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.
Exhibition briefing for volunteers and staff reminder – first briefing session tomorrow!
Wednesday, 24th January 10:30-11:30 and
Thursday, 25th January 13:00-14:00 in the museum lecture hall.
This briefing is aimed primarily at engagement volunteers, fashion volunteers and those who are interested in helping with the private view and gallery opening event in February, though all are of course very welcome.
Volunteer Coffee Afternoon
The first of our monthly coffee morning/afternoon series begins next Tuesday (30th January) with Rosemary Pemberton’s talk ‘Snippets from Salisbury Museum’s History: 1860-1950’.
Salisbury Museum – from St Anne’s Street to The Close
On Saturday, Volunteer librarian Bob Hann, together with four others plus the Director, Adrian, cleared what seemed like hundreds of books from a section of the library.
Asbestos had recently been found round some heating pipes and the bookshelves had to be cleared, though fortunately not the racks which have been covered in plastic. *
The books had to be taken down the stairs to be stacked on and under tables in the former costume gallery, now the new lecture hall.
The men did most of the carrying of books while the rest of the Volunteers cleared the shelves and stacked the books in their temporary home.
It took just over five hours. So, a heartfelt plea…
When the books have to be put back, are there younger, stronger Volunteers who could help? And perhaps a few more who could shorten the task?
*The asbestos was enclosed in the walls behind the bookcases and furniture. Volunteers removing the books were at no risk of coming into contact with, or dislodging, asbestos!
Last week saw the first of this year’s summer Discovery Days. These are drop-in events for children during the school holidays, held this year in the marquee on the museum back lawn. The topic for this session was Saxon jewellery.
Liza Morgan, education officer for SeaCity Museum, Southampton, and a regular contributor, took charge of the day, assisted by Volunteers Sally and Mary.
Liza provided lots of pictures, information and design ideas to help children make a ‘Saxon’ pendant. First the children drew their designs on to a cardboard disc. These were then covered with glue, then gold paper. Glue from a glue gun provides a 3D effect. Then jewels were stuck on.
The visiting children were then invited to reach into a bag and pull out a card with a Saxon rune on it, and were given a Saxon name which started with that letter. Another bag of cards provided a last name based on an occupation. (I was Alflaed Shieldbearer!). This information was then written on the back of the pendants which were worn round necks.
We had a steady take-up throughout the day and everyone was encouraged to view the Saxon jewellery in the Wessex Gallery.
Families ranged from local to ones from as far away as Belgium and the USA.
A prize for enthusiasm should go to one father who said he never had the chance as a child to do things like this, and had a go! His pendant was excellent, as were those of his two boys.
Several adults wandered over and wanted to choose a Saxon name. One couple, by chance, each drew the same last name – Peacebringer – looked at each other disbelievingly and simultaneously said “Really?!”
Real Saxon disc jewellery
Thank you Mary – and Sally – for volunteering, and telling us about your Volunteering activities.
Knowledge of negatives, and why you took your film to the chemist, are mysteries to many today. But not to the museum’s negatives scanning team.
One of this team, whilst walking along his street in Salisbury, saw a pile of about fifteen glass plate negatives being thrown out for the bin. He asked if he could have them. The owner agreed, not knowing what they were, or from which of his relatives they had come.
These glass plate negatives were quickly scanned in and show amazing detail. The images seem to be of family events taken throughout the year, as some are snow scenes and others taken in the summer. One can tell they are not foreign because, using the zoom, it is possible to read some of the writing on the gravestones in this photograph of a church. The use of flint in some of the walls would suggest chalklands. However, we have not been able to identify where it is. Can you recognise this church here?
This glass plate is of such quality that one can zoom in and take a closer look at the family in the gateway. It may be difficult to recognise the church as it may have changed during the last 100 years.
Looking at the clothes of the assembled group, I would guess that the photograph was taken over 100 years ago. Perhaps you are a costume expert and can give us a better date range? It would appear that the fourth and youngest offspring had the most difficulty in standing still for the photographer. Such long exposures suggest at least as long ago as the 1920s.
