21 Monday May 2018
Posted in Archaeology, Heritage
The Festival of Leicestershire and Rutland Archaeology 2018 will take place from Saturday 30th June to Sunday 29th July. It is a chance to discover more about the rich and diverse heritage of Leicestershire and Rutland. The Festival has a fascinating range of events, talks and guided tours from some of the county’s archaeological and historical experts.
More details, including a festival programme, are available at the Leicestershire Fieldworkers website.
19 Wednesday Apr 2017
Posted in Archaeology, Heritage
Tags
archaeology, Edinburgh, Heritage, medieval, Orkney, Places to Visit, post-medieval, prehistory, Properties, Roman, Roman Britain, Scotland, stone age
Heading to Scotland for your holidays this year? If so, and if you’re interested in archaeology and heritage, then you may be interested in the new Bucket List Challenge launched by Dig It 2017 which encourages people to visit Scotland’s six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which between them cover over 5,000 years of history from stone to steel. Check out their website for more information.
10 Monday Oct 2016
Posted in Archaeology, Heritage
Tags
The well preserved remains of No. 1 Filling Factory at Barnbow, near Leeds, have today been granted Scheduled Monument status. Women made up the vast majority of the workforce, engaged in the incredibly dangerous work of filling shells for the western front including the Battle of the Somme.
Jane Siddell, Inspector of Ancient Monuments for London at Historic England, sheds some light on the term and talks us through some of the fascinating scheduled monuments she’s come across.
“I’m sorry but what is a Scheduled Monument?”
This was a question I received recently after giving a talk about recent archaeological projects in London. The questioner was a little embarrassed, but it’s a remarkably good question. He wanted to know how something qualifies to be a monument; what gives it that special quality? It proved surprisingly hard to answer.
Kits Coty House © Tony Austin
We’ve had Scheduled Monuments (sometimes known…
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01 Tuesday Dec 2015
Posted in Archaeology, Heritage, Technology
Did you know that, as well as producing maps of streets, Google has been using its Street View technology to allow people to discover exhibits and collections from museums and archives all around the world? The Google Cultural Institute includes images from the Globe Theatre, Carnegie Hall, the Bolshoi Theatre and the National Gallery, London.
One of the latest to be added is the British Museum in London. Their Museum View allows you to virtually walk around the museum and view the exhibits. As well as the regular galleries, there are also images based on recent exhibitions including ‘Celtic Life in Iron Age Britain’ and ‘Egypt: Faith after the Pharoahs’.
21 Thursday Aug 2014
Posted in Heritage
Heritage Open Days are an annual national celebration of England’s fantastic architecture, culture and history.
All over the country during the weekend of Thursday 11th of September to Sunday 14th September free access is available to properties that are usually closed to the public or that normally charge for admission.
In leicester properties and events taking part in the weekend are:
* Access to Sttetton (Railways) Collection Leicester Central Library
* All Saints Church War Memorials Project
* BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
* Belgrave Cemetery
* Castle Hills Country Park
* Glenfield Tunnel
* Jewry Wall Museum Presnts – Bath House Tours
* Leicester Cathedral
* Leicester Synagogue
You’ll need to book a place on some of the events and also check the opening times of others visit: http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/ for more information.
14 Wednesday May 2014
Posted in Archaeology, Heritage
Tags
archaeology, Britain, England, Heritage, Leicestershire, medieval, Places to Visit, post-medieval, Properties
Howard Williams is an archaeologist based at the University of Chester. His blog ‘archaeodeath’ recently took a look at the church at Breedon-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire, it’s history and the memorials there.
06 Wednesday Nov 2013
Posted in Archaeology, Heritage
Tags
archaeology, Britain, England, Heritage, news, Roman, Roman Britain, Rutland
Issue 285 of the Current Archaeology magazine contains a nice feature on the discovery of a Romano-British shrine at Rutland Water by archaeologists from Northamptonshire Archaeology. The excavation was conducted on behalf of Anglian Water, who have arranged for the reconstruction of the foundation wall of the shrine near its original setting with a display board describing the site. Finds from the site are being exhibited in the visitors centre.
30 Monday Sep 2013
Posted in Archaeology, Education, Heritage
Tags
archaeology, Heritage, medieval, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Places to Visit, post-medieval, Properties
There are plenty of places around the country that can enhance the learning experience by providing an up-close-and-personal look at the past. We often think first and foremost of the big national museums such as the British Museum, but there are some local gems too that we should also make the most of. In this post I’m going to list a few that I think are worthy of a visit in Nottinghamshire, perhaps as part of a family day out, but since this clearly cannot be an exhaustive list, if anyone has any other suggestions please leave them in the comments.
1. Galleries of Justice Museum, Nottingham: also known as the Shire Hall, this is an independent museum in the Lace Market area of Nottingham. The courtrooms date back to the 14th century and the gaol dates back to at least 1449. The prisons are still there. There was also a working police station from 1905 to 1985, and the courts closed in 1986. A joint ticket is available which includes the City of Caves beneath the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre.
