Chippenham Museum Blog

Costume and textile items from the 17th century are already extremely rare, but what makes these gloves even more special is their possible link to an important local family, the Sharington-Talbots of Lacock Abbey. During the Tudor and Stuart periods, gloves such as these were symbols of wealth and sophistication. They were unlikely to have …

Continue reading “Glorious Gloves! The Latest Addition to the Museum Collection”

During my week of work experience at Chippenham Museum I was able to take on many tasks and attempt many activities, one of these was researching a pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre from the museum storage. The sabre was initially designed by a British Cavalry Officer in the 16th Light Dragoons named John Gaspard le …

Continue reading “Guest Blog: work experience student William shares his research into a 200 year old sword”

Mark Golder reflects on LGBT+ themes within our current exhibition ‘Wiltshire on Paper: Post-War Prints From the Bath Academy of Art’, open until 2 April. This exhibition has been made possible thanks to Mark Golder and Brian Thompson’s generous gift of works to Chippenham Museum’s permanent collection, in memory of their friend Arthur Norman.   …

Continue reading “Guest Blog: Mark Golder for LGBTQ+ History Month”

In the UK, February is LGBT+ history month. Queer stories have often been overlooked or marginalised, so in this blog we take a look at the stories behind everyday objects in our collection that reveal the lives and experiences of some of the LGBTQ+ community both past and present.

Today Christmas is mainly celebrated on 25 December, however historically this was seen as the beginning of the festive period, with 12 days of feasting and celebrating, concluding on Twelfth Night. The actual date for Twelfth Night depends on how the 12 days of Christmas are calculated, with different Christian traditions giving it as either …

Continue reading “The Importance of Twelfth Night for the History of our Town”

I first came to Bath in 1996 to study a BA (Hons) in Conceptional Fine Art at Bath College of Higher Education which during my time changed to Bath Spa University College. I instantly fell in love with Bath and its surrounding areas and have stayed ever since. I further gained a PGCE in Secondary Art and Design.