Alan Clarke is the Volunteer who looks after The Salisbury Museum photographic archive, but, as we see from his account here, he doesn’t do that all on his own! We are so lucky that he shares the photographs with us on this blog. Thank you Alan.
All events are free and exclusive to museum volunteers.
Places are limited for events no. 2, 4 & 5 and must be booked in advance. To book a place please contact Kate Stubbings, the Volunteer Coordinator:katestubbings@salisburymuseum.org.uk; 01722 820543. The deadline for booking events with limited places is Monday 29th May.
Last Friday (12th) The Salisbury Museum’s regular Under Fives group (and their parents) met at their temporary venue, the Sports Hall in Harnham, to be entertained by magician Dave Hickory.
Dave’s ‘magic’ is a wonderful blend of clever tricks, and tricks that (deliberately) go wrong. ‘Suitable for small children while also entertaining for the adults through his unique brand of humour. He combines this with his ability to make amazingly intricate balloon animals!
One of his tricks involved a toy rabbit under one tube and a bottle of wine under another (revealed to the adults as if a mistake!). The children were asked to say a magic word and Dave announced that the bunny and the bottle had changed places. The children naturally demanded the tubes be removed to prove it, but when he did remove the tubes, the toy and the wine hadn’t moved at all!
He repeated this twice, with the children finding it increasingly funny, until, at the fourth attempt, the rabbit and wine had indeed changed places. Goodness knows how he did it, but it gives you some idea of the entertainment value, over and above the actual tricks.
At the end, Dave made a balloon animal for every child to take home.
A special balloon creation -a headband – for this little lady who helped with one of the tricks
Just in case we should think volunteering is all about enjoying magic shows with the little ones, Mary continues…
As volunteers we got the room set up before Dave arrived, and greeted and took money at the door from visitors who were not Members. We also took the chance to point out the advantages of Membership! We made sure everyone was happy and comfortable, and prepared and served hot beverages, squash and cake while Dave manipulated balloons. Later, we packed up the rugs and cushions ready for return and put back tables and chairs before, finally, sweeping up the crumbs!
We really enjoyed the magic – a fun-filled morning.
Thank you Mary, and the other Volunteers who do these sessions regularly.
Many Salisbury Museum Volunteers have been busy emptying cupboards and display cases recently, and recording and measuring and packing items away. From weird items in Dr Neighbour’s surgery (What were they used for??!), through a surfeit of ceramics, to all the miscellaneous items retrieved from the Salisbury drains, they have been packed.
I, for one, am now so thoroughly trained in careful handling (both hands, no gloves for ceramics, gloves for metal items…) that last week, when, in a charity shop, I picked up a small pot with a view to buy, the assistant commented on how I was carrying it. She said it was as if it were very precious, and in danger of breaking.
Then, it entered my dreams! I dreamt I was decanting spoons and had to take the temperature of each one. If it was above 30c it had to be packed in a special quarantine box!
But, in truth, what a privilege it has been to have had the opportunity to handle and look closely at so many amazing items. Thank you to the staff for trusting us to do it, especially Megan and Lizzie for their cheerful willingness to be available to answer all our queries. Their excellent organisation and assistance made a difficult task a lot easier and gave us the confidence to get on with it.
One of the earliest Christmas presents I recall receiving from Santa Claus (aka my parents) as a pre-teen was Enid Blyton’s book, ‘Five Go To Billycock Hill’, published in 1957. This concerns an RAF pilot who has disappeared with top-secret equipment.
