Welcome to the 24 Hour Museum news in brief page for the week ending February 4 2007.
02.02.2007 - 19th Century political pamphlets to go online
Polemical voices from the past will soon be heard alongside today's outspoken blogs thanks to a new project which aims to make political pamphlets from the 19th century available online for the first time.
19th Century Pamphlets Online will digitise around 23,000 political pamphlets held in research libraries across the UK, including Bristol University Library.
The project, led by the University of Southampton, is part of an ongoing programme to digitise major historical resources of national importance. It was one of 16 projects nationwide to bid successfully this week to the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) for part of a £12m investment provided by the Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales (HEFCE and HEFCW).
More than one million pages will be scanned from around 23,000 paper pamphlets which focus on the political, economic and social issues that fuelled the great parliamentary debates and controversies of the 19th century. This will provide researchers, students and teachers with an immensely rich and coherent body of primary sources with which to study the socio-political and economic landscape of 19th century Britain.
02.02.2007 - Ceremony of reflection marks opening of slavery exhibition in Portsmouth
A simple ceremony of reflection and remembrance to honour the memory of all those who died as a result of the transatlantic slave trade was held on Friday February 2 2007 at the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
The ceremony was the centrepiece of the formal opening of the Museum’s special exhibition, Chasing Freedom: The Royal Navy and the Suppression of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
There were readings from contemporary accounts by Africans who endured the horrors of the trade – and from the memoirs of the Royal Navy sailors who fought to free them. A minute’s silence was observed. A message of support was also read from The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, Minister for Culture.
Guests at the ceremony were then shown around the exhibition by year eight pupils from Admiral Lord Nelson School, in Portsmouth. The exhibition is one of the first in a series of special exhibitions being organised all over Britain this year to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in 1807.
02.02.2007 - Outstanding collections recognised
Three of the country's stand out collections have been formally recognised by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) through its Designation Scheme. Having met the rigorous criteria of the scheme, collections held in Warwick, Reading and London have received this highly regarded status.
The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Library, has been recognised for its archives of national trade unions and employers' organisations, which is unrivalled in the United Kingdom.
Reading University's Archive of British Publishing and Printing also gets recognition for its full range of British publishing activity from 1800 to the present day. Most of the major literary, general and educational publishers are represented including Allen & Unwin, A & C Black, Heinemann Educational Books, Longman, Macmillan, Routledge and Random House.
The collection of the Women's Library at London Metropolitan University has been recognised as being unrivalled in scope. It includes 60,000 books and pamphlets dating from 1592; over 3,000 periodicals dating from 1745; unique ephemera from over 4,000 women's organisations; over 460 archives dating from 1770 and over 5,000 objects dating from 1786.
Designation of collections in libraries, archives and other organisations across England means they have been recognised as being of outstanding national and international importance.
02.02.2007 - Spike Island re-opens after £2.25m facelift
Arts Council investment has enabled a redevelopment of Spike Island in Bristol, the UK’s largest artist studio complex.
The building re-opens on 3 February 2007 following a £2.25m redevelopment. The opening exhibition in the new gallery spaces is by artists Hayley Tompkins and Sue Tompkins.
Spike Island’s new and improved facilities for the production and display of contemporary art will increase Bristol’s rich cultural offer, adding another venue of national and international importance and giving audiences the opportunity to see work by artists from Bristol and the south west as well as from outside the UK.
01.02.2007 – East Anglian Museums Launch Collaboration
Two historic towns are to share their rich heritage by combining their museum services.
Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town and Ipswich, the oldest English town with a strong Saxon heritage, will be able to offer residents and visitors a richer experience with this groundbreaking venture.
The Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service will take effect from April 2007 and will see a wealth of knowledge and history being shared across the counties, as well as the ability to apply for larger grants for improving collections.
Councillor Kevin Bentley, Colchester Borough Council's Portfolio Holder for Culture and Public Relations said: "We see many benefits for the two authorities working together, from sharing our extensive range of historic collections to increasing the level of expertise we offer our customers."
01.02.2007 – Bronte thimble goes on display in Haworth
The Bronte Parsonage is proudly displaying a thimble once used by the famous literary sisters.
The thimble, discovered in a sewing box owned by Charlotte, Emily and Anne in the 1840s, is part of a revamped exhibition at the museum in Haworth, Yorkshire.
01.02.2007 - British and Irish pagans unite for Tara and Thornborough
Pagan groups from Britain and Ireland are performing rituals in a show of solidarity for heritage campaigns on both sides of the Irish Sea.
The campaigns to prevent a motorway going ahead at the foot of the sacred Hill of Tara, and against a company quarrying gravel in the vicinity of Thornborough were dealt blows this January.
The women of Brighid and Brigantia (in Ireland and Britain, respectively) have sent sacred waters to each other to be used in tributes in support of the campaigns. On February 4, the pagans of Brigantia will perform a well blessing ceremony in honour of the eponymous goddess and in support of the campaign to prevent Thornborough being quarried. The women of Brighid have already performed their ceremony for Tara.
“For the first time since the Roman invasion, the waters of Brigantia will mingle with the waters of Brighid,” said a statement from the pagans.
“We have nothing to gain but our ancient heritage, and the soul of our people.”
31.01.2007 – The Stage pledges £10,000 towards retaining Theatre Museum
The Stage newspaper has donated £10,000 towards fundraising efforts to reopen the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden, and keep it there.
The appeal was launched by the Guardians of the Theatre Museum after the West End museum foundered. The Museum’s parent institution, the Victoria and Albert Museum, decided to close it earlier this year.
31.01.2007 – Lighthouse roof stolen from Scottish museum
The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh, Scotland, is appealing for any information that will help it to retrieve a historic lighthouse roof stolen over the weekend.
