NEWS IN BRIEF - MUSEUMS, GALLERIES AND HERITAGE NEWS
By 24 Hour Museum Staff
07/07/2008
Welcome to the 24 Hour Museum news in brief page for the week ending July 6 2008.
04.07.2008 - Serenity returns to Rievaulx Abbey
An ancient tradition is being re-instated this summer at Rievaulx Abbey, near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, when visitors to the site will be invited to kick off their shoes and enjoy a cleansing foot treatment, as English Heritage hosts its Serenity Saturdays.
Each Saturday, from July 12 to September 20, Helmsley therapist Barbara Harding will take up residence within the Abbey ruins to offer visitors a choice of complimentary complementary therapies; from a tension-relieving foot massage – ideal for those making the pilgrimage from Helmsley Castle to Rievaulx – to a spirit-lifting head massage.
“When the Cistercian Abbey was in use, each Saturday the Abbot would wash the feet of his monks and any pilgrims visiting the Abbey, recreating the humility of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples,” explains visitor operations manager, John Lax.
“Our Serenity Saturdays take inspiration for this by offering the modern-day equivalent of a footwash to help visitors better enjoy the peace and tranquillity that this remarkable site offers.”
To complete the relaxation, Tai Chi sessions are also being planned for the summer.
Serenity Saturdays run each Saturday from 12 noon until 4.00pm, with the massages running from July 12 to September 20, and have-a-go Tai Chi sessions running on July 12 and 26, August 9 and 23 and September 6 and 20.
03.07.2008 - Simon Jenkins appointed as next National Trust chairman
Simon Jenkins, former editor of The Times and the London Evening Standard, has been appointed as the next chairman of the National Trust. He will take up the three-year post after the Trust’s Annual General Meeting in Liverpool on November 1.
Claiming to have visited every National Trust house in England and Wales, Jenkins also founded the Railway Trust, was a founder member of SAVE Britain’s Heritage and The Thirties Society, and has long supported conservation issues in London.
“Simon is a hugely respected public figure with a deep understanding of what we do and a passion to move it forward,” said Dame Fiona Reynolds, Director General of the Trust. “He will be a powerful advocate for our work and we all look forward to welcoming him.”
Simon Jenkins was granted a knighthood in 2004, but does not use the title.
03.07.2008 - Fun-day for Pudsey Park bowling club’s centenary
Pudsey Park bowling club in Leeds will celebrate the centenary of their green by donning period costume and running a fun-day for members of the public from 1.30-4.30pm this Sunday (July 6).
Visitors can try their hand at bowling into a bucket, amongst other activities, such as target bowls for youngsters. There will be prizes and refreshments.
“I’d like to congratulate the bowls club on reaching their centenary and extending the sport’s appeal, especially to younger generations,” said Cllr John Procter, executive member for Leeds Council’s Leisure Marketing and Communications department.
03.07.2008 - Culture Minister slaps export ban on two Cipriani bronzes
Culture Minister Margaret Hodge has placed a temporary export bar on a pair of full-sized sculptures made by master bronze caster Pietro Cipriani in Florence in 1724. This will provide a last chance to raise the money to keep the bronzes, which were originally commissioned for the 1st Earl of Macclesfield, in the United Kingdom.
The two bronzes, Medici Venus and Dancing Faun, are copies of antique marble sculptures in the Uffizi in Florence. Acquired on the Grand Tour, they were specially commissioned from one of the most accomplished bronze casters in Italy at the time.
Originally intended for one of the most significant sculpture galleries in Britain, that formed by Lord Macclesfield at Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire in the 1720s, they epitomise the passion eighteenth-century British collectors felt for classical sculpture.
02.07.2008 - Bowes Museum gets £2m boost for makeover plans
The Bowes Museum has announced that a bid for just over £2m to One NorthEast through the County Durham Economic Partnership has been successful.
