Museums, Exhibitions & Events May - September 2018 0102 West Cheshire Museums IExhibitionsExhibitions and and Events Events ExhibitionsGrosvenor Museum, Chester
27COVER: Grosvenor Buildings, Street, Chester,Battles and CH1 Bodies: 2DD A History of Heronbridge
Located in England’s most picturesque city, the Grosvenor Museum’s nationally important collections celebrate Chester’s cultural heritage. The Roman galleries explore life in the Roman fortress of Deva and display the largest group of inscribed and sculpted Roman stones from a single site in Britain. The paintings and sculpture in the Art Gallery span half a millennium of art in Cheshire, while the Silver Gallery presents the definitive collection of Chester silver. Nine period rooms illustrate changing fashions in domestic interiors from the 17th century to the 1920s. Further galleries explore the area’s natural history and display highlights of the costume and coin collections.
Admission free, suggested donation £3 Monday – Saturday 10.30am-5pm, Sunday 1-4pm.
Support us The Grosvenor Museum Society provides vital support for the museum. Members of the society enjoy a full and varied programme of events, including lectures and outings. See www.grosvenor museumsociety.co.uk.
Telephone 01244 972197 Volunteers Find us on Facebook: Grosvenor Museum and Stretton Watermill Please see all West Cheshire Follow us on Twitter @cwacmuseums Museums volunteering roles Website: www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk on the website www.west cheshiremuseums.co.uk
Disabled access Full independent access to the ground floor, including Exhibition Gallery One, Lecture Theatre and accessible toilet. No lift to Art Gallery, Costume Gallery Michael Sandle: Monumental Rage. Grosvenor Museum, Chester Grosvenor Michael Sandle: Monumental Rage. or Exhibition Gallery Two on 1st floor. Cover: Cover: West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 03 Exhibitions
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Until July 2019 19 May – 7 October Unexpected Elegance: Michael Sandle: Female Fashion from Monumental Rage the 1970s Exhibition Galleries One & Two, Costume Gallery Art Gallery The 1970s are often called ‘the (Art Gallery closed 25-26 June & 24 decade that taste forgot’, but the September) dresses in this small exhibition Professor Michael Sandle RA, who show that this was far from true. studied at Chester School of Art, is From minis to midis and maxis, in widely recognised as one of the fabrics ranging from cotton and finest sculptors in the world and is corduroy to polyester and fake also a brilliant draughtsman and leopard-skin, with designs by Ossie printmaker. Appropriately for the Clark, Givenchy and Zandra Rhodes, year in which we commemorate the we celebrate some of the more centenary of the end of the Great subtle pleasures of 1970s fashion. War, his powerful work explores the themes of violence, war, death and memorialisation. In direct response to the horrors of our age, his work presents a passionate critique of the abuse of power in global conflict, politics and culture, and the accompanying cynicism and hypocrisy. #GMMonumental
14 May – 26 August Chester Mystery Plays Coin Gallery Chester’s famous mystery plays date back to at least the 15th century. First written by monks and performed by the city’s trade guilds, they told Biblical stories such as the Creation, Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel, and the Last Judgement. The plays were suppressed in Tudor times but later revived in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain and are now performed every five years. This small exhibition tells the fascinating early history of the cycle of plays. The later history, from 1951 onwards, will be explored in Within the Walls in Chester’s historic Water Tower. 04 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Exhibitions & Family Events
