A Museum volunteer opened the scrapbook by chance …

An Article in the 17 March 2023 edition of the Friend is about a rare document discovered in the Archive and Library collection by pure chance On 29 September 1699 two Quakers married in Bath: Thomas Rose and Mary Fry.  In 1861 their marriage certificate was sent to William Cunnington,

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First Wiltshire Treasure item to recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme

We were delighted to welcome Brent Pullen to the Museum last week to see a very special object within our collection - the first ever Wiltshire Treasure item to be recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme in 1996.   Brent was the finder of this lovely Medieval silver annular brooch.

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Grecian pediment of the Assize Court building

Assizes for Devizes Project – bid submitted to National Lottery Heritage Fund

We have now submitted our Stage 1 application to the National Lottery heritage Fund. If successful, next steps are working with our audiences and planning how the building will work. Result in early July. Stage 2 application in 2025. If successful, then we could be open in 2030. Working with

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New grant award – Lest We Forget exhibition sharing stories of Black communities in Wiltshire in WW1 and WW2

We are delighted to announce that we have received an Association of Independent Museums ‘New Stories New Audiences’ grant for our Lest We Forget project. The grant will enable us to share the untold stories of the contribution of Black communities in Wiltshire throughout WW1 and WW2, working with Wiltshire

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Museum Research Agenda launched as part of National Framework

The Wiltshire Museum Research Agenda is the first Museum contribution to the Research Frameworks Network, alongside Research Frameworks across the UK. It sits alongside Research Frameworks for the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site, as well as the South West England Archaeological Research Framework. These Research Frameworks are hosted on

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The grave goods from the Upton Lovell burial on display at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes

Ancient goldworking tool kit revealed

Archaeologists have identified a 4000-year-old goldworking tool kit amongst the grave goods from an important Bronze Age burial near Stonehenge. The tool kit was found at the Upton Lovell G2a Bronze Age burial, which was excavated in 1801 and is now on display at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes. Now,

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Screenshot of museum websites and selected objects

Tender: Virtual Wessex Museums – unlocking a Wealth of Knowledge

Wiltshire Museum and Wessex Museums wish to procure an open source system to enable cross-searching and display of data from the collections management systems of the four Wessex Museums partners – Dorset Museum, Poole Museums, Salisbury Museum and the Wiltshire Museum. This is supported by funding from Arts Council England

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Summer at the Museum

Discover Wiltshire's story this summer Discover Wiltshire's story at the Museum this summer. Along with our interactive galleries, we have a jam-packed programme of family-friendly activities and events on throughout August and early September. Children visit the museum for free! Whats On? 01 Jun, 24 Upcoming Curious Kids: Under the

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The economic impact of our Ravilious exhibition

The Eric Ravilious: Downland Man exhibition which ran from October 2021 to January 2022 was our first high-profile exhibition featuring major loans from regional and National Museums. What a journey it was, with petrol shortages and threatened COVID lockdowns to keep us on our toes... It was a huge success,

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Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Celebrations in Wiltshire

How did Wiltshire celebrate the coronation? To celebrate the upcoming Jubilee, we've put together a small display of items in our collection relating to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the Queens accession to the throne

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