Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Nov 24, 2009
Tagged in:
x-ray ,
Tytherton Lucus ,
trailed decoration ,
surface ,
soil ,
Sebastian Foxley ,
pottery ,
Objects conservator ,
mystery object ,
late 14th or early 15th century ,
iron slag ,
iron ,
identity ,
ideas ,
hollow inside ,
ditch ,
corrosion ,
copper ,
conservation ,
cleaning ,
circular ,
Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre
Objects conservator Sebastian Foxley has recently been working on a mystery object from Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre.
Object before cleaning
The object was received completely obscured by corrosion and soil but an x-ray revealed that it is circular and has a trailed decoration on the top surface. It is hollow inside and initial cleaning also showed that the object is made from iron and copper. Please 'read more' to see the object at the end of the cleaning process.....
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Nov 24, 2009
Tagged in:
Wiltshire local studies collection ,
Victorian Wiltshire ,
Victorian Prison Lives ,
treadmill ,
Suzanne Baker ,
Students.Wiltshire College ,
Stacey Sweeney ,
Sandra Herbert ,
Register of Prisoners ,
Rebecca Smith ,
prison life ,
prison diary ,
photographs ,
newspaper accounts ,
murder ,
journal article ,
Jennifer Hart ,
History ,
Henry Talbot ,
experience ,
evening class ,
documents ,
diary ,
Devizes prison ,
crimes ,
creative writing ,
creating ,
child prisoners ,
Bratton ,
books ,
adults improving literacy skills
Students from the Wiltshire College evening class for adults improving their literacy skills have been creating powerful pieces of creative writing based on documents, books, photographs and newspaper accounts on prison life in Victorian Wiltshire. Please 'read more' to see this and other excerpts....
Jennifer Hart was inspired by a journal article on Bratton’s worst murder to write the diary of Rebecca Smith.
1848 Friday 31 December
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Nov 17, 2009
Tagged in:
Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre ,
tradition ,
tour ,
staging events ,
spring ,
rock bands ,
History Centre ,
historians ,
Community Areas Tour ,
autumn ,
2010
Following the tradition of rock bands everywhere historians from Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre are still touring. In their latest Community Areas Tour they are staging events in the 18 Community Areas of Wiltshire this autumn and in spring 2010. In the next few weeks you can catch;
Find Out Who You Are, steps in the early stages of family history research with Claire Skinner and Michael Marshman at Salisbury Library on Wednesday 25th November. A morning course from 9.30 to 1.00 p.m. with tickets at £10.00 available at Salisbury Library.
Poor Law Records, 1600 – 1833, a talk by Terry Bracher on the old Poor Law and its treatment of ordinary people at Corsham Library on Wednesday 25th November. Starting at 2.30 p.m. tickets are available from Corsham Library at £3.50 (£2.50 concessions).Please 'read more' to find out more about our other events occuring throughout Wiltshire....
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Nov 13, 2009
We hope you are enjoying the recent 'mysterious objects' we've uploaded. For those of you who are interested:
OK - Here are some clues
Object 1 - This dates from the first half of the 19th Century (1800-1850), is made of brass and is 9 cms long. It would have held a particular type of powder.
Object 2 - This object was used for picking something up. Guess the something and you will have the answer.
Object 3 - A certain type of liquid would have been placed in this copper vessel, but why is it this peculiar shape?
I don't know if they help or hinder! Answers in a few more weeks perhaps?