The white copper dome, once part of the Adtornish beacon on the coast of Mull, dates back to the 1890s and had been on display in the museum car park for several years. It was discovered missing on Monday morning, presumably stolen for its scrap value.
Staff hope the 10 foot diameter, 5 foot high dome can be found before it is flattened and sold on. A lorry must have been used to transport it, and it would have taken at least three people to move it.
There were plans to eventually reconstruct the whole lighthouse at the museum.
Call Grampian Police on 0845 600 5700 with any information, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if you wish to remain anonymous.
31.01.2007 – British Library launches hunt for hidden treasures
As the British Library launches Turning the Pages 2.0 with the digitisation of Leonardo da Vinci notebooks, it has also started a hunt for hidden treasures in public libraries around the UK which could be shared online.
The national competition is challenging libraries in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to suggest works in their collections that are worthy of being turned into ‘virtual texts’ alongside such works as Mozart’s musical diary and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland manuscript. The winning works will be shared with the world via the British Library’s Turning the Pages technology.
“Since its launch, Turning the Pages has reached out to new audiences with an immediate power, allowing dynamic and interactive access to iconic works of global importance,” said Culture Minister David Lammy, who was also at the launch event.
30.01.2007 - Bill Viola installation heralds rebirth of Sheffield Cathedral
Sheffield Cathedral is to host a film installation by Bill Viola. The event celebrates the forthcoming opening of the Sheffield Cathedral Community Resources Centre, by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal on March 6 2007.
Viola's The Messenger, which features an atmospheric film loop of a figure slowly emerging from a pool of water, will be shown in the cathedral from January 31 until March 2 2007.
The colour video and stereo sound installation was originally developed as a site-specific work shown in Durham Cathedral in 1996 and is considered a fitting work of art to celebrate the rebirth and renewal of Sheffield Cathedral.
30.01.2007 - Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre launches time capsule competition
A competiton for young people to select the contents of a time capsule is being launched to mark a key milestone in the construction of the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.
The challenge was launched at a ceremony on January 29 2007 to celebrate the official handover of the keys for the new centre to Wiltshire County Council and Swindon Borough Council. The next phase in the £11.6m project is to transfer and protect a valuable treasure trove of local archives for future generations.
Winning entries from Swindon and Wiltshire will be placed in a casket which will take pride of place within the new archive. The two local authorities will now be working with local schools to involve them in the competition and the winning entries will be revealed at the official opening of the building in October 2007.
30.01.2007 - Tate Britain unveils new work by Jake and Dinos Chapman
Jake and Dinos Chapman have created a major new work specially for Tate Britain called When Humans Walked the Earth.
The special display opened on January 30 and coincides with their mid-career exhibition, Jake and Dinos Chapman: Bad Art for Bad People, on display at Tate Liverpool until March 4 2007.
When Humans Walked the Earth is directly related to the Chapmans’ early sculpture Little Death Machine (Castrated) 1993 that is in the Tate's Collection. Elements of the earlier piece – including a brain, milk-bottles and tools - are reproduced in bronze to create a series of 'impossible machines'.
Fans of the duo will be pleased to hear that some familiar Chapman Bros themes are present - the machines emulate biological and psychological states such as breathing, thinking, copulation and death. The display is free and open until June 10 2007.
30.01.2007 - Londoners could benefit from single library card scheme
A feasability study has shown that London librarians strongly support a move towards a single membership for all the capital's public libraries. If this happened then the public would only need one card to use libraries across the whole city.
However the study, commissioned by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, also notes that there are 'significant challenges to be met, including financial and technical limitations, and the retention of the strong local identification and ownership that most libraries enjoy'.
London has more than 350 public libraries, managed by the City of London and 32 London boroughs. There are some 2.1 million membership cards in circulation in the city and more than 54 million customer visits in 2006.
29.01.2007 - National Tramway Museum on the hunt for craftspeople to work on its vintage vehicles
Crich Tramway Village, home of the National Tramway Museum, has launched a nationwide search to find three people skilled in traditional crafts to work in its renowned restoration workshops.
The Derbyshire museum is looking for a coach builder, coach painter and technical fitter to help restore and maintain its fleet of historic working trams. All these skills are in short supply.
Lottery funding allowed the workshops to be opened three years ago and a public viewing gallery lets visitors see the restoration team at work.
Anyone interested in the posts can contact the museum on 01773 854321 or download an application pack on their website (details above). The closing date for applications is February 23 2007.
29.01.2007 - Welsh libraries get extra funding for modernisation projects
Alun Pugh, Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport in the Welsh Assembly, has set aside an extra £2.5m to help revitalise public libraries.
£1.5m will go towards refurbishment projects and a further £1m will be used for marketing to attract more visitors to libraries in Wales.
A report commissioned by the Welsh Assembly had found that a signicant proportion of Wales' public libraries were outdated. The new funding will be used towards a host of improvements including better study facilities, modern furniture, community meeting places, wireless internet access and improved disabled access.
29.01.2007 - English Heritage grant to help save fort at North Shields Fish Quay
A £200,000 grant from English Heritage will help to restore and conserve the 17th century fort and surrounding buildings at North Shields Fish Quay. It forms part of a regeneration scheme by North Tyneside Council.
The quay dates from the 13th century and although the fishing trade has diminished since the 1970s it is still a working quay. Clifford's Fort on the quay was built as a defence against the Dutch in 1672 and was a strategic spot during the Napoleonic Wars.
It is currently derelict and the money will help to conserve its walls and interpret them for visitors.
Kristians fish and chip shop on the quay has also taken advantage of the new funding by installing specially made solid oak window frames based on the originals shown in old photographs.
