Month: August 2023

It’s that h.Art time of year

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Herefordshire Art Week is here, a nine day art trail open to all.

Artists, craft makers and creative businesses are opening their private studios across the county, and galleries are putting on events. There are exhibitions in a beautiful mix of interesting venues, with a lovely feel of nature and wilderness along the way.

From paint, pastel and pencil, to willow, wire and wood. Take your time to feel inspired and uplifted by Herefordshire’s creative people.

To plan some h.Art time, take a look at the Herefordshire Art Week website.

From Saturday 2 to Sunday 10 September.

Painting of a brown sparrow on a branch with yellow flowers

Image credit: Painting by Paula Jobson, exhibiting at Apple Store Gallery in Hereford and Art at The Lion Ballroom in Leominster

More tickets available to view the Herefordshire Hoard

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Due to a high level of demand, additional tickets have been made available to view the Herefordshire Hoard.

The Herefordshire Hoard, a captivating collection of ancient treasures, includes a beautiful crystal sphere mounted in a frame of four gold strips, an octagonal gold ring, a gold bracelet featuring an animal head biting its own tail and a collection of coins. This collection of Viking and Anglo-Saxon objects offers a unique insight into the rich heritage of our ancestors and provides an exceptional opportunity to delve into the mysteries of the past.

So that more people are able to visit this magnificent collection, we have released additional tickets for our viewings being held at the Museum Resource and Learning Centre, Friars Street, Hereford on Tuesday 12 September and Saturday 11 November, 10am – 1.30pm.

A unique gold octagonal finger ring dated to the 9th century with black niello rosette and flower motifs on each of the eight facets. It is decorated with in the Anglo Saxon 'Trewhiddle' style.

Tickets are free and must be booked online through the Herefordshire Hoard website: www.herefordshirehoard.co.uk

We look forward to welcoming all to explore the amazing story of the Hoard and be inspired by the wonders of our shared past.

Keep up to date with the work of Herefordshire Museum Service by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Museum Resource and Learning Centre – Friars Street

The Museum Resource and Learning Centre is the central storage facility for the county’s museum collections. A former British Telecom exchange the building was converted and extended in 2008 with Heritage Lottery Funding. It is now home the county’s art, archaeology, costumes, social history and natural science collections that are not on public display. The building includes climate controlled stores, offices and learning, research and collections care spaces and a conservation lab.

Today, the Museum Resource and Learning Centre is also temporarily home to Hereford Library.

Public parking is available at Friars Street Car Park next to Hereford Military Club.

For more information about Herefordshire Museum Service visit: History lives here pages on the Herefordshire Council website: https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/history-lives

Herefordshire Hoard

In June 2015, two metal detectorists found a number of items buried in a field outside Leominster, Herefordshire. Their failure to report the find led to the largest heritage crime investigation of its type undertaken. The Herefordshire Hoard is one of the most significant Viking hoards ever found in Western Britain and to date only a few of its contents have been recovered. The importance to the national heritage lies in the new historical narrative it has provided as well as the rarity, beauty and significance of the objects.

For more information about the Herefordshire Hoard visit the Herefordshire Hoard website: www.herefordshirehoard.co.uk

Published: 18th August 2023

Don’t lose your vote – residents in Herefordshire urged to check voter registration details

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Herefordshire residents are being urged to check their electoral registration details or risk losing their chance to vote on decisions that affect them.

The annual canvass allows Herefordshire Council to keep the electoral register up to date, to identify who risks losing their voice at elections, and to encourage them to register before it’s too late.

Colette Maund, Electoral Services Manager at Herefordshire Council said: “Keep an eye out for updates from Herefordshire Council. The annual canvass is our way of making sure that the information on the electoral register for every address is accurate and up to date. To make sure you don’t lose your say at the next election, please follow the instructions sent to you. We will be contacting residents by post, email or text message.

“If you’re not currently registered, your name will not appear in the messages we send. If you want to register, the easiest way is online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.”

Recent home movers in particular are urged to check their details. Electoral Commission research has found that recent home movers are less likely to be registered than those who have lived at the same address for a long time. In Great Britain, 92% of those who have lived in their home for 16 years will be registered, compared with 36% of people who have lived at an address for less than a year.

Melanie Davidson, Head of Support and Improvement at the Electoral Commission, said: “It’s really important that everyone who is eligible to vote is able to do so. We urge people to check for updates from their local council on this year’s canvass. The council may contact residents by post or email.

“If you are not registered to vote, make sure you provide the necessary information to your local council when asked and register to vote online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote”

Information on registering to vote is available on the Electoral Commission website, as well as our website.

Residents with questions about their registration status can view Herefordshire Council’s Annual Canvass FAQs or contact the Electoral Services Office at 01432 260107.