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Wednesday 30 May Exhibitions Family Events Historic Sports Day 27 June – 23 September Children’s activities are aimed at 4 to Museum Galleries Paintings by Rembrandt’s 12 years unless otherwise stated. 11am-1pm & 2-4pm, drop-in. Workshop and Teniers Children must be accompanied by an Free, suggested donation £1.50. from the Grosvenor adult. Please contact the Museum Shop From Tudor skittles to hopscotch to 01244 972112 for group bookings. classic board games, come and join Family Collection us in an action-packed sports and Art Gallery Mondays 21 May, 18 June, games day. Test your skills at some 16 July of these historic games. Museum Explorers Natural Cheshire Gallery Arrive 9.50am for 10-11am. Free, suggested donation £1.50. A new session aimed at ages 2-4 years (younger siblings welcome). We’ll be exploring nature’s changing seasons and discovering lots of exciting things from the past through play, crafts, Thursday 31 May stories and songs. Giant Paper Flowers Newstead Gallery Tuesday 29 May Masterpieces of Dutch and Flemish 2-4pm, drop-in. painting are being lent to the museum Steampunk Jewellery Free, suggested donation £1.50. this summer from the outstanding art Newstead Gallery It’s very nearly summer, so make a huge, collection of the Grosvenor family. 2-4pm, drop-in. scented paper flower to celebrate! Rembrandt (1606-69) was one of the Free, suggested donation £1.50. supreme geniuses in the history of art. Be inspired by Michael Sandle’s ‘A Man with a Hawk’ and ‘A Lady with a metallic masterpieces and make a Fan’, painted in 1643 in Rembrandt’s unique piece of steampunk style studio under his direct supervision, jewellery to take home. display technical brilliance and a sense of physical presence. ‘Saying grace before a meal’ and ‘Interior of a tavern’ exemplify the scenes of Flemish peasant life for which David Teniers the Younger (1610-90) is best known. Friday 1 June 1970s Fashion Newstead Gallery 2-4pm, drop-in. Free, suggested donation £1.50. Choose your favourite outfit from our 1970s costume exhibition and then design your own paper version. Plus, help us create a life-size fashion piece to be displayed in the museum! West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 05 Family Events
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Fridays 1 June, 6 July, 3 August, Friday 22 – Saturday 30 June Tuesday 31 July 7 September, 5 October Chester Heritage Festival: Clay Shells Grosvenor Museum Active Archaeology Newstead Gallery ‘Quiet’ Afternoons 2-4pm, drop-in. The Cheshire West Archaeology Free, suggested donation £1.50. 3-4.30pm, drop-in. team delivers a series of activities Explore the shells in the Natural Cheshire Free, suggested donation £1.50. highlighting its work and the finds Gallery and then join us in making your it has made. Visit our temporary Aimed at those who enjoy a ‘quieter’ very own clay shell to take home. visit to the museum, including people exhibition in the Grosvenor living with autism and their families Shopping Centre and handle and carers. Wherever possible, we objects on board special dim the lights and turn the recorded archaeology trains that will run sounds down. Our ‘quiet’ afternoons during the Festival on the Chester are themed, with hands-on activities to Manchester line. to engage all ages and abilities. Supported by the Roman Society & Pre-visit orientation pack available on Grosvenor Shopping Centre request from Virginia Kettle on Wednesday 1 August 01244 972120 or virginia.kettle@cheshirewestand Voices from the chester.gov.uk Other Side Exhibition Gallery One Friday 22 – Saturday 30 June 11am-1pm, drop-in. Chester Heritage Free, suggested donation £1.50. The Grosvenor Museum’s Youth Festival: Telling the Panel presents a light, sound and vision show to highlight Michael story of our city and its Views from Chester people Sandle's sculpture inspired by the Castle 1982 Falklands War. The city is the stage as walks, talks, Wednesday 27 & films, exhibitions, workshops and Thursday 28 June Wednesday 1 August special activities for young people 11am, 12noon, 1 & 2pm. £2, RAF Motto Badges bring Chester and its heritage to life. booking essential, call 01244 Newstead Gallery This year the festival embraces the 972210 or visit 2-4pm, drop-in. Midsummer Watch parades and the www.visitcheshire.com/chester Free, suggested donation £1.50. start of the renowned Chester Mystery heritagefestival. Inspired by the art of Michael Plays. See www.visitcheshire.com/ Meet at the Castle’s grand Sandle, join us to make some chesterheritagefestival for the full entrance gateway for escorted 1980s-style RAF motto badges. festival programme. visits to the Agricola Tower during the Chester Heritage Thursday 2 August Festival. Rosettes for Race Day Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Newstead Gallery 20 July – 16 September 2-4pm, drop-in. 10.30am-4pm. Site free; £2 Free, suggested donation £1.50. (unless members of English The first recorded horse race on Heritage) to visit the Agricola Chester’s Roodee was in 1539! Tower. For further details see Celebrate the Chester Races with us by www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk making your own rosette to wear and /chestercastle take home. 06 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Family Events
