Visiting the Museum!

Our standard opening hours are Wednesday-Saturday 10-4.30pm, Sunday 2-4.30pm

Closed on Mondays.

Tuesdays are reserved for pre-booked group visits by schools and other parties

www.saffronwaldenmuseum.org

Please pay by cash or card at our welcome desk on arrival at the museum.  We no longer require online booking in advance.

In the interests of safety, we still encourage

• Wearing of face coverings
• Maintaining social distance
• Using hand sanitiser

The QR code for the NHS Track & Trace app is displayed in the foyer for visitors who wish to scan it.

Object of the Month

The Museum’s ‘Object of the Month’ provides an opportunity to explore interesting and unusual objects from our stores. 

February’s object of the month shows gemstones which are associated with love and romance, to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

It's been chosen by James Lumbard, one of the museum's Natural Sciences Officers. 

Amethyst is the birthstone for February, but as a symbol of love, St Valentine is said to have worn an amethyst ring so Christian couples in Ancient Rome could identify him. Valentine was a priest who carried out forbidden Christian marriages and married young couples, when the Roman empire persecuted Christians and preferred their soldiers to be unmarried men.

Lapis lazuli can represent truth and friendship, and in Christianity represents the Virgin Mary. With the blue of the sky and gold of the sun, it represents success in Jewish traditions, while beads found in the ancient town of Bhirrana from 7500 BCE are its oldest known use by people. The remains of Bhirrana are in the Indian state of Haryana.

Sapphires are popular for engagement rings, as used for Lady Diana’s engagement ring from Prince Charles. Sapphire is the traditional gift in the UK for a 45^th wedding anniversary and can symbolise truth and faithfulness.

In Ancient Greece and Rome, the word sapphire was used for lapis lazuli, as sapphire was only widely known from the Roman Empire onwards.

To find out more visit the Museum in February to see it on display or check out the Blog on our website. 

February Half Term

Fossilisation C&C pack collection : 15th 16th & 17th Feb:

Order via our art tickets page, collect from the museum and enjoy at home.

Make a model ammonite, mini palaeontology museum & roarsome dino mask.

Packs are £5 and contain the materials you need to complete the crafts.

Museum Make Sessions: 5th & 16th Feb

Purchase a click and collect pack and join us to make one of the crafts during these sessions at the Museum. Must be booked via our art tickets page.  50p to book a slot + £5 for the activity pack. Small groups so spaces are limited.

Tues 15th Feb:  Model ammonite

Wed 16th Feb:  Mini Museum

Session times on both days 10am-11am, 11.10am-12.10am - 2pm-3pm

The Snapping the Stiletto Project presents:

Radical Women of Saffron Walden walks

Thurs 17 & Sat 19 Feb 10am-12.30noon

Historic Creative Writing Walks facilitated by author Hannah Jane Walker

February sees the return of these creative writing walks exploring the radical historical women of Saffron Walden which were first piloted here in November.

Each of these women are attached to a specific site within the town.

We will begin our journey at Saffron Walden Museum, and then walk between sites.  At each site you will learn a little about the radical woman in question and explore their identity and try to bring them to life through simple accessible creative writing exercises.  The walk then returns to the museum to learn more about the collections. 

No experience of creative writing is necessary.

Free event (but Museum Admission fees still apply)

Book online 

https://saffron-walden-museum.arttickets.org.uk/

Current Exhibition

Fossilisation: a slice of the Anthropocene              

Runs until 20 Mar 2022

Fossilisation features original bronze and mixed media sculpture by acclaimed artist Kabir Hussain.

Drawing on the concepts of fossilisation and preservation and accompanied by objects from across the museum collection, Fossilisation: a slice of the Anthropocene questions what traces of modern society might remain in the fossil and geological record thousands of years from now.

Bronze & Bubbles

The Bronze and Bubbles workshops proved very popular, with both sessions sold out several weeks in advance. 16 people joined us over two workshop sessions for a tour of our special exhibition, Fossilisation: a slice of the Anthropocene, with drinks and snacks available.

The main event was an introduction to the ‘lost wax’ method of casting, followed by sketching, then modelling clay maquettes to plan the participants’ final wax model. Each wax model will be cast in bronze at Walnut Works foundry in Suffolk by Kabir Hussain, the sculptor behind Fossilisation, with the attendees looking forward to receiving their very own bronze sculptures in the next few weeks.

By popular demand: a 3rd workshop will be held on Tuesday 15^th March at 10am.

Book online 

https://saffron-walden-museum.arttickets.org.uk/

You can see James and Charlotte at work on Wednesdays in the Museum conserving and restoring delicate taxidermy birds ready for display, and to encourage people to share stories of their experiences with wildlife and nature.

Do you know any old or dialect names for garden birds?