The money comes on the back of recent funding successes including £200,000 from the European Regional Development Fund and £3.3 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
"These generous awards complete the funding jigsaw required to commence this phase of the Museum’s development programme," said Adrian Jenkins, Director of The Bowes Museum. "This is a thrilling time for the museum as it moves towards becoming a world class visitor attraction in the North of England.”
Over the next two years a series of projects will see a complete transformation of visitor amenities, the creation of new galleries and other new ways of engaging with the collections as well as the completion of much needed roof restoration work.
02.07.2008 - Chesterfield Library listening group create oral history archive
Members of Chesterfield Library's listening group, 23 visually impaired people from Chesterfield who gather to discuss audio books, are set to create an oral history of their experiences as part of a heritage project being run by English Heritage and Derbyshire County Council.
During a two-day workshop, which will take place on July 4 and 11, the group, established in 2000 and believed to be the first listening group in the country, will be trained in oral history gathering methods including interview techniques and editing. They will then use these skills to create their history, sharing their personal memories of the group, the impact it has had on their lives and the fun they've had.
"This group is really important to its members and provides a real community focus," said Sandra Rollinson, Libraries Officer for Disabled People at Chesterfield Library. "We decided to create the oral history after we were approached with the idea by Norma Pearson from English Heritage."
"At the moment listening groups are really popular, but they weren't widespread before, and who's to say it's going to last, but we want to tell people that this is what we did, it worked and we had lots of fun."
01.07.2008 - Unique bus fleet to star at Edwardian Crich weekend
Eight unique buses – including the oldest surviving motor bus in the UK - will roll in to Crich in July, helping to make the Tramway Village's Edwardian Weekend a must-be-there event for vintage transport fans.
Crich Tramway Village's popular Edwardian Weekend will take place on July 5 and July 6, and will this year feature an added attraction of eight Edwardian buses - the entire collection of the Secretary of the Leyland Society, Mike Sutcliffe.
The eight Leyland buses and charabanc dating from 1908 to 1924 will include the country’s oldest bus – a 1908 London Central X type – which celebrates its centenary just before the Crich appearance.
The historic bus fleet will remain at Crich until the following weekend when they will be in the spotlight during the 'Leylands at Crich' event on July 13.
01.07.2008 - Amberley Museum gears up for vintage fire engine weekend
Amberley Working Museum will be filled with classic and vintage fire engines throughout the weekend of July 5 & 6, when the museum holds its fun packed Fire Show.
Previous years have seen a Dennis dating from 1914 which was Coventry’s first motor fire appliance, and even served in the Blitz during World War II. Children will also be able to take a ride in a real fire engine around the Museum’s 36-acre site.
There will also be a variety of period fire fighting and rescue demonstrations, together with displays of fire service memorabilia and other attractions.
30.06.2008 - Art installations celebrate diversity in Brent
A pair of art installations will be unveiled in Roundwood Park in Brent this weekend as part of the Respect Festival of visual arts.
The festival takes place on Sunday July 6 between 1pm and 8pm and celebrates Brent's talent and diversity in the setting of one of its finest parks.
Marko Stepanov’s work will consist of a spherical installation made of over 100 sticks of different sizes and colours to symbolise the variety of cultures and beliefs in Brent.
Lorenzo Belenguer’s Forest of Colours will also be a celebration of the area's rich diversity and will see tree trunks covered in textiles of bright colours as a metaphor of trees as people creating a positive and peaceful environment.
30.06.2008 - Polish steam heritage celebrated at Nene Valley Railway
A new event at the popular Nene Valley Railway takes place this coming weekend called Poles Apart.
On Saturday July 5 and Sunday July 6 two magnificent Polish steam locomotives will be in action on the scheduled trains and there will be Polish food, Polish beer and traditional dancing on the Saturday.
The Polish Consul, Mr Robert Rusiecki, is to open the event on Saturday July 5 at 10.30 by flagging away the first train from Wansford station. Then the dancing will start; from London, Zwyiec dance group will be performing on the platform at Wansford.
