Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre
Chippenham Museum &
Heritage Centre is located in a fine 18th century grade II listed
building in the Market Place. Our permanent displays tell the story
of this historic market town, from prehistoric times up until the
present day. You can discover more about the history of the town
and local area by investigating our collections and by meeting some
of our famous former residents as they guide you through
history.
We have a regular series of changing temporary exhibitions, many
of which we do in partnership with local clubs and societies. Go to
our Diary Page to see what exhibitions we currently have.
Our education service
provides advice, workshops, talks and lectures to schools,
colleges, life long learning and community groups. The education
service is free to civic area school groups, with minimal charges
to other areas. Further details are available on the education
pages.
Our fully fitted lecture room is also available for hire,
offering space for up to 40 people. The room contains audio visual
equipment, a hearing loop and tea & coffee making facilities.
For further information, please contact us here.
We also have a dedicated research room that has access to our
collection of maps, photographs, trade directories, town council
minutes, burial records, historical electoral records and historic
periodicals that can be used for genealogical and local history
research. To see if we can help with your research or to book our
research room please contact us.
There is also a shop, selling local history books and
publications, relating to the town and local area.
There are many
opportunities to become involved with Chippenham Museum &
Heritage Centre. We have a dedicated team of wardens who assist
with all aspects of our work, from dealing with visitors, answering
queries, working with the collection, assisting with educational
work, helping with future exhibitions and researching local history
subjects. To find our more about the work of our wardens and get
involved yourself, see the information on our Wardens
Newsletter.
The latest exhibition is a return to our series "Local
Village Stories", highlighting the villages in our local
area. This time we shall be featuring Allington, Stanley, Studley,
Derry Hill and Stanton St Quintin; with a feature on Bird's Marsh
Wood.
The exhibition will tell a number of intriguing stories; including
a look at the medieval Bolehyde Manor and its link with Walter
Raleigh and the "Flying Squire"; the prehistoric
Lanhill Long Barrow, the oldest man-made structure in the area, the
Stanton St Quintin murder, objects from the archaeological dig on
the Romano-British site at Stanton Manor, a painting of Studley Saw
Mills done on a bedsheet by an Italian POW who worked at the mills;
and the history of the site of Stanley Abbey, including its long
connections with royalty and the whereabouts of the only extant
standing feature. With the recent interest in the area we shall
also have a look at Bird's Marsh Wood, particularly its interesting
archaeological sites.
The exhibition is running from Monday 18th May until Saturday 11th
July, 2009, 10.00am-4.00pm. Admission is free.