One vivid memory I’ve retained from this book is when ‘The Five’ spotted a man wielding a butterfly net…
‘It’s Mr Gringle’ said Toby. ‘One of the men from the butterfly farm. He’s often up here with his net because it’s a wonderful place for butterflies,”
A man came round the gorse-bush – a rather peculiar figure, untidy, with glasses slipping down his nose, and his hair much too long. He carried a big butterfly net and stopped when he saw the five children,
I was reminded of this some decades later when I sought help to identify some beautiful silver and grey bees which had suddenly began emerging from my lawn. Mr Stuart Roberts from the ‘Bees, Wasps and Ant Recording Society’, who lives in Salisbury, came around. I recall being very self-conscious of what the neighbours might be thinking of this sinister-looking character swishing a butterfly net around in my garden at dusk. The bees turned out to be the ashy mining bee, Andrena cineraria. Mr Roberts explained that these bees don’t sting and that if you capture one loosely in your cupped hands and blow on it, it emits a lovely flowery scent.
I was reminded once again of this scenario in reading Dr David Tyrrell’s book, ‘Cold Wars’ (2002), in preparation for taking part in an oral history project on behalf of the Museum on the former Common Cold Research Unit (CCRU) which used to be at Harvard Hospital, Harnham. Dr Tyrrell ran the research programme there from 1957 and was the Director of the WHO Reference Centre for Virus Infections at the CCRU from 1960 until its closure in 1990.
In ‘Cold Wars’ Tyrrell describes the pioneering work of Professor Sir Christopher Andrewes, one of the founders of the CCRU in 1946:
‘He had been a keen naturalist since early boyhood, an interest which had developed, as so often happens, during illness. Confined to his home for a period he had passed the time by studying the territorial habits of birds in his garden – clear evidence of his innate instinct for research. Eventually, he focussed his attention on … two-winged flies. And of course, his frequent visits to Harnham Hill provided him with an ideal opportunity to pursue these studies. Each morning, during his stay, there was the familiar sight of this figure in a well-worn sports jacket and carrying a net striding out into the countryside…’.
One can’t help wondering whether Enid Blyton was aware of Dr Andrewes’ seemingly eccentric forays, and based the image of Mr Gringle on him.
Many thanks, Alan, for this.We look forward to finding out more, perhaps, about the CCRU.
I, too, was an Enid Blyton fan and care not at all that she has become rather passe.
In November, we heard from Cliff Leach about the research he has been doing into the history of Salisbury in the seventeenth century. Inevitably, much of it has been about the background to the Civil War of the 1640s. The background to division (outwardly religious but involving power and financial interests, exacerbated by envy and poor diplomacy), the tensions, and ultimately the breakdown of relations between groups can be seen again and again throughout history.
Salisbury had its own problems which is possibly why, generally, it avoided the fighting. But people tended, of course, to support one side or the other, and the city sometimes found itself ‘drawn in’.
1641
The king is told by his legal advisor, Strafford, that “Sir, you have done your duty, and your subjects have failed in theirs; and therefore you are absolved from the rules of government, and may supply yourself by extraordinary ways; you have an army in Ireland, with which you may reduce the kingdom.” That is, he can rightfully take overall power by force. So Parliament launches a Bill of Attainder stating Strafford’s guilt and demanding that he be put to death. It requires the King’s signature.
Charles, however, guarantees to Strafford that he will not sign the attainder, without which it can not be passed but events roll-on and Charles, fearing for the safety of his family, signs and Strafford is beheaded.
Parliament demands to be be summoned at least once in three years, the King reluctantly agrees.
Throughout May, the House of Commons launches several bills attacking Episcopalianism (rule of church by Bishops) in general (effectively a Puritan move), each time defeated in the Lords.
Charles and his supporters resent Parliament’s demands, and Parliamentarians continue to suspect Charles of wanting to impose Episcopalianism and unfettered royal rule by military force.
Within months, the Irish Catholics, fearing a resurgence of Protestant power, strike first, and all Ireland soon descends into chaos. Rumours circulate that the King supports the Irish, and Puritan members of the Commons soon start murmuring that this is the fate that Charles has in store for them all.
1642 and the First Civil War
January 1642, Charles, accompanied by 400 soldiers, attempts to arrest five members of the House of Commons on a charge of treason (the result is that, even today, the monarch cannot enter the House of Commons without permission). This attempt fails and Charles, now fearing for the safety of his family, leaves the London area for the north.
