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Our Blog.
It’s a Dog’s Life
It's a Dog's Life by Sally Hendry... Imagine being able to take a peek into a eighteenth century kitchen - and no ordinary one at that. Research into the history of the Lopes Arms for a planned book on Westbury inns turned up an unusual treat for us - an inventory of the inn in 1776 when [...]
Storms and the mystery fern leaf!
by Sally Hendry... Being among those hardy playgoers who were quite literally drenched to the bone at Heywood House gardens this past weekend got me thinking about storms past and present. A most extraordinary story from Westbury was circulated in newspapers across the country in August 1894 - and it's a warning to us all. [...]
Votes for Women!
by Liz Argent ... The small advertisement caught my eye as I was looking for something else in a newspaper from February 1911. Miss Pankhurst was to speak at the Laverton Institute in Westbury on the 17th and Miss Annie Kenney at the baths on the following day. Why were these two leaders of the Suffragette [...]
A road less travelled
by Sally Hendry Ever mapped out a journey only to find yourself distracted by a road less travelled, an interesting ruin or simply an enticing pub? Losing your way can be both frustrating and fascinating – and that is exactly the case with historical research. Whether you are searching online for your great great grandfather [...]
How Slag Lane got its name
by Liz Argent... Westbury hit the headlines recently when it was announced that the road signs at Slag Lane were to be reinstated by Wiltshire Council. But how did it get its name in the first place? To answer that question, we need to look back at the history of the Westbury ironworks. When the [...]
Christmas 1850 at Fontainville
By Sally Hendry... Decorating our Christmas trees is a favourite tradition but you might be surprised to learn that Westbury could have been one of the first places in Wiltshire where a tree was decorated for the festive season. That's all thanks to James Wilson, the founder of the Economist, and one-time Westbury MP. He lived in Fontainville House, [...]
The best days of our lives?
By Brenda Pyne... Welcome to what is the first of Westbury Museum’s blogs – we hope you will enjoy the subjects we choose. With the children going back to school after their summer break, we found an item in our collections which we thought is very relevant but would also take us back in time a little – [...]
It’s a Dog’s Life
It's a Dog's Life by Sally Hendry... Imagine being able to take a peek into a eighteenth century kitchen - and no ordinary one at that. Research into the history of the Lopes Arms for a planned book on Westbury inns turned up an unusual treat for us - an inventory of the inn in 1776 when [...]
Storms and the mystery fern leaf!
by Sally Hendry... Being among those hardy playgoers who were quite literally drenched to the bone at Heywood House gardens this past weekend got me thinking about storms past and present. A most extraordinary story from Westbury was circulated in newspapers across the country in August 1894 - and it's a warning to us all. [...]
Votes for Women!
by Liz Argent ... The small advertisement caught my eye as I was looking for something else in a newspaper from February 1911. Miss Pankhurst was to speak at the Laverton Institute in Westbury on the 17th and Miss Annie Kenney at the baths on the following day. Why were these two leaders of the Suffragette [...]
A road less travelled
by Sally Hendry Ever mapped out a journey only to find yourself distracted by a road less travelled, an interesting ruin or simply an enticing pub? Losing your way can be both frustrating and fascinating – and that is exactly the case with historical research. Whether you are searching online for your great great grandfather [...]
How Slag Lane got its name
by Liz Argent... Westbury hit the headlines recently when it was announced that the road signs at Slag Lane were to be reinstated by Wiltshire Council. But how did it get its name in the first place? To answer that question, we need to look back at the history of the Westbury ironworks. When the [...]
Christmas 1850 at Fontainville
By Sally Hendry... Decorating our Christmas trees is a favourite tradition but you might be surprised to learn that Westbury could have been one of the first places in Wiltshire where a tree was decorated for the festive season. That's all thanks to James Wilson, the founder of the Economist, and one-time Westbury MP. He lived in Fontainville House, [...]
The best days of our lives?
By Brenda Pyne... Welcome to what is the first of Westbury Museum’s blogs – we hope you will enjoy the subjects we choose. With the children going back to school after their summer break, we found an item in our collections which we thought is very relevant but would also take us back in time a little – [...]