Another Bradford-made Clock
The Museum now has a third clock that was made in Bradford on Avon.
This one, signed by Edward Hopkins, is just the face and movement, without the long case in which it would have originally been housed. It has a brass face that is decorated with figures representing the four seasons in the spandrels (corners). Behind the face is an eight-day movement that drives hours, minutes...
Read MoreAnother clock!
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Fairly hot on the heels of the Joshua Rudd clock the Museum acquired a year ago comes another. This is of a later generation of Bradford clockmakers and was made here in about 1840, so it is bigger, with a painted face rather than brass and Arabic rather than Roman numerals. The case is veneered with Cuban mahogany and has stringing in...
Read MoreAnyone for tea?
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A recent new acquisition for the Museum’s collection is this four-piece silver-plate tea set. Each piece is engraved with the initials H.J.T. and the teapot’s base has been engraved “Presented to H.J. Taylor Esqr. by Fellow Townsmen Bradford-on-Avon May 20th 1931”.
Harold John Taylor was a member of a family...
Read MoreNew Acquisition -a Bradford on Avon clock
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A clock that was made in Bradford on Avon has been close to the top of our wish-list for many years and last we have one.
The Museum has been given a 30-hour long-case clock that was made here by Joshua Rudd in the 1750s or 1760s, in an oak case that may have been made a little later in the 18th century. It formerly belonged to Katherine MacKean, who once ran the...
Read MoreA good start for 2015
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2015 has started well for Bradford on Avon Museum with 166 visitors in the two weeks since re-opening in mid-January and some interesting new acquisitions.
. A large enamelled steel road sign that was put up at one of the entrances to the town by the Royal Automobile Club. It lists the...
Read MoreSome Winsley objects in the Museum Collection
Winsley, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire .. A child’s sarcophagus (stone coffin) which was found in a field near Parsonage Farm, Winsley. It was originally carved from a single block of limestone, but had been broken into several pieces by ploughing. The lid, which would have been another single piece of stone, was not found. It...
Read MoreAcquisitions: Milking stool and yoke
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Among the agricultural objects that a local museum should have in its collection are two that were very common in the dairy, but somehow they had not come to Bradford on Avon Museum until now.
The milking stool is low, to get down to the level of a cow’s udders and is three-legged, because that is more stable on...
Read MoreNew Air-conditioning
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During the week 10-14 December new air-conditioning machinery and associated pipework are being installed in the Museum and in the meeting/exhibition room next door.
As a precaution against the dust that could have accumulated in the roof space being released when suspended ceiling tiles are removed, as much as practical of...
Read MoreUnclaimed World War 1 Medallions
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After the end of the Great War, in July 1919, Bradford on Avon Urban District Council arranged for medallions to be given to each person from the town who had served in the armed forces. Each was inscribed with the person’s name.
However, a couple of years ago, the present Town Council discovered a box which contained...
Read MoreThe Museum Collection: Medieval
Bradford on Avon Museum, Wiltshire .
Although whole buildings of the middle ages stand in and around Bradford, so far very little from the medieval period has come to Bradford on Avon Museum. Less than from the New Stone Age (Neolithic ) and much less than from the Roman Period!
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Read MoreMuseum Collection: Transport
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Click on the thumbnail pictures for a bigger view
A copper alloy button with the intertwined letters GWR. It would have dropped off the uniform of a Great Western Railway employee and was found in Sandy Leaze, which was a field that was built over in the 1960s.
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The Museum Collection: the Wadman Trophy
Wingfield, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire .
The rose bowl trophy was awarded in 1908 to William James Wadman (1887-1954) of Stowford, Wingfield for shooting. He was a member of the Rood Ashton-Malmesbury troop of the Wiltshire Yeomanry.
It was presented to him by Sir Vincent and Lady...
Read MoreThe Memorial Baths, Bridge Street
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Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
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As a memorial for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, it was decided to erect a building containing a public swimming pool and baths, for the many people who then did not have...
Read MorePeople: Elizabeth Tackle (1808-1877)
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Bradford on Avon Museum, Wiltshire
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The Bradford artist Elizabeth Ann Hamlyn was born in Bandon, near Cork in Ireland, the daughter of an army officer who was serving there. Her father moved the family to Holt in 1817 and he became the...
Read MoreThe Museum Collection: Horse-riding
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The cultivation of horses and riding are expanding in this, as in other areas of the country. Bradford on Avon Museum holds items relating to the Save the Children Fund Gymkhana, which was an annual fixture between 1976 and 1990, raising funds for charity. For most of the time it was held in a field belonging to John...
Read MoreOld Photographs: Fire Brigade
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Click on the thumbnail pictures for a larger view
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Bradford’s volunteer firemen turned out for the opening of Bradford Waterworks in 1883, formed part of a procession and demonstrated that the new water supply had enough pressure for them to direct jets from their hoses over...
Read MoreOld Photographs: Church Street
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Click on the thumbnail pictures for a larger view
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Bradford commemorated the death of King Edward VII in 1910 with a parade and a service at the parish church. On the right, the buildings of Church Street Mill are unoccupied and windows have been smashed. They were still at...
Read MoreOld Photographs: Military & Wartime
. Wiltshire Volunteers
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K Company cyclists of Wiltshire Volunteers, photographed in 1901 with their Captain, Erlysman Pinckney (seated centre).
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Part of...
Read MoreThe Museum Collection: Public Houses & Publicans
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Bradford on Avon Museum, Wiltshire
. Bradford on Avon, Westwood and Holt Inn Tokens or ChecksTokens came into use in this area in the 1840s, when there was not much small change about. Workers would purchase the tokens when they were paid and use them to buy beer at a later time.
The Museum Collection: Holt
Holt, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
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Bradford on Avon Museum holds the collection of objects relating to the parish of Holt that was assembled by the late Pam Gooding. Below are photographs of a selection of them and other items.
Click on the images for a larger view
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