2. Holme Pierrepont Hall, Nottingham: A grade I listed medieval hall that is open to the public on a limited basis.
3. Newark Castle and Gardens, Newark: Tours of the castle, ruined during the Civil War, are available. The Gilstrap Heritage Centre is a free-admission museum in the castle grounds about the history of the town of Newark.
4. Nottingham Castle, Nottingham: houses most of the City of Nottingham’s fine and decorative art collections, galleries on the history and archaeology of Nottingham and the surrounding areas, and the regimental museum of the Sherwood Foresters. Ticketing for the museum is now combined with admission to the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard located nearby in five 17th-century cottages at the bottom of the castle rock.
5. The Workhouse, Southwell: A National Trust property, this is one of the most complete workhouses still in existence.
6. Wollaton Hall, Nottingham: This 16th century country house now contains the Nottingham Natural History Museum with the Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuildings.
7. Mr Straw’s House, Worksop: A National Trust property, this shows how a grocer’s family would have lived in the 1920s.
8. Rufford Abbey, Ollerton: The best-preserved remains of a Cistercian abbey west cloister range in England, dating mainly from around 1170. Incorporated into part of a 17th century and later mansion, set in Rufford Country Park.
9. Mattersey Priory, Mattersey: The remains, mainly the 13th century refectory and kitchen, of a small monastery for just six Gilbertine canons – the only wholly English monastic order.
27 Tuesday Aug 2013
Posted in Archaeology, Education, Heritage
Tags
archaeology, Heritage, Iron Age, Leicester, Leicestershire, medieval, Places to Visit, post-medieval, prehistory, Properties, Roman
There are plenty of places around the country that can enhance the learning experience by providing an up-close-and-personal look at the past. We often think first and foremost of the big national museums such as the British Museum, but there are some local gems too that we should also make the most of. In this post I’m going to list a few that I think are worthy of a visit in Leicestershire, perhaps as part of a family day out, but since this clearly cannot be an exhaustive list, if anyone has any other suggestions please leave them in the comments.
1. Jewry Wall Museum, Leicester: small, but still very informative, the Jewry Wall museum is perhaps best known for its Roman exhibitions, not least the remains of the bath house outside the museum. However, it does also cover other periods from prehistory through to the medieval period. Other interesting displays include the Anglo-Saxon Glen Parva lady and stonework from Leicester Abbey.
2. The Guildhall, Leicester: Currently hosting the Richard III exhibition, the Guildhall is well worth a visit in its own right. It is a great example of a medieval timber-framed hall.
3. Bosworth Battlefield, Sutton Cheney: Also connected to Richard III is the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre. Alongside the exhibitions and reenactments, you can also walk around the battlefield itself. This can be a great, fun family day out. Just remember to take a reasonable pair of shoes with you if you’re planning to do the walk.
4. Donington le Heath Manor House: A charming little medieval manor house set in nice, quiet surroundings. This is not a huge stately home, by any means, but is still a very nice place to visit.
5. Grace Dieu Priory, Belton: Another very charming and atmospheric place to visit, the ruins of the medieval priory are not usually swamped by hordes of tourists and so it is possible to quietly take in the serenity of the spot as well as examine the walls and foundations that remain.
6. Staunton Harold Church, Ashby-de-la-Zouch: A National Trust property, Staunton Harold Church is a rare example of a Commonwealth period building of the High Anglican style.
7. Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle: An English Heritage property, the ruined castle (badly damaged during the Civil War) was the seat of Lord Hastings during the 15th century. Sir Walter Scott set a scene in his novel Ivanhoe at the castle.
8. Kirby Muxloe Castle: Another English Heritage property that was also owned by Lord Hastings, despite the name, this is more of a fortified manor and so an interesting contrast to the castle at Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
9. Burrough Hill Fort: This country park contains the remains of a well-preserved Iron Age hill fort that has recently been subject to excavation by archaeologists from the University of Leicester.
10. Framework Knitters Museum, Wigston: This cottage is the only working frameshop in the county and is significant for 19th century industrial and social history. At one time such frameshops would have been commonplace in the area and many of our ancestors would have been involved in the industry.
In addition to the places listed here, there are local history and archaeology exhibitions at other museums in the county such as Melton Carnegie Museum in Melton Mowbray and Charnwood Museum in Loughborough. At the time of writing, Harborough Museum in Market Harborough is closed for redevelopment. However, when open, this museum contains the nationally significant Hallaton Hoard and is well worth a visit for that reason alone.
21 Wednesday Aug 2013
Posted in Heritage
From Thursday 12th – Sunday 15th September 2013, a number of historical properties in Leicester that are either normally closed to the public or charge an entrance fee are offering free access. These include the Great Unitarian Meeting Chapel on East Bond Street where the WEA classes are being held, Welford Road Cemetery, backstage at De Montfort Hall, and Belgrave Hall and Gardens. For the full list of properties and opening times, take a look at the Heritage Open Days website.
