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News Update - May 2019
Items in this Update cover:
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Apr 30th - Villages Exhibition
Aug 18th
May 25th - Children's Safari Trail
Jun 2nd
May 29th End of Photo Competition
May 30th Children's Activity Event
Jun 7th Memories over Elevenses
Jun 21st Memory Café
Details of all the events and exhibitions are here
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Villages Exhibition
30th April - 18th August
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Four local communities (Clapton, Holcombe, Ston Easton and Welton) have created posters of old photos and histories, together with artefacts to illustrate some aspects of the history of their villages.
The exhibition shows the social changes that occurred as agriculture gave way to mining and heavier industry.
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Half Term Activities for Children
Activity Event 30th May 10:00 am - 12:00 noon
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There is a animal themed arts and crafts morning for children in the Museum on 30th May from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon.
Entry is £2.50 per child, including a free cup-cake, with one adult free per child. Additional adults are £2.50 (£2.00 with a Discovery card)
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Rainbow Safari 25th May - 2nd June
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There is a new Trail for children throughout the half term holiday running from 25th May to 2nd June during Museum opening hours and is free with normal Museum entry.
Hunt around the Museum for the hidden animals and colour them in on your worksheet.
When you have completed the challenge claim your prize!
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Memories over Elevenses
Friday 7th June 10:30 am - 12 noon
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Every first Friday of the Month we hold "Memories over Elevenses" in our Tearoom. The event is now well established and popular with a good turnout. But there is space for additional attendees, so why not come along to the June meeting?
The idea is that you come to Radstock Museum for 10:30 am, maybe with a friend too and perhaps some old photos or objects relating to local history. Then you can enjoy teas, coffees and cakes with other local people and with Lisa Pool, our new Events Manager. There is no charge but any voluntary donation to help with the costs would be much appreciated.
Many thanks to Radstock Town Council for its support.
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Memory Café
Friday 21st June 10:30 am - 12 noon
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Every third Friday of the Month with the support of the Alzheimer's Society and BANES Carers' Club we are holding a Memory Café in our 1930s decor Railway Buffet.
The Memory Café will take place outside normal Museum opening hours, meaning that it will be a calm, reassuring and safe environment for all visitors. It is intended for people who are living with memory loss and for their carers.
There will be a varied programme ranging from crafts, object-handling, speakers, games and nostalgia activities.
There is no charge but the Museum would appreciate all donations. Click here for more details.
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David Fisher 1946 - 2013
David Fisher was Midsomer Norton born and bred and had a highly successful career as a freelance artist and designer. His commercial work included almost 400 pictorial inn signs for breweries throughout SW England and a series of huge murals (many over 60ft long) for display in motorway service areas from Dover to Gretna Green. In 1970, David was made an Honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Painters and Stainers of the City of London.
After 30 years of working in the corporate field, David returned to painting subjects close to his heart, with commissions and producing fine art using oils, watercolours and acrylics. He was particularly well known for his local scenes and his keen interest in steam railways.
We are very fortunate that reproduction rights for some of David Fisher's original drawings have been generously granted to Radstock Museum by the Radstock Co-operative Society and by David’s widow, Mrs Brenda Fisher.
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We have produced six wonderful limited edition prints exclusive to the Museum, which are displayed for sale in the shop or by mail order.
The prints are from a series of pencil drawings created by David in 1983 for the Radstock Co-operative Society’s 1984 calendar.
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Julieann Biggs has brought out a second edition of her booklet on the history of Camerton.
It is on sale in the museum shop at £4.99.
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Following the success of their first 2 books, Peter Bradshaw, Larry Cunningham and Sue Fraser have now produced a further book titled "Twenty circular walks close to Timsbury" which is on sale priced at £5.00
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2019 got off to a difficult start for the Five Arches Team with the deaths of founding member Dick Graham and regular contributor Barry Maule.
In Issue 93, the team celebrates the contribution they have made to recording and sharing our local heritage with future generations: Dennis Chedgy revisits some of the early rambles done with Dick, and Julie has two last articles from Barry to look forward to in the summer and winter issues.
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In Issue 93 Tom Randall and Keith Trivett bring us articles on the Beauchamp sisters and on life in the aftermath of the Great War respectively. Eric Brain looks at the life of local photographer Letty Collinson, who played the organ at Jesse Lovell’s wedding (Jesse's own story is revealed by Austin Parsons in this issue too). Old friend David Shearn from Trowbridge recalls his family home at No.10 North Road, Midsomer Norton. Duncan Harper returns with a look at the G.W.R. signal box in Radstock. And Trisha Heckbert considers the challenges of oral history.
For those of you who haven't already got a copy of the latest issue, you can pop into the Museum Shop to get one, or you can become a subscriber and have it delivered to your door. UK subscriptions cost £15 for 3 issues by post; overseas subscriptions cost £25.
You can subscribe in a number of ways:
* In person - at the shop
* By post - please send a cheque, plus your name and address (or the name and address of the person for whom you are subscribing) to Dennis Chedgy, La Ronda, Manor Road, Writhlington, Radstock BA3 3NA.
* On-line - via the Museum website (see the link on the Five Arches page)
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Re-create the Mystery Photograph
Last Chance to Enter
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The Midsomer Norton, Radstock and District Journal every week publishes a "Mystery Photograph" of a local scene taken from Radstock Museum's archives, inviting readers to identify the location and take their own photo of the scene as it is today.
Next week will be the last opportunity to enter your photographs.
The photos will be judged in early June by local photographer Will Nicol who will select the best "Now" photo for every "Then" mystery photo. All the winning photos will be displayed in the Journal and the winners will be invited to the Museum where all the entries will be displayed over the summer.
Details of how to enter are in the Journal, or click here.
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Catherine Whybrow
(14 December 1940 - 24 April 2019)
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Catherine was a stalwart supporter of the Museum both as a front of house volunteer in the tearoom, where she always seemed to have twice as many customers as anyone else, and also as one of the organisers of the Science in Radstock talks. Her skill in finding interesting and varied speakers was second to none and probably reflected her mathematical background at Cambridge University and subsequently in education.
Her questioning of visiting speakers, delivered concisely and with great clarity in a voice which never required a microphone, was always probing whilst her summing up of the talks when giving the vote of thanks and writing up the talks for the media demonstrated her considerable intellectual ability.
A few years ago she survived a terrible fall down her stairs, in which she broke her neck, but she rapidly bounced back to her normal indefatigable self and we were all delighted when she resumed her volunteer roles.
It was on her way to the Museum tearoom that she suffered a fall and sustained fatal head injuries. Her death was a profound shock to everyone in the Museum, she will be sorely missed and we send our condolences to her family and friends.
The funeral service will take place on Friday 31st May at 1:45 pm at the Trinity Methodist Church, Radstock.
A comprehensive article about Catherine and her many achievements, particularly in support of the local community, appeared in the Midsomer Norton, Radstock and District Journal on 16 May.
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News
Additional Reference Books
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Following the closure of Radstock Library, the majority of its books have been transferred to Radstock Council who have taken on its future operation.
However the reference holding of the journals of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, over 100 volumes dating from 1880 to 1990, has been donated by BANES to Radstock Museum Library. The journals contain much historical information on our area, including “To Mendip for Coal - A study of the Somerset Coalfield before 1830” by John Bulley, an important work of which the Museum previously only had a photocopy.
They have seen little use and the leather bindings were dried out and required attention. This has now been completed and the collection transferred to the Museum. The volumes will take a while to catalogue but when that is done their contents will be searchable on the Museum catalogue.
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