For more information contact Herefordshire Council’s Communications Team by emailing communications@herefordshire.gov.uk or the Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0704, out of office hours 07789 920 414 or press@electoralcommission.org.uk

Published: 14th August 2023

Moving the mosaics

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Your chance to see behind the scenes as specialist team remove Roman mosaics before work starts on museum redevelopment

Every visitor to Hereford museum and art gallery during the past 100 years will have been impressed as they passed by the large wall-mounted Roman mosaics in the stairwell.

The Broad Street building is currently closed while preparations are made for the redevelopment of the museum. However, we’re inviting the public back into the building one final time to see the mosaics being removed before the museum transformation begins.

You can join us as we bid farewell to the mosaics on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 August, 10am – 3pm.

Mosaic

The mosaics, which are among the final objects to be removed, are made from small stone and tile cubes arranged into intricate spiral, interlocking border and flower patterns. They were originally laid on the floor in a wealthy home in Kentchester, and have been a wall-mounted display at Hereford museum for almost a century.

The mosaic removal has been painstakingly planned over the last seven months. The operation will be carried out by a team of specialists from Skillington Workshop Ltd. Skillington’s are one of the UK’s leading building conservation, repair and restoration companies. The public are invited to take a behind-the-scenes look at the Skillington’s team at work and speak to museum staff and volunteers.

The museum redevelopment is funded by Stronger Towns Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Herefordshire Council. For further updates on the redevelopment please follow Herefordshire Museum Service’s social media channels and on the History lives here pages on the Herefordshire Council website: www.herefordshire.gov.uk/history-lives

 

Kenchester mosaic pavement

Accession number: 249

Date: 350 – 380AD

Period: Roman

The mosaic probably formed the floor of the main dining room, the triclinium, used for entertaining in a wealthy home in the town of Magnis at Kenchester. It was one of two complete mosaics found during excavations there in 1912-13. It is a high quality piece. It originally measured twenty-five feet square. The pattern is complicated, showing spirals, guilloches, interlocking borders and flowers. The tesserae are made from cubes of stone or tile, and are of a small size which demonstrates a high quality of craftsmanship. It belongs to the Corinian-Saltire group of mosaics which is a regional style with examples in Gloucester, Droitwich and Cirencester. A similar mosaic was also discovered under the Excise Office in London in the mid-19th century. The mosaic from Magnis probably dates to 350-380 AD. It was fixed to the wall of the museum in 1927 with the help of public subscription.

 

Kenchester

Kenchester lies 5 miles North West of Hereford, it was the site of the small Roman town of Magna or Magnis. The town was shaped as an irregular hexagon, with a single main street. Two Roman roads met beside the town and one leads on to important Roman centres in Wales. The town defences were improved from around 2nd century until the 4th century. Excavations have shown that occupation of the town continued into the 5th century and this research has concentrated on the defences, streets and houses. There were ‘military’ finds indicating that a possible 1st to 2nd century camp or fort was present within the town and there have been reports of a bath house as well as industrial activity and human cremations. The site was excavated in 1912-13, 1924-25, 1956-62 and 1977-79.

 

Hereford Museum and Art Gallery

Hereford Museum and Art Gallery is the country museum for Herefordshire. It opened in 1874 in spectacular purpose built Victorian Gothic library and museum building. Today, the Grade II* listed building is showing its age and is getting ready to undergo an £18millon redevelopment. Once redeveloped the museum and art gallery will offer a gateway into Herefordshire’s unique heritage offer; a cultural beacon at the very heart of the city. It will provide opportunities for local people and visitors to engage with our region’s remarkable story in new and exciting ways. It will host an ambitious, imaginative and vibrant programme, acting as a catalyst for long-awaited cultural growth in the county.

 

Hereford Museum and Art Gallery Development

The £18 million redevelopment of Hereford Museum and Art Gallery is the flagship project for Stronger Hereford and the Town’s Investment Plan. The project will allow the county to fulfil its ambition of creating a dynamic social space at the heart of the city, a place where people can engage with heritage activities in fun, unexpected and exciting ways. It will create an offer that will be talked about far and wide, inspiring new opportunities and partnerships and becoming an attraction that local people are proud to say is theirs.

The redevelopment includes eight new galleries and display spaces, a temporary exhibition space, the restoration of the historic Woolhope Club Room and new commercial areas including a retail space, a roof-top café and events and education space. A spectacular viewing beacon and roof terrace will be accessible from the fifth floor courtyard space providing incredible 360 degree views over the city and surrounding Herefordshire landscape.

It is the first museum EnerPHit project in the UK and the most ambitious heritage retrofit EnerPHit project of this scale. It is a flagship architectural project for environmental design, and meets Herefordshire Council’s 2030 carbon neutral agenda. This project champions environmental approaches, drawing on the latest sustainable technologies and design, and looking at innovative ways to discuss our impact on the world around us today. Live science from the Woolhope Club will feed into gallery displays, visitors can interrogate the inner workings of the building, and take part in environmental events and activities. The pinnacle will be the roof garden and bee hive installation on the top of the building tended by community volunteers.

The project is funded by £5 million from the Stronger Towns Fund, £8 million from Herefordshire Council and £5 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Published: 7th August 2023