School medal awarded at Frances Elliott’s School for Young Ladies
Silver school prize medal inscribed Mrs Elliott’s Ladies Boarding School, Devizes on one side and A Reward of Merit from Mr Burgess, teacher of dancing to Miss Clark, 12th June 1822. Frances Elliott (1782 – 1860) was a governess and teacher, running schools for young ladies – first in the
Jadeite Axe
This axe is made of jadeite, and has been brought from high in the north Italian Alps. The ‘signature’ of the stone has been analysed by researchers from the international Projet Jade and they have located the actual boulder from which this axe is made. The axe was brought to
Devizes Castle
Devizes Castle features on the town’s crest and looms large in this market town’s history, but you would be forgiven if you walked past without noticing it! From the end of Castle Road, just off St John’s Street, you can see the imposing gatehouse complete with crenelated towers and forbidding
Saxon Weaponry
Hello, I’m Kahlen Robinson and I’ve been volunteering at the Wiltshire Museum for several months, and these are some of the items I have found the most interesting in the museum. Saxon weaponry Saxon weaponry varied a lot throughout the time they inhabit Britain, their weapons typically varied from spears
Amber Necklace
Lady with the Amber Necklace A stunning amber necklace, finely decorated gold plaque, gold pendant and a string of drum-shaped beads are among the precious objects found with the cremated remains of a woman buried near the River Wylie at Upton Lovell, about 8 miles west of Stonehenge. She was
Bush Barrow Lozenge
This man, buried close to Stonehenge, was given Britain’s richest Bronze Age burial in around 1950 BC. Described as a ‘stout and tall man’, he was buried with objects that symbolised his power and authority in life. On his chest was a gold lozenge that fastened his cloak and would
Wilcot Hoard of Roman vessels
We have just acquired an important hoard of four bronze vessels, probably buried at the end of Roman Britain, 1,600 years ago. They vessels were carefully nested inside each other, perhaps using heather, bracken and sedge grasses as 'bubblewrap'. They are so fragile they can only be removed from their
Dr Lorna Haycock 1929 – 2019
Lorna was well-known and respected for her knowledge of the history of the County and completed her doctorate on the history of Devizes in 2001. During her long service to the Society she opened up the treasures of the Library to hundreds of researchers. She left a legacy to the
Dr Pamela Gough (1924 – 2019)
Dr Pamela Marjorie Gough passed away on 17 December 2019, aged 95. Her Wiltshire research papers including her thesis, notes, maps and books on Wiltshire arrived in the museum in March 2020, the week before Covid-19 Lockdown. She left a generous legacy to the Society. In recognition of her interest
Alfred Cunnington’s Private Telephone System
This is the earliest commercial telephone in Britain, made by Alfred Cunnington in 1877 to connect his wine merchant business at the Old Town Hall with his home at Southgate House, Devizes. Cunnington had read about Alexander Graham Bell’s invention published in Scientific American in 1876 and using the diagrams