Charles during the attempted arrest of the Five Members. Painting by Charles West Cope
Throughout the summer, tensions rise and there is brawling in several places, the first death from the conflict taking place in Manchester.
Parliamentary and Royalist forces move across the landscape, garrisons are established, lost and re-established and a host of sieges occur. At no point is the Wiltshire area ever wholly and continuously in the control (or in support ) of either side in this murderous conflict in which (proportionally) more people die than in both World Wars in the 20th century combined.
1642 In Salisbury:
July sees Robert Hyde, Recorder and MP for Salisbury, persuade the Mayor to raise trained bands and militia in support of the King. Hyde is then summoned back to the House of Commons and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Instead, Salisbury forms a company of volunteers under the command of Lord Pembroke in support of the Parliamentary cause.
Of 29 MPs for Wiltshire, 21 pledge support for the Parliamentary cause ad so on 3rd October 1642 a letter is sent to all leading gentry inviting them to a meeting at the Mermaid Inn Salisbury to support the raising of funds and men for the Parliamentary cause.
In general terms, it is the high sheep country of Wiltshire supported the King and the less traditional and industrialised sectors supported Parliament and were more Puritan in their beliefs and traditions. There are, however, numerous counter-examples of these general trends.
1643 In Salisbury:
On 9th March, William Waller (MP for Andover and Parliamentary commander) enters Salisbury on his westwards march and recruits soldiers from the city. He has captured Portsmouth and Winchester but will later be defeated.
On 2nd May Wardour Castle in Wiltshire is besieged by a Parliamentarian force of around 1,300 men led by Sir Edward Hungerford who attacked the castle, home of Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour, a prominent Catholic and Royalist. Arundell is absent, fighting for King Charles at the time of the attack, and the defence is led by his wife, Lady Blanche Arundell, in command of 25 soldiers. The siege lasts for a week before the Parliamentarians force Lady Arundell to surrender on 8th May. The Parliamentarians garrison the castle with 75 men, led by Colonel Edmund Ludlow.
In November 1643 Henry Arundell, 3rd Baron Arundell brings a Royalist force to reclaim the castle which is well-provisioned, and it is only when the Royalists explode mines under the walls, creating large holes in the defences, that they force the castle’s surrender. The damage to the castle leaves it uninhabitable.
Wardour Castle today. Photo from the English Heritage site
1644 In Salisbury:
The war-weary citizens of Salisbury receive a sudden demand from the King on his march through Wiltshire in October. He wants £500 to be paid the following morning. The penalties for non-payment would have been horrific. In December, Parliamentary forces under Colonel Ludlow dislodge the royalist garrison. He too is then routed by a counter-attack on the 31st December but with considerable casualties and loss of life.
The Royalist forces under Marmaduke Langdale take revenge on the ordinary people of the city in three days of sustained terror during which they destroy or steal anything they wish and leave already impoverished people in a state of terrified destitution. A tale told time and again, with atrocities on both sides, throughout the Civil Wars. One typical example is of old Myles the cobbler, not a wealthy man, who lost 5 shillings, three pieces of leather, six pairs of shoes and several items of clothing worth a total of £6 – a vast sum for a poor person at that time.
1645 In Salisbury:
One phenomenon during the First Civil War is the rise in this region of the Clubmen – essentially non-aligned, but very muscular, pacifists who want no part of the Civil Wars or the forces on either side and are prepared to use lethal force to ensure this if they can. Christopher Dale of Salisbury admitted that, although he had seen service in the Royalist forces, he was now a clubman in Salisbury “to defend themselves and their goods against all plunderers, but not to oppose either army”
1646
In May Charles seeks shelter with a Presbyterian Scottish, army at Southwell in Nottinghamshire.
In return for a payment of £200,000 (about £35.7 Million in 2022) Charles is handed over to the English Parliament by the Scots and imprisoned in Hampton Court but escapes, and is then taken to the Isle of Wight to be imprisoned at Carisbroke Castle.
Thank you Cliff. It is a fascinating period in national and local history.