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Welcome to our seasonal newsletter containing updates from the Museum team on exhibitions, events and projects. Whether you are interested in local history, art, family activities, or just a friendly place to escape to, there are plenty of exhibitions, events and activities to choose from. Admission to the exhibitions is free, events and activities require booking, please see further information below. If you are unable to visit the Museum, but would still like to support our activities, we gratefully receive online donations.
Janine Fox, Museum Curator
 Our new special exhibition ‘Focus on Thatcham’ opened on the 17th September and highlights the history of the the parish. Until recently, the town of Thatcham was credited as being the longest continually inhabited settlement in Britain. On display, visitors can explore archaeological finds and social history objects which represent this expansive timeline from Stone Age tools to brushes made in the 1900s. The exhibition opening coincided with this year’s Thatcham Festival, where the Museum’s Heritage Access Assistant, Dawn Sellick, and Assistant Archaeologist, Beth Asbury, presented a pop up activity and information table on the 22nd October.
 Clare Bromley, the Learning and Participation Officer at West Berkshire Museum, says it was wonderful to be able to hold a Roman Family Fun Day on Saturday 15th October; this was the first such event since before COVID.
The Roman re-enactors, Butser IX Legion (pictured), were situated in the Cloth Hall and Museum Library, telling and showing visitors about life in Roman Britain in a fun and hands on way. The Museum also offered families a free Roman themed trail to complete as well as Roman-inspired crafts in the Long Room.
The event was well attended throughout the day and was followed on Monday 17th October by a Roman Day for Schools – this saw four local primary schools take part in a session that included re-enactors, gallery and craft activities at the five stations scattered around the Museum.
 The Museum Shop has been given a makeover. Museum Operations Manager, David Elliott, and Ejae Jones, Museum Hospitality Assistant, have sourced and fitted the new display units, which show off our fantastic selection of books, souvenirs and giftware – now a perfect destination for a spot of Christmas shopping.
Philip Smither is Berkshire’s Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) whose role is to identify and record archaeological finds discovered within the County of Berkshire for the Portable Antiquities Scheme. If you have found something that you would like Phil to take a look at, please book onto one of the Finds Surgeries. Phil is usually at West Berkshire Museum on the 1st Saturday and 3rd Wednesday of the month. Click here to book and to see the full list of Finds Surgery locations.
Philip’s ‘find of the month’ for Berkshire is a Medieval purse bar, read his latest blog post to find out more about this fascinating object.
A recent treasure find to be accessioned into the Museum collection is a Silver seal matrix, bird with olive branch on die face, dating to 17th - 18th century. Found in Woolhampton. Museum Accession Number: NEBYM:2022.30.1.
 Over the past few months the team have been working on a new activity “Escape the Museum”, which was ready to trial a couple of weeks ago -members of the Museum and Archaeology teams were locked inside and had to complete seven puzzles to be able to escape and go home.
The activity was a great success and should be ready to launch to the public early next year. Here is a photo of the team fishing for clues, do you think they managed to escape?!
 A Moment in Time. Gallery 5 exhibition. A collection of work by artists Vivienne Ballson and Annie Eagle exploring themes of memory, place and belonging. Opens from 23rd November 2022 and runs until 4th December 2022.
Focus on Thatcham. Exploring the parish of Thatcham’s history through objects from the Museum’s collection and from the local community. Runs until 17th September 2023.
Barrels and Bottles. Looking at the story of brewing in West Berkshire, from home brewing to local industry. Runs until 15th January 2023.
The Age of Dinosaurs. Discover some of the fascinating creatures that lived in the shallow waters and lowlands of the Mesozoic era. Runs until 30th April 2023.
Hope and Pride. An exhibition sharing the history of UK Pride alongside LGBTQIA+ experiences reflecting on what it has been like to grow up, or live, in and around Newbury. Runs until 2nd July 2023.
 Messy Museum Morning - Deck the Halls!
Wednesday 21st December | 12pm | £2.50 per child
Decorate a Christmas ceramic hanging ornament with paint,and take it home to place on your tree or elsewhere. This craft morning needs to be pre-booked online. Places are limited to 10 children per session. Suitable for 7-11 year olds, but younger and older children are welcome. An adult must remain with the child at all times.
 Online museum talk: Keep It Secret, Keep It Safe – Seals from West Berkshire
Wednesday 16 November | 7-8pm | live
Throughout history, people have used seals to keep their valuables and letters safe from prying eyes. This talk by Philip Smither looks at some of the seals from West Berkshire, from the everyday motifs to the personalised and historically significant seals of people associated with the county. Philip Smither is the Finds Liaison Officer for Berkshire. He is a specialist in Roman archaeology and is completing a PhD at the University of Kent. Tickets for this live Zoom talk are FREE, but they must be booked in advance. Bookings close at 4pm on Tuesday 15 November. An email with a link to the talk will be sent to you shortly after this time.
For further details on all of our future events and activities and for booking, please visit our website.
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