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Tuesday 7 August Tuesday 14 August Thursday 16 August Fans and Windmills Pesky Pests Paper Plants Newstead Gallery Newstead Gallery Newstead Gallery 2-4pm, drop-in. 2-4pm, drop-in. 2-4pm, drop-in. Free, suggested donation £1.50. Free, suggested donation £1.50. Free, suggested donation £1.50. Inspired by the paintings by Museum collections are at risk of Eliza Potts was a well-known Rembrandt’s workshop on loan to attack from insect intruders ! See botanist from Chester. She us, make a fan suitable fo r an examples of the damage these tiny collected plant specimens from important Dutch lady or a windmill terrors can cause, and learn how across Cheshire and North Wales, just like those which Rembrandt museum staff defe nd our objects and her complete collection is might have seen from his window. against bothers ome bugs. Then make housed and care d fo r by the a bug charm bracelet to take home. Grosvenor Museum. Take a look fo r yo urself in our Natural Cheshire Wednesday 15 August Gallery, and then have a go at Please look after this making your own paper plants inspired by Eliza. child! Newstead Gallery Tuesday 21 August 1-3pm, drop-in. Free, suggested donation £1.50. Suffragette Sashes During the Second World War many Newstead Gallery Wednesday 8 August childre n – including the artist Michael 2-4pm, drop-in. Be an Artist Sandle – were evacuauted from the Free, suggested donation £1.50. Newstead Gallery towns and cities to the countryside To help celebrate 100 years of 11am-1pm & 2-4pm, drop-in. where it was safer. Come and spend vo tes fo r wo men, come and join us Free, suggested donation £1.50. the day as an evacuee. We’ll be in making your very own packing our suitcases, making moving Suffragette sash. Come and try your hand at many trains, and discovering country wildlife different artforms, including paper and animal habitiats. sculptures, weaving, painting by Wednesday 22 August numbers and clay modelling. Be a Pirate! Newstead Gallery Thursday 9 August 1-3pm, drop-in. Battleships Free, suggested donation £1.50. Newstead Gallery With Swallows and Amazons being 12.30-2.30pm, drop-in. performed at Chester’s open air Free, suggested donation £1.50. theatre this summer, join us for a Inspired by our Michael Sandle Wednesday 15 August ce lebration of all things pirate. We’ll exhibition, test your battleships skills be making flags and treasure maps, by making your very own game to play. Film: The Railway dressing up, and walking the plank! Children Lecture Theatre 11am-12.50pm. Free, suggested donation £1.50. The classic 1970 film of three children, the people they meet, and the escapades they have around a nearby railway line. Ce rtificate PG. West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 07 Family & Adult Events
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Wednesday 22 August Wednesday 29 August Film: Swallows and Animals in War Adult Events Amazons Newstead Gallery Every day of the year Lecture Theatre 1-3pm, drop-in. Guided Walking Tours of 11am-12.35pm. Free, suggested donation £1.50. Chester with the Guild of Free, suggested donation £1.50. In response to Michael Sandle’s The 2016 film of the much-loved memorial to animals used to aid Chester Tour Guides war efforts, we’ll be making book follows the adventures of four Meet at the Visitor Information origami pigeons, elephant masks, children on holiday in the Lake and hobby horses. Centre, Town Hall Square District. Certificate PG. 10.30am-12noon & 2-3.30pm. £7, £6 concessions, tickets from guide. Wednesday 29 August www.chestertours.org.uk. Film: War Horse Lecture Theatre 11am-1.25pm. Free, suggested donation £1.50. This 2011 film follows Albert from England to the battlefields of France, as he looks for his beloved horse Joey. Certificate 12A.
