| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Exploring Hangleton Cottage's archaeology / During British Festival of Archaeology fortnight in July, the museum's exhibition of the excavation in the 1950s of Hangleton Cottage. Small collection of artifacts from dig displayed along with new research by museum interpreter Helen Mbye. Helen's Mbye's work focuses on the inhabitants of Hanglton during the 14th century discovered through contemporary taxation records. There were also archaeological activites for children & domestic interpretations of the buildings itself. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | The Museum at night - seeing thrings from a different perspective. / Museum took part for a second time in the national Museums at Night celebration organised by Culture 24. Looking at the lives of the former occupants of the houses during the hours of dusk and darkness. Opportunity to deliver deeper level of interpretation. Plan to repeat the event in 2015 on May 15/16. Booking open in Feb with limited places. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Norway Calling! / Joe Thompson, Museum's carpenter was invited to Norway to take part in a 'Stavlaft'. These buildings are hybrid between a log cabin and a timber frame; Workshop was arranged by Grampus Heritage & Training which promotes the Heritage & Training (CHAT) Project. Specifically designed for delivering heritage training and opportunities to exchange knowledge within European countries. Workshop led in Norway by their Master Carpenter George Fuller. His aim to pass on to students a specifically Norwegian styles of this form of carpentry. They cut and fit rafters and sarking boards ready for a turf roof. Techniques of this were explained. Joe commented it was a 'wonderfully intense week'. He also visited 'Saeter' where agriculture implements dating from the 18th, 19th, 20th century, made by the owner's ancestors were on display. Also visible on the river were evidence of Beavers. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | From the Director / A year ago I wrote that the 2013 season had not been an easy one, so one year on I am pleased to report that 2014 has been much better, albeit not without its challenges. A great deal of time has been spent preparing our Stage 2 Heritage Lottery Fund bid for the Gateway Project which was submitted at the beginning of august. We wil hear during November and we hope to publish the details of the project in the Spring Magazine. A submission is being prepared for Accreditation with Arts Council England which represents an enormous achievement. Although we have been Accredited for a number of years the scheme is updated periodically to reflect changes. One of the highlights of the year was the Horses at War: remembering WWI and WWII. Recently it was agreed that the Friends of the Museum would pass over its administration to the museum. I would like to express my sincere thanks and admiration for the tremendous support they have given since its foundation. This autumn a late 18th century bar \\ |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | The Museum Library helps to paint the picure. / Library first opened in 1982 in the newly re-erected Crawley Hall fulfilling museum founder Roy Amstrong's vision for a specialist collection that would support research into traditional buildings and associated subjects. The library underpins much of what a visitor sees. For example most of Danae Tankard's reaserach on painted cloths and wall paints was done using the collection. Building on this research Danae has now moved on to investigation into the Reigate house extension and its wall paintings. Danae Tankard, Lucy Hockley and Jon Roberts have made good use of the library to support their work on the Saxon House project too. Museum volunteers and students and members of the public also use the library for a variety of projects. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Birthday parties / The museum hosts children's birthday parties with a range of activities to choose from relevant to the museum's themes. These parties are fun, hands-on and can be tweaked to suit the ages of the children. The museum's caf |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Colour in historic homes / In September a day was devoted to the topic of domestic interiors of historic homes, including wall paintings, materials and furniture. Day had eminent speakers including Jonathan Foyle, CE of World Monuments Fund, Clare Gittings of the National Portrait Gallery. Also Ian Bristow, Architect and specialist in historic architectural colour and sicentist Craig Gershater. Included the scientific understanding of how we pecieve colour to sources of colour. Evidence came from Portraits, paintings, scientific analysis and written documents. Participants heard about the trail of research including paint samples on the marriage bed of Henry VII. Demonstrations took place around the site focusing on how colour played a part of historic buidings. A similar day on the topic of historic clothing will be held on 27 Sept 2015. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | From the Chairman of the Friends / Last article for the Museum magazine as Chairman of the Friends. Administration will pass over to the Museum. Membership privileges will remain the same. It has been a privilege to serve first as a committee member then as Hon Secretary and finally as Chairman. Thanking all those who have served on the committee & supported the Museum since 1970. Friends have raised |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | How the Friends help the Museum / Friends is a support organisation for the museum which runs fund raising events and social activites for it's members. One of the largest Friends groups in the country with 4,850 memberships representing 10,500 individual members. Since its inception it has raised a total of |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Honorary Membership / Honorary membership bestowed on Carol Brinson. One of those with the longest continuing involvement with the museum. Carol has undertaken a plethora of tasks since arriving in 1972 as a volunteer in the ticket office & shop. Helped with car parking, stewarding the buildings and thatching and spar-making in the woodcraft area. Also followed a career which included post of assistant to the then Director of West Dean College & later administrator of Farnham Malting Arts & Community Centre. Carol took on volunteer roles with the Friends including minutes secretary, committee member and Hon. Sec during which time she ran Friends' spring tours. She has also taken on admin role for museum in fund-raising, part time warden running the Dovetail arts programme. She is currently working with the Armstrong Library's volunteer team. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Historic building exhibits get some TLC! / Poplar Cottage is re-thatched by Andy Pickering with support of a |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | European Lifelong Learning conferece / Head of Learning, Diana Rowsell, travelled to Den Gamle By, an urban open air museum in Aarhus in Denmark, for the seventh biennial gathering of the European Lifelong Learning in Open Air Museums group. Thirty three delegates from 19 museums all over northern Europe attended, many delivering a paper on current special projects such as working with demential patients, inspiring young people without work and working with special needs children. Diana gave a paper about the museum's courses in historic building conservation for which we recently received the Europa Nostra Grand Prix and international recognition through Best in Heritage. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Tindalls Cottage curtilage develops / The interpretation of the curtilage of the early 18th century Tindalls Cottage is ongoing, and will take a few seasons before the area is established. A successful crop of Chidham wheat was grown, from which a good stock of seed for next season has been produced. A small area of flax did quite well, not very tall, but with soil improvement the areas will be doubled next year and well manured. More fruit trees will be planted in the yeard this autumn and the native hedging has done well and is becoming established. As it grows it can be used to demonstrate hedge laying and hedge management. The Needlework Group has been working on historic clothing for volunteers to use when working at Tindalls Cottage and has now completed two outfits, one male and one female. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | A sizzling steam extravaganza / The museum's Vintage and Steam event appealed to anyone who wanted to experience a taste of life 80 years ago when some vehicles didn't start at the turn of a key. This wonderful day in August showcased a great selection of classic, vintage and steam vehicles. Highlights included the steam-powered carousel gallopers, the most popular fairground ride of the steam era - powered by a Fowler showman's engine; the St Giles horse-drawn steam fire engine demonstration from the Sampson and McDermott families; over 30 miniature steam engines, railway models and model boats, a steam car and early bicycles. Also there were demonstrations of winching, wood sawing and vintage caravans, and a vintage tea tent with traditional refreshments. Next year's event witll be 15/16 August. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Membership matters / Gift Aid - Museum helped enormously by amount of tax we're able to claim back. Last year this was |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Ways of seeing the English Domestic Interior / This research network, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, has investigated people's experience of household life in the 16th and 17th centuries and considered how we might use this information to enhance our experience of visiting historic properties like Bayleaf in the 21st century. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | New Painted cloth for Bayleaf Farmhouse / Hastings-based artist, Melissa White, was commissioned to create a new painted cloth for Bayleaf, the design of which was based on a set of wall paintings surviving in a 16th cenutry house, Althrey hall, in North Wales. The new cloth has been completed and has been on display in Bayleaf since the beginning of July, replacing the woven cloth at the high end of the hall. Painted cloths were an extremely common form of interior decoration in the 16th century and were found in the homes of the wealthy and the relatively poor. In London cloths were produced by the Painter-Stainers' Company who guarded their monopoloy assiduously, but there were also painters working in the provinces. Many cloths were probably ornamental, incoporating flowers, fruits, abstract designs, animals and texts. Others would have featured narrative scenes drawing on well-known Biblical sotries. As no suitable painted cloths survive on which to base the one for Bayleaf, instead, after considerin \\ |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Commemorating wartime / The museum staged the largest display of WWI horse-drawn vehicles in the UK since the 1940s in June at its Horses at War: Remembering WWI and WWII event, which followed a week of special displays, including free activities for schools. The week was supported by a Heritage Lottery Fund award of |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | Warm welcome for visitors / 2014 has been a better season than last year with visitor numbers up 7% at the end of august. The season began well and continued by a generally excellent summer with little rain. Frustratingly, we have suffered from wet weather on the main bank holiday Mondays, notably the August one. The main events continue to be well supported, attracting between five and six thousand visitors whilst a single day event such as the Rare Breeds Show averages between four and five thousand. |
| 2014/10 | Magazine / Autumn 2014 | "Purge me with hyssop" / the use of plants to treat infectious disease is not confined to history; nearly 80% of antibacterial agents that are used today are derived from natural products such as plants, fungi and other microbes. Analysis of some of the plants from the museum that have historically been used to treat infectious diseases has been carried out, including Salmonella typhi, which causes typhoid fever, modern hospital superbugs, and bacteria related to tuberculosis and the bubonic plague. |
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