The Museum’s ‘Object of the Month’ provides an opportunity to explore interesting and unusual objects from our stores. August’s Objects of the Month have been chosen by Jenny Oxley, Collections Officer (Human History) Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands indigenous tribes in North America. It includes white shell beads hand fashioned from… Read More »
The Museum’s ‘Object of the Month’ provides an opportunity to explore interesting and unusual objects from our stores. July’s Objects of the Month have been chosen by Carolyn Wingfield, Curator This pair of solid gold bracelets, found in North-west Essex are nearly 3,000 years old. They date from the late Bronze Age, around 900 – 750… Read More »
Roman ring and silver coins Saffron Walden Museum celebrates Uttlesford’s ancient heritage with three new archaeological treasures on display from 10 June. The first two are a gold Roman ring from Broxted, set with a polished amethyst, and a hoard of ten silver coins from Barnston. The coins date from AD 395-402 and were probably… Read More »
Humpback whale photographs taken by Barry Kaufmann-Wright in New Zealand, in 2013. All Images BK-W © Saffron Walden Museum Barry took and kept over 72,000 photographs in his lifetime, almost all of wildlife and the countryside. Barry grew up in Buckinghamshire but his first job was at Jersey Zoo, working for the famous naturalist Gerald… Read More »
Skin of a Grass Snake Our ‘Object of the Month’ for May is the shed skin of a grass snake, Natrix helvetica, that was found at Wimbish Green, Essex in July 2001. It was chosen by Sarah Kenyon, one of the Natural Sciences Officers at the Museum. Grass Snakes Snakes are reptiles and the grass… Read More »
On the 7th April 1914, a fire broke out at Bordeaux farm in the parish of Littlebury. Newspaper reports at the time suggested that in high winds, sparks from a traction engine caught light to some dry thatch. The flames ran along the river path to Little Chesterford and then spread rapidly across the village. … Read More »
April’s Object of the Month has been chosen by Jenny Oxley, Collections Officer (Human History) and is not strictly one object but a collection, in this case, items made from barkcloth, which form part of the museum’s world cultures collections. The museum holds around 80 barkcloth items, originating from all around the world, but largely… Read More »
Have you been watching “The Dig” on Netflix, which explores the excavation of the Great Ship Burial at Sutton Hoo (1939), based on John Preston’s novel. Many of the characters depicted are inspired by real people, including one connected to Saffron Walden Museum. Guy Maynard (1877-1968) was the museum’s Curator between 1904 and 1920, having… Read More »
Water voles are probably best known from the character ‘Ratty’ from The Wind in the Willows. Recently described as “Britain’s fastest, declining mammal”, they are making a comeback thanks to careful wildlife management and the return of a locally extinct predator – the polecat. Water vole © Saffron Walden Museum. Water voles are about the… Read More »
These Snowdrops from Littlebury in Essex are January’s ‘Object of the Month’. The snowdrops were collected by George Stacey Gibson in a meadow at Littlebury in March 1864, so these preserved plants are 156 years old. George Stacey Gibson of Saffron Walden published the first Flora of Essex in 1862. This is an illustration of… Read More »