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Nov 11, 2009
Tagged in:
Wiltshire diarist ,
weathered grey ,
village ,
Trinity College ,
Thorolds ,
The Natural History of Wiltshire ,
tenants ,
stone ,
status ,
square dovecote ,
south Wiltshire ,
sold ,
Shaftesbury ,
Salisbury ,
Richard Aubrey ,
quadripartite ceiling ,
private hands ,
parlour ,
Parhams ,
Oxford in 1643 ,
owners ,
origins ,
north Wiltshire ,
Manor Farmhouse ,
Manor Farm ,
main secular building ,
John Aubrey ,
Isaac Lyte ,
importance ,
hoare mouldinesse ,
heated hall ,
Goods ,
general living room ,
external chimney stack ,
estate ,
Ebble Valley ,
Easton Piercey ,
early 17th century ,
Earls of Pembroke ,
Deborah Lyte ,
damp place ,
core of the building ,
community ,
Civil War ,
church of All Saints ,
charm ,
chamfered beams ,
capital messuage ,
Broadchalke ,
Bathursts ,
antiquarian interests ,
alterations ,
1625
Just lately my work has taken me to Manor Farm, a mixed farm at Broadchalke, one of those tiny, out-of-the-way places in the south of Wiltshire that you wouldn’t go through unless you had business there. It nestles in the Ebble Valley roughly between Salisbury and Shaftesbury. Manor Farmhouse is one of those long, low, rambling buildings that started at one end and carried on ad infinitum until stopped by a tall, square dovecote; a sort of punctuation mark in stone. Additional charm is supplied by the weathered grey church of All Saints nearby presiding with quiet dignity over the centre of the village.
Manor Farm, Broadchalke
Every building I see that is of any age has had alterations made, almost as a matter of course, for the varying needs of successive tenants and owners. Looking at Manor Farmhouse it is possible to see its origins in the core of the building at the front. This core consists of a heated hall, then a general living room where the occupants cooked and slept and gathered for warmth, and an unheated parlour; a posh but cold room with a fine quadripartite ceiling (divided into quarters by chamfered beams) which showed off its status as the main secular building of importance or capital messuage of the estate. From digging in the records it seems that in the early 17th century the parlour was too cold for comfort. A big external chimney stack was added onto the side of the parlour probably by Richard Aubrey, father of the celebrated Wiltshire diarist John Aubrey, who was to succeed him as the tenant of the Earls of Pembroke at the farm. Richard had married Deborah, the daughter of Isaac Lyte of Easton Piercey in the north of Wiltshire, where John was born on March 12th 1625. John was removed from Trinity College, Oxford in 1643 because of the Civil War and brought home to Broadchalke where he later carried on the farm after his father died. 'Read more' to find out about his time at the farm....
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Nov 3, 2009
Tagged in:
Work Experience ,
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. ,
volunteers ,
village ,
variety ,
unlock ,
treasure-hunting ,
townswomen’s guild have ,
telephone rings ,
team meeting ,
strong room ,
search room ,
research ,
public ,
profession ,
procedures ,
Principal Archivist ,
postal strike ,
post ,
photographs ,
past ,
paperwork ,
owner ,
mould-infected ,
local studies ,
local school ,
local hospital ,
local history ,
living records ,
legal case ,
late 19th and early 20th centuries ,
laptop ,
jigsaw puzzle ,
information ,
immediate action ,
heritage field ,
guest speaker ,
glimpse ,
front door ,
file ,
fictional ,
fascination ,
eager ,
e-mails ,
duties ,
drying room ,
donation ,
day in the life ,
database ,
data projector ,
Council staff ,
computer ,
community centre ,
collection ,
Claire Skinner ,
challenge ,
catalogue ,
Archivist ,
archives conservators ,
Archives ,
archive service ,
afternoon meeting ,
accessioning ,
A-level history
No day is ever exactly like another for archivists, which is one of the reasons I went into the profession. It offers variety, challenge and a fascination for anyone interested in the past. The day below is a fictional one, a composite of many days in my life and those of my colleagues, designed to give a brief glimpse of just some of our many duties.
The Principal Archivist, Claire Skinner at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre Open Day, 2007
Today begins with our monthly team meeting – an opportunity for staff in both archives and local studies to talk about the operation of the search room and see if we can improve our procedures. Following this I unlock the front door at the usual time of 9.30 am and let in the people already waiting patiently outside, obviously eager to come in and begin or continue their research! 'Read more' to find out what else the day brings......
