| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Good Figures - a unique exhibition by contemporary women artists. / Good Figures is an art exhibition selling the work of 30 of Britain's most eminent and interesting female artists aged from 22-82. This ambitious exhibition is curated by art historian Candida Stevens of TINT_ART a contemporary art forum based in West Sussex. The exhbition was launched in The Mall Gallery in central London in February and comes to the Jerwood Gridshell Space from 25 April-3May; a local architect will desgn a bespoke hanging system for the exhbition in the museum's remarkable building. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Museum visits with added value! / The Museum works hard to attract as many visitors as possible to enjoy and learn from our Designated and award-winning colletion of buildings and artifacts. We are especially keen to ensure our 'ordinary' non-event days are busy with extra interest and special demonstrations, and last year saw an uplift of 5,000 visitors on these core days. The museum is an education charitable trust. This includes school parties and an adult learning programme including talks. Other value-added visits are made by colleges, universities and special interest groups such as U3As who may request tours, talks, demonstrations and a space for which they pay an extra fee for venue hire, valuable extra income. Events catered include meetings, conferences, receptions, wakes, product launches and exhibitions. Art exhibitions are welcomed. We also hire out our fields for horse shows, dog shows, bike races and vintage car groups. Open air theatres bring their productions and the Museum has been regis \\ |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Open Air Performances for the new season / Former museum volunteer Zoe Hinks' Sabotage Theatre, which travels with a gypsy caravan pulled by a draught horse will bring Owlers to the museum on 31st may. A new play exploring the Church of England's involvement with Free Trade following the demise of the notorious Aldington Gang, and inspired by real historical events and folklore. It's a tale of rebellion, smuggling and the sea. Then in the summer Open air Theatre company Heartbreak Productions with bring two very different plays to the museum within one week. Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost will take place in the early evening on the 27th August followed by David Walliams' Mr Stink on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Dementia-friendly museum walks with afternoon tea / As part of the Chichester District 'Living with Dementia' Festival running for eight weeks from mid-April to mid-June 2015 we are offering a series of short walks with afternoon tea.
Thursday 16th April - guided tour of the Gridshell building
Wednesday 30th April - Guided tour of selected buildings around the market square
Thursday 7th may - Tudor apothecary; learn about the use of herbs and role of the apothecary
Tuesday 19th may - guided tour of the Gridshell
Saturday 20th may - tour of Tudor Buildings at the museum. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Shakespeare Week (16-21 March) / Following the success of our involvement in the first national Shakespeare week led by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 2014 we are one of their national partners this year. From the 16-19 march we're running activities at the museum for KS2 and KS3 groups in partnership with the Chichester Festival Theatre and on the 21 March we will have some simple drop-in Shakespeare themed activities for families. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Teacher preview day - Saturday 21st March / Come and find out what we offer schools and college groups on Saturday 21 March. On this informal day there is a chance for you to explore the museum, talk to members of our learning team about a potential visit, find out more about our range of museum led workshops. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Building Blocks Workshop / New addition to our established Building Blocks workshop in the form of a beautiful model of Poplar Cottage. Bob Brotherhood, one of the museum's 'Tuesday Gang' agreed to take up the challenge to make a scale model of a building we could use as a learning resource. In time there will be a modern equivalent alongside it. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Welcome / Two new people have joined the Museum. Jenny Rudd has joined the team as Marketing Manager and Jez Smith has joined the Interpretation Department as our new Site Interpreter. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Bread & Butter / Pupils are told a large part of the diet of someone who lived in our homes would have been bread, with some sort of thick soup. But rather than just thinking about bread - we learn more and have fun by making and then eating it. One of our new sessions introduced in response to the new curriculum takes a look at food through the ages and one element includes making bread and cooking it over an open fire on a griddle. At the museum we can show the process from field to plate. Of course a visit to our working watermill is another key element |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | 30th anniversary Rare Breeds Show - 19th July / It's 30 years since the museum first staged its ever-popular Rare Breeds Show. This delilghtful and intimate agricultural show hosts one of the South's biggest gatherings of farm animals. Visitors can get up close to hundreds of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and poultry - traditional breeds shown in a wide range of classes and culminating in a grand parade. There's the opportunity to chat to their owners, as well as visit craft and trade stands on countryside themes. The show is supported once again by the Friends of the Musuem. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Art Awards Development Hub / The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum has been working in partnership with other local cultural organisations to support and develop Art Awards in our area. They are Chichester Cathedral, Chichester Festival Theatre, Fishbourne Roman Palace, Pallant House Gallery and The Novium. As a group we've been undertaking training and sharing information about what each organisation can best offer as the skills covered in the awards mean 'arts' in a very wide context. Including heritage crafts, traditional skills we promote at the Museum. Various programmes which involve Arts Awards are already underway including Shakespeare Week' in March. