LATEST NEWS

Launch of Exciting New Project: Framing the Future

The Museum has recently launched Framing the Future, its exciting new project to build a medieval-style timber frame annexe to house new displays, an archaeological workshop, a collections management area, disabled and visitor WCs, a covered open-air activity area and a multi-purpose exhibition/lecture room. We've created a whole new section on this website where you can find all the details - click here

Winter Closure arrangements

The Museum is now closed for its Winter break, reopening on Tuesday 2 March. However, the Museum Bookshop will remain open on Fridays and Saturdays 10.30am-1.00pm.

During the closed period, the Museum team will be working hard to create the 2010 displays. The main exhibition will be Wallingford Before the Town. This will be our first major exploration of the area in prehistoric times, before the Saxon town was created, looking at earlier discoveries and some of the latest results from recent research and investigations. With objects ranging from the Neolithic to Bronze Age and Roman, the emphasis will be on the lifestyles of the people, brought to life through a number of specially prepared reconstruction illustrations.

Upstairs in our 20th Century Gallery, we’ll be looking at Education in and around Wallingford in the last century, with brief histories of local schools in the town and surrounding villages, some no longer extant, and a special feature on each of the current Wallingford schools prepared by the pupils themselves.
 

"The Wallingford Story - A Fresh Look at the Town's History"

In February and March next year, Wallingford Museum presents a series of six illustrated 1½ hour lectures by local historian, lecturer and Museum Curator Judy Dewey. The talks will give a fresh insight into the long and colourful history of Wallingford. Profusely illustrated, each lecture can be enjoyed as a stand-alone exploration of its theme, or the whole series can be seen as a rich and unfolding narrative. Wherever possible, Judy will draw on the very latest historical and archaeological research to bring the visitor the most up-to-date picture and theories. As always, Judy’s style will be clear and non-technical so even if you have no previous knowledge of Wallingford’s history, we are confident you will find it brought to life!

The lectures will be given in Wallingford Baptist Church at 8.00pm on Wednesday evenings from 3 February to 10 March 2010. The subjects will be: The Saxon & Viking Town; Wallingford Castle; The Medieval & Tudor Town; The Civil War Years and the aftermath; The 18th Century Market Town; The Modern Town - 19th & 20th Centuries.

Individual Lectures will be £5 per person per lecture payable on the door on the night (subject to seats being available) - no advance booking available.

Complete Set of Six Lectures will be £24 per person one-off payment in advance. Available only by advance booking using the booking form or on the first night. To download a booking form to print out (two pages) and send the tear-off slip with your cheque, please click here.

For further details or for a booking form by e-mail, please contact Judy Dewey at judy@piepowder.co.uk or phone 01491 651127.
 

New Book Now Available: "Origins of the Borough of Wallingford"

Available now from the Museum bookshop is the new British Archaeological Report called "Origins of the Borough of Wallingford - Archaeological & Historical Perspectives" edited by KSB Keats-Rohan & DR Roffe.

It is largely based on papers presented at last year’s conference, Origins of Wallingford - A Reassessment, but with additional material, and covers a wide range of topics, including a comprehensive Wallingford bibliography.

The recommended retail price is £28 but the Museum shop is selling them at a special discount price of £24.

'Burh to Borough' Project

The Museum and TWHAS (see below) are involved in a major research programme led by archaeologists from the Universities of Exeter, Leicester and Oxford. It includes archival research, geophysics surveys and practical archaeology, all based in and around Wallingford. For details go to this page. For three weeks in July 2008, there were three major excavations taking place: on the Kinecroft, Bullcroft and the Castle site. As the results emerged, they were presented in the Museum. To find out the details of the 2008 excavations, visit its website by clicking here.

In 2009 there were three further weeks of major archaeology with trenches on the Castle Site (inner bailey), Kinecroft and Wallingford School site. For a daily diary of progress as it unfolded click here.

STOP PRESS: 2010 Dig Dates: There will be TWO excavation seasons in 2010 - April 10-24 and July 10-24. In April there will be some geophysics and a small excavation; in July there will be a bigger excavation plus garden archaeology.

Museum Receives Full Accreditation Status

We are delighted that Wallingford Museum has now been awarded FULL ACCREDITATION status with the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council scheme. We were one of the first museums in Oxfordshire to receive Full Registration some years ago - this new stage in the process is an even more rigorous examination of the systems, governance and management of the collections and the visitor experience as whole. Only if all the standards are fully met is Accreditation granted. Like Registration before it, it is an essential requirement for successful applications for grants.

2009 Special Events

Both our Finds & Fossils Days proved to be very popular. Our resident experts were busy identifying visitors' fossils and archaeological finds. Fossils were in the hands of Dr Steve Head (pictured left) and  the archaeological finds were examined by Anni Byard, our Finds Liaison Officer of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Equally popular were the Historic Guided Walks with our local historian, Judy Dewey, which took place on the same days as the Finds & Fossils. There were two walks on each day - the Castle Walk in the morning and the Town Walk in the afternoon.

Both these events will be repeated in 2010 on Saturday 10 April and Saturday 11 September.

The 2009 Family Archaeology Day was held in July in conjunction with Wallingford Fun Day and Open Days on the Burh to Borough dig sites, which were in full swing. In the Museum's courtyard there was the usual sandpit for young archaeologists to test their excavating skills, clay pot making (with Steve Capel-Davies - left), and a large display of finds from this year's digs. Meanwhile, pot-washing of recent finds was continuing apace (Gerard Latham - below)

In addition, there were free guided visits to the Burh to Borough excavations on the Castle site and the Kinecroft. Pictured (left) is Kinecroft site director Gavin Speed giving a guided tour while Project Officer Matt Edgeworth is the bucket man! Junior archaeologist were invited to develop their skills further by digging on the actual site (see below).

In the Museum itself a special TWO-FOR-ONE entry offer proved popular. Despite changeable weather the event was well-attended but the gazebos in the Museum courtyard were very welcome at times!

Family Archaeology Day will be back in 2010 - on Sunday 4 July.

Joint Publicity Venture

Wallingford Museum works with four other local attractions to create a new publicity partnership - Days Out around Wallingford & the Wittenhams. The other organisations are: Pendon Museum, Project Timescape, Dorchester Abbey Museum and the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway. Each organisation helps promote the others so tourists - both local and from afar - are encouraged to "make a day of it" by visiting two or three of the attractions on the same day. Each attraction has a link to the special "Days Out" website which includes a map - click here - and we have produced a joint leaflet.

TWHAS Information

This website also hosts pages about our sister organisation, The Wallingford Historical and Archaeological Society. The meetings programmes for 2009 & 2010 can be found here.

Recently made available for local historians and those researching their family history is the TWHAS Documents Group WALLINGFORD NAMES INDEX. For details click here.