Threads: Twelfth Night 2025

If you follow Chippenham Museum on social media, you will know that we have just marked the twelve days of Christmas with some great images from the collection. This led up to our favourite time of year, Twelfth Night, and our annual celebration of the events of 878CE and the part Chippenham played in making the Wessex King Alfred, great.

While today Twelfth Night has lost its importance in our modern Christmas festivities, for many centuries it played a significant part in the celebrations, marking the night before the feast of the Epiphany.

However, it also signalled the end of Christmas and the return to work. Alfred himself is said to have ordered that his people be given time off work for the whole twelve days of Christmas. So, Twelfth Night was the last opportunity for feasting and games before work commenced, and it probably became a raucous affair.

We will never know if it was too much partying that led to Alfred being unprepared for a Viking attack on Chippenham on Twelfth Night 878CE. What we do know is that it was a very significant event and one that ultimately led to Alfred stopping the Viking advance; a story that the museum has always felt worth telling. So, since 2017, with a few notable exceptions, we have held an annual Twelfth Night celebration.

This year the event was held on Saturday 4 January, so not technically Twelfth Night, but we still had lots of fun. We had the theme of ‘What Saxons Wore’ and visitors were able to learn about early medieval armour, clothing, and how the Saxons made their outfits with the help of local re-enactors. Our younger visitors made their own helmets, supported by the museum’s young volunteer group.

But for the museum this Twelfth Night was extra special. Keeping with the theme of clothing there was an opportunity to see examples of costumes from the museum collection and join in as we kicked off what’s to be a year-long celebration of all things fashion. Visitors to the event were able to learn about our plans for a very fashionable 2025, exploring ideas of memory and identity through the clothes we wear.

As well as our summer exhibition, we will be holding pop-up displays, walks, talks, and special events to coincide with the Festival of Archaeology and Heritage Open Days. Over the year, the museum’s after-school Photo Club will also be undertaking a new project capturing the town as they see it in 2025.

We want to use this year to build our knowledge and collections relating to clothing and identity.

Follow us over the coming months and find out how you can get involved!