Share all the fun of the Summer Fair in the beautiful surroundings of Shaw House! Out on the lawns you can browse over 45 craft stalls of local makers and visit our caterers offering a variety of hot food and drinks. With live music, craft activities from Ugly Duckling Pottery and Creation Station, performances from Mr Muddle the Magician, children’s rides and a dog show hosted by the National Animal Welfare Trust!
Sunday 17 July | Shaw House | 11am – 4pm | Adults £2, Children £1 (Free for children aged 3 years and under)
A walk and a talk by local bird expert, Ailsa Claybourn, about these amazing birds who are disappearing from our skies, and how we can help them.
After a short talk, Ailsa will take us to see swifts and their nest sites in a walk from West Berkshire Museum, along the canal and back through Westfields.
Friday 1 July | West Berkshire Museum | 6.30pm - 7.30pm | £5
Come and take part in our monthly under 5s session, Blaze’s Buddies. This month’s theme is dinosaurs !
Places are limited and free tickets will be available from the Museum reception desk from 10am onwards on the day on a first come, first served basis.
Thursday 7 July | 11am | 25-30 minutes duration | FREE
Learn the basics of beaded jewellery making, including how to loop a head pin to create earrings and adding toggle clasps to bracelets or necklaces using a mixture of new and up-cycled beads. All materials provided but feel free to bring any spare beads you have at home.
Tutor: Helen Mortimer
Saturday 9 July | West Berkshire Museum | 10.30am – 1pm | £30
Multi-award nominated Immersion Theatre presents one of Shakespeare’s funniest comedies in their larger-than-life, wildly inventive, and laugh-out-loud adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing”. This is Shakespeare for everyone and as it’s meant to be: interactive, fun, and highly accessible!
Saturday 23 July | Shaw House | Gates 6pm | Performance 7pm | Adults £13, Child £9
Design a colour (flag) for a regiment from the Civil War using a calico sheet, dowel and fabric crayons (assorted). This summer’s crafts are all linked to the seventeenth century and the Civil War in particular.
Wednesday 27 July | Shaw House | £2 per child
Make your own dinosaur egg using a pebble and acrylic paint. You can also varnish it if times allows. All the Messy Museum Mornings this summer are themed around dinosaurs and the Mesozoic period.
Friday 29 July | West Berkshire Museum | £2 | Pre-book online
The Orangery Lawn at Shaw House will be transformed into an open air sculpture exhibition where you can discover artworks by acclaimed sculptors in the grounds of this lovely historic setting.
All works on display will be available for purchase.
Open times: Saturday 30 July – Sunday 25 September, 11am – 4pm. The exhibition will be closed on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August due to a private event.
The House, cafe and gift shop will also be open at weekends and during the school holidays.
For Comlynesse Only: Decorative Embellishment and Sumptuary Legislation during the Reign of Elizabeth I
Friday 22 July | 7pm | Shaw House | £15 per person
Tudor portraits and surviving items provide much evidence of the Elizabethan taste for richly embellished garments and personal objects. However, the silk materials, gold and silver thread, lace and embroidery which were often used for these designs all fell within the restrictions laid out by the various acts of apparel issued by Queen Elizabeth I. In this talk, Ninya Mikhaila will share insights into the options for decorative detailing in clothes and accessories available to ordinary people in the late 16th century.
Ninya is a maker of historic dress, an author and has featured on television on ‘A Stitch in Time’ and ‘History of Britain’.
|