulk. Hence it is found all over Britain. The lattice design (which looks in this example as if it was created yesterday!) helps date it. The particular shape here suggests early Romano-British.
And bone…. everything from mice to deer. Most of it, of course, pig, cattle and sheep.
There have also been Roman coins, mostly late Roman, and a few brooches. It was a little surprising not to find more brooches as these were worn by everyone to hold their outer garments together. However, by the later Roman period (that is, contemporary with the late coins) brooches were not so much used, which might explain the lack of them. Then we found a really early brooch…!
The company was good….
And there were all mod cons….
More news of all this soon we hope. Meanwhile, farewell to a lovely setting….
Further to our exciting news yesterday, we are very pleased to welcome back an old friend, Dr Alice Roberts, as part of our offering during the Festival of Archaeology Weekend, 23, 24 July.
Buried: A Talk by Professor Alice Roberts
Buried: A Talk by Professor Alice Roberts followed by book-signing Sat 23 July 2022 4pm Lecture Hall* We are delighted to welcome special guest Professor Alice Roberts to this year’s Festival of Archaeology. Alice will be giving a talk on her new book Buried, which picks up where Ancestors left off – starting with the Romans, then the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings. Combining archaeological finds with DNA research and written history, she will shed fresh light on how people lived – by examining stories of the dead.
The talk will be followed by a book-signing. Buried is now available to purchase from the museum shop, or you can pre-order a copy when you book your event ticket via Eventbrite here,
Books are £20 each (£18 members) and will be ready for collection from the museum shop on the day.
Places limited and expected to sell out, so early booking advised. All tickets £20 *Entry to the museum and show-ground does not include entry to this talk