NewsNews
Museums Night 2010
Wednesday 14th July 2010
In May the Nelson Museum was involved once again in Museums Night, which is an international event when museums open in the evening or overnight with special events.
As in previous years, we worked with the English Heritage properties and Norfolk Museums in Great Yarmouth and the overall theme was ‘entertainment’. At the Nelson Museum we had dancers and musicians from Norwich Early Dance Group demonstrating 18th century dancing in the museum car park. This was extremely popular with visitors who were encouraged to join in with some of the dances. Many people were also fascinated by the Hurdy Gurdy, which they had never seen or heard before.
Refreshments were provided by a vintage ice-cream van selling Norfolk ice-cream and Philip Grapes who owns a traditional hog-roast stall. We had 678 visitors in 4 and a half hours so it was a fantastic evening. Although entry is free on Museums Night it is a very busy evening and hopefully it encourages visitors to come back and have a proper look round at a later date.
Ebay Auction a Sucess
Wednesday 14th July 2010
Recently we ran a charity Ebay auction for a Summer Solstice ascent of the Nelson Monument. If you are local you may have heard it featured on Radio Norfolk. It was an exciting week watching the bids slowly rise from the initial starting price of 99p. The ascent was finally sold for £135.33, all in aid of the Nelson Museum. This event was the idea of the monument guide John Russell, who made it possible by kindly volunteering to make the assent at 4am in the morning!
The winners were Mr and Mrs Chiddle from Gorleston. Unfortunately the weather was not good on the day of the ascent and the sunrise could not be seen behind the clouds. However, the winning couple still enjoyed the experience, complete with complimentary champagne and chocolates!
Volunteer Training Day
Wednesday 14th July 2010
On Wednesday 31st March we had the annual Volunteer Training Day. The morning was spent as usual refreshing our minds on the till and general museum operating procedures and in the afternoon we visited Barsham Church and Beccles Museum. At Barsham Church The Reverend Buchanan gave us a very informative guide of the Church and its connections to the Suckling family. Nelson’s mother, Catherine Suckling, and her brother Maurice, Nelson’s patron, were both born at the Rectory in Barsham when their father was Rector at Barsham Church. Maurice is buried at the Church alongside his father but interestingly there is no inscription on his tombstone. I think we all agreed it was a beautiful church and well worth a visit.
Beccles Museum was also very interesting and a typical small town museum in that it had something of everything – it is always very disconcerting when you visit a museum and find things on display that you can remember using or still use! Beccles Museum is completely volunteer-run and has over 70 volunteers who do just one afternoon a month.
We finished the day with afternoon tea at the Waveney Hotel but the inclement weather meant we didn’t get the full benefit of being alongside the river. All in all it was a very enjoyable day.
New Exhibition Planned
Wednesday 14th July 2010
We are currently in the planning stages for a new exhibition set to open in early 2011. In contrast to the current exhibition 'The Nelson Touch,' which focuses on Nelson as a leader, the new exhibition will look at Nelson as a family man. We will examine his relationship with his mother Catherine Suckling, Wife Lady Nelson, mistress Emma Hamilton and beloved daughter Horatia.
We hope to include objects which have previously never been on display at the museum such as prints of Emma Hamilton by the artist Romney, who concidered her to be his muse and fabric from Catherine Suckling's wedding dress. We also hope to loan items from the National Maritime Museum.
Keep checking the website for more updates on our progress!
Museum participating in the third Great Yarmouth Night of Museums
Tuesday, 11 March 2008 17:30
Museum participating in the third Great Yarmouth Night of Museums
For the third year, the Norfolk Nelson Museum will be participating in the Night of Museums in Great Yarmouth. From 6pm onwards, visitors will be given free access to all of Great Yarmouth's museums. Town Guides will be on hand to walk visitors between the museums while telling fascinating - and eerie - tales of old Yarmouth. This year, all of Yarmouth's museums will be taking part in the event, which is jointly organised by the institutions involved. Special events will be taking place and these will be publicised in the local press and on this website nearer the time.
The Night of Museums originated in Berlin in 1997 as a way of interesting people in their heritage and culture. It has rapidly grown into a European phenomenon, with national museums in places like Berlin and Amsterdam receiving over 20,000 visitors during the night. Residents in Europe's capital cities compete with each other to visit as many museums as possible during the evening and it has become something of an achievement to visit them all.
Read more...
Page 1 of 2