Thursday 23 August Rainbow Boats Newstead Gallery 2-4pm, drop-in. Free, suggested donation £1.50. Ahoy there! Sail along to the Grosvenor Museum and make your Thursday 30 August very own rainbow boat. Be inspired Stained Glass Windows by the art of Michael Sandle. Who Newstead Gallery Your Guide will lead you on a captivating will your crew be? 2-4pm, drop-in. journey through 2,000 years of history, Free, suggested donation £1.50. taking in all the main sites along the way, Tuesday 28 August The Grosvenor Museum has some including the Rows, Walls, River and the Make an Art Deco Desk lovely Victorian stained glass exterior of the Cathedral. Discover the windows, including animals, words, rich heritage of this much loved city, Tidy and symbols of Chester. Come along beginning in Roman times, through the Newstead Gallery and make your own paper ‘stained- vibrant period of medieval expansion, 2-4pm, drop-in. glass’ window to decorate your home. the desperation of the Civil War, the Free, suggested donation £1.50. Georgian elegance and Victorian revival, right up to the present day. Add a touch of style to your study Also, The Secret Chester Castle Tour, area with an Art Deco inspired desk 11.30am-1pm, first Tuesday and third tidy, and discover how the elegance Friday of each month. Your Guide will of Art Deco formed the backdrop to have the keys to unlock the secrets of the decadent 1920s. Chester Castle. 08 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Adult Events
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 May Thursday 24 May Tuesday 29 – Wednesday 30 Dementia Awareness From this day forward: May; Monday 9 – Tuesday 10 & Memories of Weddings Thursday 12 – Friday 13 July Week Etching Course Museum Galleries in Chester The Queen’s School, City Walls 3-4.30pm, drop-in. Grosvenor Park Pavilion & Road, Chester Free, suggested donation £1.50. St John’s Church 9.30am-4pm. Activities aimed at older visitors 12noon-4pm, drop-in. £140 for 2 days in May, £280 for 4 and people living with dementia Free, suggested donation £1.50. days in July. Details and booking and their families and carers, Come and enjoy looking at our via www.alistairtucker.org/courses. including a ‘memories’ trail plus art archives, images and handling objects and craft workshops. in the Grosvenor Park Pavilion; visit St John’s Church and listen to a talk Wednesday 23 May about weddings through the ages; stroll through the park and enjoy the Michael Sandle RA in memories trail. Fully accessible for Conversation people using wheelchairs. Refreshments available. Further Lecture Theatre information from Virginia Kettle on 2-3pm. 01244 972120 or Free, suggested donation £1.50. virginia.kettle@cheshirewestand Professor Michael Sandle RA is chester.gov.uk. Alistair Tucker RBSA leads these widely recognised as one of the Organised by Grosvenor Museum, Chester etching courses, suitable for both finest sculptors in the world and is History & Heritage, Cheshire Archives, newcomers to printmaking and also a brilliant draughtsman and Grosvenor Park and St John’s Church established practitioners. The printmaker. To celebrate the opening classes cover a range of etching of his exhibition Monumental Rage, techniques. The aim is to offer the he joins Dr Cian Quayle, Senior practical guidance needed for Lecturer in Art and Design at the participants to make the most of University of Chester, to discuss his their own creative ideas in a work. Exploring the themes of professional, friendly and well- violence, war, death and equipped environment. Courses memorialisation, his art presents a are for over 16s and numbers are passionate critique of the abuse of limited to ensure comfortable Sunday 27 May power in global conflict, politics and workspace culture, and the accompanying Stories, Poems, and cynicism and hypocrisy. Letters from the Front A University of Chester event Lecture Theatre 1.30-3pm. Free, suggested donation £1.50. This presentation by Chester Writers and Chester Poets complements the exhibition Michael Sandle: Monumental Rage. It includes readings of original war-themed short stories, poems, and some unique unpublished letters to families from soldiers on active service, bringing vividly to life the experiences of men and women at war. West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 09 Adult Events