Do you know stories from across the world about native birds on other continents?

We’d love to hear from you to help create an exhibition and make lasting improvements to how we think about, care for and discuss items in the Museum collections.

Pictured: (left) Great Potoo, formerly labelled as a Frogmouth (top) Crossbills.

Photographing sculpture event

Members of the Saffron Walden Camera Club joined exhibition artist Kabir Hussain to create a photographic archive of Fossilisation: a slice of the Anthropocene, which will be shared by Kabir, the Museum and the photographers.

The small gathering benefitted everyone, with camera club members sharing their technical expertise with Kabir to help inform his own photographs of his work, while Kabir shared insights into the artistic merits of sculpture and what to capture in the photograph with the photographers practising ‘still life’-style photography.

(pictured left) Participants sketch then practise their ideas in clay; A finished wax model with inspiration and clay maquette.

We also have a selection of Victorian Valentines cards....

These 19th century designs typically include floral decoupage, lace doilies, ribbon details and lace trimmings. 

Inside the cards are lovely little poetic verses.

1514 Charter

This beautiful illuminated 1514 Charter on renewable loan to the museum from Saffron Walden Town Council can be seen on display in the museum's Local History gallery.

The charter is handwritten in Latin onto parchment and is decorated with gold leaf and illustrations. 

We've recently re-issued a factsheet for visitors about this charter. 

Click here for more information on the 1514 Charter: https://saffronwaldenmuseum.swmuseumsoc.org.uk/collections-focus-1514-charter/ 

Saffron Walden Museum Needs You!

Do you follow us on social media, visit our website, receive our e-newsletter?

What do you think about what we do online? We’d love your feedback!

Please complete this short online survey to help us better understand our digital audiences and what you want from us.

The survey is being run regionally by SHARE and the project is called VIE (Visitor Impact East) 

Here's the link to the survey: 

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/saffronwalden/

Your responses will help shape our future work and develop content and programmes that meet your needs.

Heating Breakdown

Did your heating break down this winter? If so, we sympathise. The Museum central heating failed, and this caused an outbreak of mould in one of our stores.

Mould forms in cold and damp conditions and this was due to the rise in relative humidity linked to the drop in temperature caused by the loss of heating. We installed extra equipment to improve the environment and the heating system is working again.

Several glass domes containing bird specimens had mould on their wooden bases. This has been treated and removed with alcohol. The domes are being moved very carefully to a different store that has more equipment to control temperature and the amount of moisture in the air. This is Sarah, one of the Natural Sciences Officers, starting to transport a collection of hummingbirds from South America mounted inside a Victorian glass dome that was also known as a shade. 

Learning & Outreach

Saffron Walden Museum is committed to sharing stories from its collections through its learning and outreach services.

We welcome schools and community groups to the Museum or offer outreach sessions. 

Why not book for the next school term or for your community group.

Our loan boxes are also available for hire, £18 for 6 weeks, and will be quarantined in between hires to ensure they are Covid secure.

Future Exhibition:

All Fired Up:

Essex Fire Museum

Jenny Oxley, Collections Officer (Human History) recently visited the staff and volunteers at Essex Fire Museum at Grays, part of Essex Fire & Rescue Service, to work with them to plan the combined exhibition being held here at Saffron Walden Museum. 

The All Fired Up exhibition is scheduled to open on Saturday 2nd April and run in the temporary exhibition gallery until Sunday 3rd July. 

Museum Shop Spotlight: Fossils

Assorted Real Fossils such as this Ammonite from the Jurassic period, around 150 million years ago. 

Pocket Guide To Fossils 47-page illustrated booklet, everything you ever wanted to know about fossils and fossil collecting, priced at just £2.

Fossils in Essex & Beyond Poster, a double sided fold out poster with lots of useful information on fossils found in the Essex region, again priced at a very reasonable £2. 

Rose Quartz featured on the card, is known as the ‘Love Stone’ – it aids peacefulness and calm in relationships.  

You can buy your polished Rose Quartz from the Museum for £1 per stone.

Harry Potter Book Night

In 2022 we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.  The Harry Potter Book Night is on the 3 February 2022 but you can buy your own ‘Hedwig’ (Snowy Owl) from the museum shop throughout February, priced at just £3.50.

#HarryPotterBookNight

Volunteering

Thank you to our lovely Tuesday morning Welcome Volunteer, Liz, who has done a great job tidying up and re-organising the Museum Shop Stock cupboards and displays.

We are always looking for additional new volunteers to join our welcome desk team on a regular basis. 

We would also be delighted to hear from volunteers who are able to provide adhoc ‘cover’ for our regular shift volunteers when they have planned absences such as holidays, hospital appointments, etc.

To find out more about these and ‘Learning and Support’ volunteer opportunities please contact the museum using the details below.