Hipposandal – a Roman horse shoe Our Object of the Month for July has been chosen by Carolyn Wingfield, Curator How were hipposandals used? Iron hipposandals (soleae ferreae) were removable temporary horseshoes, which were used to protect the hooves of working horses. They were first introduced in the Celtic-Roman area north of the Alps in… Read More »
We welcome the government’s announcement that museums in England can re-open from the 4th July. Our first priority is the safety of our staff, volunteers and visitors. We are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that all necessary safety measures are in place for re-opening in line with the government’s guidelines. We will announce… Read More »
Curator Carolyn Wingfield is giving a small display of Roman pottery a makeover, looking at where the pots were made or how they were used. This small bowl with a perforated base is a pottery strainer or colander, which has been partially reconstructed; it is quite rare for strainer bowls to be found complete. Domestic… Read More »
Bringing our usual holiday craft and learning activities to your home! Each pack contains all the materials you need plus exciting stories from our collections and is just £5. Simply follow the link to order yours https://saffron-walden-museum.arttickets.org.uk/ Week One: Brilliant Botanists Learn all about the botanist George Stacey Gibson. Make your own plant press and… Read More »
June’s Object of the Month celebrates Volunteers’ Week. These fossils have been cleaned and recorded by two dedicated geology volunteers, helping to audit the thousands of fossils held in the Museum’s stores. The project is suspended at the moment, but we all look forward to getting back together when times are better. These fossils are… Read More »
The first week of June is National Volunteer Week. With the Museum still closed due to the covid-19 lockdown, we’re really missing you all especially our amazing volunteers, who are all integral to the museum’s diverse activities. We thank you all for your on-going support. Here’s a message from us to you for #NationalVolunteerWeek –… Read More »
Our Collections Officer (Human History), Jenny Oxley has a real passion for vintage fashion, check out Part 2 of her blog charting the changes in the female fashion silhouette, this time covering the period between 1900 and the present day – illustrated through the museum’s collections. Follow this link for the PDF version The Shape of… Read More »
Our Collections Officer (Human History), Jenny Oxley has a real passion for vintage fashion, check out her latest blog, charting the changes in the female fashion silhouette between 1790 and 1900 – Corsets and Crinolines – illustrated through the museum’s collections. Follow this link for the PDF version The Shape of Women – Part 1:… Read More »
In Essex and south east England, almost every pebble on the beach and in gardens is flint. It’s a hard rock found in the Chalk, a soft, white, limestone layer that is up to 200m (600 ft) thick in north Essex and Cambridgeshire. In north west Essex, this chalk is between 90 million and 66… Read More »
May’s ‘Object of the Month’ features a selection of Hawk-moths. They have been chosen by Sarah Kenyon, one of the Natural Sciences Officers at Saffron Walden Museum, from moths preserved in a wooden cabinet of British moths. It belonged to George Stacey Gibson of Saffron Walden who collected the insects before 1883. Display of Hawk-moths… Read More »