In the Alex Hann Exhibition Gallery this year.
The Market Hall: 25 years a Museum
On 10th July 1999 the Museum opened its doors at its new home in the former Market Hall in Radstock having moved from its previous home at Barton Meade in Haydon.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this move the Museum will be hosting a display looking back at the history of the Market Hall, the project that saw its conversion to a museum and some of the highlights of those 25 years.
The display will open on 11th June and will be in place throughout the summer as a tribute to the efforts of the volunteers who got the project off the ground and have continued to make the Museum such a success.
‘Tales of Writhlington’: exhibition currently at Somerset Coalfield Life at Radstock Museum.
Tales of Writhlington’ is an exciting new audio and photographic exhibition exploring Writhlington residents’ memories and stories.
“You can drive through Midsomer Norton into Radstock and up the Frome Road to Writhlington with barely a break in housing and buildings, it is easy to mistake the area as one, continuing sprawl – but this is not how the residents of Writhlington see things.” – Roger Wiltshire, Story Artist.
Nestled within the Somer Valley and gradually merging with Radstock, Writhlington is a small village with a rich history, going back as far as the Domesday and beyond. Once a thriving mining village, many of the residents of Writhlington have a connection to the area that goes back multiple generations.
Ten Writhlington residents were interviewed, and their stories gathered by Story Artist, Roger Wiltshire. This collage of voices was then structured into four unique audio ‘movements’ by southwest based emerging Multi-Instrumentalist Composer, Bethany Ley entitled ‘Tales of Writhlington in Counterpoint’. The ‘movements’ have formed the bedrock of further poetic and visual responses from Somerset photographers Paul Blakemore and Karen Dews. These materials come together accompanied by artefacts from the participants’ private collections and from the Radstock, Midsomer Norton and District Museum Society’s collection. Tales of Writhlington aims to celebrate Writhlington’s unique identity and to capture and preserve precious local memories.
Visit Somerset Coalfield Life at Radstock Museum, this summer, to witness the memories and voices of Writhlington, experience the reflections of its residents and the artistic interpretations that reveal a narrative of a community in transition.
Included in your annual Admission Ticket. See our Opening Hours.
Kitchenalia
In the kitchen: cooking gadgets and utensils from the Museum’s collection.
This spring we have delved into the backs of our storage cupboards and brought out some of our old and unusual kitchen equipment. Alongside tools that look much like something in your own kitchen, we are showing less familiar items such as hand-cranked gadgets that mechanise the tasks you would do today in a food processor.
Herbert Golledge and the Edward Medal
Also new on display is the Edward Medal (Mines) awarded to local man Herbert Golledge in 1917 alongside associated photographs and information telling the story of the act of bravery that led to that award. These items have recently been kindly donated by the Golledge family and are on display for the first time.
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