"We are hoping many Poles in the area – not just Peterborough but Cambridge, Kettering, Northampton, Grantham and Boston – will come along and have a great day out, meeting friends and sampling the event,” said Cris Rees, NVR’s General Manager.
For more information on the event, which is open to all nationalities, call: 01780 784444.
Picture: Polish steam locomotive Karel.
30.06.2008 - Early music afternoon at Weald and Downland Open Air Museum
The beautiful downland setting of England’s leading museum of historic buildings will provide a fitting backdrop to the peaceful strains of period music on Sunday 6 July.
The ever-popular Early Music Afternoon returns to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton, near Chichester, West Sussex, and sees groups of musicians performing in and around the museum’s historic buildings.
Musicians, some in period costume, will perform medieval, Tudor and Stuart pieces; including ‘pop’ music from the streets, lively music from the theatre, and courtly pieces. Featured instruments will include the familiar, such as recorders and cellos, and the more unusual, including a hurdy-gurdy and early violins.
Costumed dancers in the Market Square will be performing throughout the afternoon, and visitors will be welcome to have a go and join in.
The musuem is open until 6pm for the music afternoon - normal admission applies.
30.06.2008 - Bella the Shire Horse retires to Museum of Kent Life
After 17 years of hard work, Bella, a working Shire Horse, is to retire to the Museum of Kent Life.
Bella is the last of a fast disappearing group of horses, which once worked in the Kent farms, doing everything from ploughing to carting. She is a Black Shire, with three thick white socks and feathered feet and is regarded as a traditional type of Shire - 17.2 hands of pure muscle power.
“These Shires were bred from the war horses of the medieval knights and they are as much part of our heritage as Oast Houses and Hop Gardens," said John Jordan, Museum Director.
The museum intends to encourage and stimulate Bella with light work as she would become very bored if she were to give up work completely. If you are interested in helping to look after Bella as a volunteer groom, contact the museum on 01622 763936.
30.06.2008 - Free seminar looks at London history through maps
Archives for London, the independent voice for archives in and about the capital, are running a free seminar on Thursday July 3 to reveal how maps can tell the history of London and London's people.
John Fisher, head of prints and maps at Guildhall Library, will share his knowledge and experience of London map history and provide a history of the most significant large scale printed maps of London, 1560s-1860s.
He will demonstrate the importance of maps for archival research and discuss their historical value, particularly how they can reveal alternative insights into family and local history.
Attendees will also get a chance to examine and compare original maps and John will happily answer questions on any aspect of map history.
The free event takes place on Thursday July 3 2008 at 6pm until 7.30pm (doors 5:30pm) at London Metropolitan Archives - Huntley Room, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB.
Guarantee your place by contacting Nicola Avery at Nicola.Avery@cityoflondon.gov.uk or by telephone on 020 7332 3816.
30.06.2008 - Sheringham Park launches evening bat tour
Visitors to the National Trust's Sheringham Park are invited to take an evening stroll this Friday to discover more about the park's nocturnal visitors.
Head Warden Keith Zealand will lead a tour on Friday July 4 exploring the several species of bat that live at the parkland.
At Sheringham, the 870 acres of parkland, designed in 1812 by the great landscape designer Humphry Repton, are home to no fewer than six species of bats. In Britain there are more than twice this number of species, so regular surveys are undertaken to monitor existing colonies in the hope of finding other, previously unrecorded species.
"In terms of conservation, we have a lot to learn and understand about bats in order to protect them and promote their survival," explained Keith.
"They are much harder to study than birds, but new equipment such as bat detectors, minidisks to record their ultrasound for later examination on a computer, and radio-tracking to find out where bats go, are all greatly adding to our knowledge.”
Join Keith on Friday July 4 for Sheringham Park’s Bat and Moth Night, starting at 8pm until late. Adult £5.50, child £4 (NT members £5 / £3.50). Booking essential on 01263 820550.