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | History Gang - Year 1 / Our new youth group, the History Gang has completed it's first year. Members aged 8-11 met for the first time in January 2014 & have enjoyed a huge range of activities. These include games, blacksmithing, millings, wattle and daub, creating lino pirint easter cards; meeting the Tudor Group; making bread and butter, interviewing the Museum Director; learning historic dances; getting to grips with woodland skills; understanding, caring and enjoying the Museum; helping out at the Stables and making willow Christmas decorations. In the summer we have a weekend camp packed with activities. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | In Brief: Our Visitor Attendances. / Until the Christmas Market our attendances had shown a modest increase on last year of just over 4,000 visitors. Attendance was good at this very popular event but it was affected by adverse weather and numbers were reduced. As a result our figures for the season were identical with 2013 at 120,000. Attendances at events remains fairly constant, but our half term and wonderful Wednesday activites face increased competition from the many organisations who have followed our lead. Changes in the National Schools Curriculum are having an effect and there has been a drop in 'Friends' visits. The Gateway Project will probably affect attendence during the next two years but we are maintaining a 'business as usual' approach. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Historic Clothing Day - 27th September / Museum is holding a Historic Clothing day on 27th September. A day of talks exploring aspects of clothing from c1500 - 1900. Subjects covered include Henry VIII wardrobe; fashion in late 17th centry Sussex, 18th and early 19th century dress and accessories. The dress of the 19th Century poor and our own Historic Clothing Project. Specialist speakers are Prof. Maria Hayward from University of Southampton,, Dr Danae Tankard; Grace Evans keeper of costume at Chertsey Museum; Dr Vivienne Richmond from Goldsmiths and historic clothing designer Barbara Painter.The work of the museum's Historic Clothing Project will be on display. Series of talks pre-ticketed. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Museum Friends' vital contribution / The Friends of the museum makes a significant financial contribution to the museum's day to day operation & variety of projects and activites. Last year's grants amounted to |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Interior design in an early 17th century town house: the house extension from Reigate. / The Reigate house, circa 17th century, re-erected in 1987 containing a basement, a ground floor and an attic. The extension is attached to the back of the 15th century Crawley hall and sits alongside the modern Building Crafts Gallery. Two living rooms contain fine moulded stone fireplaces. Possible to visit these usually closed rooms some days this year.Dates to be confirmed. Interiors offer the visitor an insight into a sophisticated 17th century urban material culture which is otherwise unrepresented at the museum. History of where and when the house was. No 43 high street was later 20 century but fragments of earlier timbers suggested that it's medieval predecessor had a rear staricase tower which the extension was attached to. During the dismantling fragments of painted decoration were discovered. A history of it's occupants are given and also a description of the wall paintings found. The history and backgroun \\ |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | 50 years ago. It's 1965 - and the idea of an open air museum is born. / 2015 marks the first half-centenary for the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum. It's 50 years since Roy Armstrong, the museum's founder, first suggested the idea of an open air museum for the Weald. How Roy Amstrong, through seeing notable historic buildings distroyed came up with the idea for an open air museum. He suggested founding a museum, referencing a specific building in danger which was the Bayleaf house. Among those present were important individuals involved in the rescue of vernacular buildings. Appalled at what was happening to the remains of medieval buildings in Crawley a safe haven was needed for these. Roy proposed a suitable style of open air museum like Arnhem in Holland with a village nucleus surrounded by open coutnryside.The site was eventually settled in 1967 through the support of Edward Hames at the West Dean Estate. He was establishing a college dedicated to the arts and crafts in his family home and supported \\ |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | From the Chairman. A special museum - the future. / News of HLF. Just waiting for planning permission to go ahead.The need to keep working towards making the museum a success in the 21st Century & relevant.Visitor figures have plateaued and our visitor's facilities have fallen behind modern standards. Therefore this new investment in the museum will broaden our appeal. Challenge is how to use the skills, knowledge and inspriation of the museum to help with the issues facing today's communties including challenges to environment, rural economy and farming. Engaging with other partners. HLF funding includes a budget to include apprenticeships and engage with dementia sufferers. Museum also needs to be entrepeneurial with weddings, coach parties, touring open air theatre/concert etc. A mixture of history, education, social resonsibility and economic sustainablility. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Dismantling farm Buildings in the East Kent Weald / In January the museum embarked on the dismantling on the late 18th century barn and early 19th century stables at May day Farm, Pembury Road, Tonbridge. The buildings are in the way of the road widening scheme on the Tonbridge-Pembry section of the A21 in Kent. Work is being led by the museum's carpenter in residence, Joe Thompson. Project is funded through Balfour Beatty. Dismantling should be finished in March and the buildings with be conserved and stored at the museum before re-erection takes place next year.Initial buiding report interpreted the barn dating from 1780-1830. The three-bay oak threshing barn's significant features being the ridge board.The two bay oak stables I thought was either contemporary or probably slightly later, say 1800-1838 (using map eveidence). Richard Harris has been drawing up the buildings as found & Joe Thompson labelling components. The barn seems to have more phases. |
| 2015/3 | Magazine / Spring 2015 | Gateway - to the museum's future. / Article giving details of the HLF Project. Upgrading of visitor's facilities, explaining how the project with transforms the way that the visitors experience the museum from the moment they enter. Explaining what will happen to the current buildings on the Gateway site (Pallingham Quay wagon shed and Sole Street medieval house). House will be re-errected. Changes to Longport Farmhouse which will become a temporary exhibition gallery and meeting space. New site interpretation and orientation covered and info on new car parking and access. New gallery and caf |
|
|