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Once a month, June – September Tuesday 19 June Friday 22 June Art Classes Refugees in Chester Celebrates £10 per person. crisis? Belgians in Lecture Theatre In homage to the museum’s early life Cheshire during the 7.30-8.45pm. Free. as an art school we are running Join David Cummings for a fully mostly unstuctured art classes in First World War illustrated presentation of Chester’s different galleries and using different Lecture Theatre celebratory events, including the media. Some have short introductory Doors open 5.30pm, talk 6-7.30pm. Mystery Plays, the City Passion, talks by artists on a particular Free, including drinks and snacks. English Civil War re-enactments, discipline, others feature objects Roman weekends, Diwali, from our stores as inspiration. These Saturnalia, the Chester Zoo Islands are not tutored classes, but a chance project, Storyhouse and the for you to try something new or Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, dabble happily, or do your own work the Lord Mayor’s Parade, Great War in an inspirational space. All remembrance and the Mercian materials (apart from aprons) will be Regiment parade, Chester Cathedral provided, as will refreshments. and the Ark sculpture exhibition. Please see Part of Chester Heritage Festival www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk for more details Tuesday 26 June Tuesday 12 June The People of Roman The ‘Enemy’ Chester Lecture Theatre Interned: The German invasion of Belgium in 1-2pm. Free. Germans in Cheshire autumn 1914 forced millions of Belgians to flee their homeland. during the First World War 250,000 entered Britain as refugees Lecture Theatre and approximately 2,000 settled in Doors open 5.30pm, talk 6-7.30pm. Cheshire for some or all of the war. Free, including drinks and snacks. Whilst relations between the Before the First World War, refugees and locals initially Germans had lived and worked appeared warm and hospitable, across Cheshire as farmers, documentary evidence – which you industrialists and shopkeepers. can see during this interactive event With the outbreak of hostilities, the – shows that life was not always number of Germans in Cheshire easy for the newcomers. A University of Chester event A chance to learn about some of the increased dramatically. However, people of Roman Chester – men and none of these people had chosen women, soldiers and civilians, young to make Cheshire their home; they and old, slave and free. Dr Peter were interned in one of the country’s largest internment camps Carrington’s illustrated talk is based in Handforth. This interactive talk on the Grosvenor Museum’s uses objects, stories and images to internationally important collection of tell the history of Germans in tombstones, followed by an optional Cheshire during the Great War. tour of the Stories in Stone gallery. A University of Chester event Part of Chester Heritage Festival 10 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Adult Events
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Tuesday 26 June Friday 29 & Saturday 30 June Wednesday 18 July The Centenary Chester Archaeological The Great War: of the First Society Conference Modernist Art on the World War: New Lecture Theatre Front Line Directions or Old Friday 7-9pm, Saturday 10am-4pm. Lecture Theatre £18, pre-booking essential: 1.30-3pm. £3, pay at the door. Histories? Join Adrian Sumner for a look at send cheques payable to Chester Lecture Theatre Modernist art recording history. Not Archaeological Society, c/o Doors open 5.30pm, talk 6-7.30pm. only were many of the most Grosvenor Museum, 27 Grosvenor Free, including drinks and snacks. important Modernists (such as Paul Street, Chester, CH1 2DD. For In 2012 the British government Nash, Christopher Nevinson and information contact Councillor pledged £50 million to mark the David Bomberg) also Official War Janet Axworthy on centenary of the Great War. This Artists, but their style, mostly [email protected]. evening’s event sees four historians derived from Cubism and Futurism, and heritage experts debate the was the perfect way of describing wider achievements of the the violence and inhumanity of the centenary: Jenny Macleod new, mechanised, industrial (University of Hull), Charlotte warfare. This lecture examines the Czyzyk (Imperial War Museum), many theatres of war, including the Jasdeep Singh (National Army major contribution made to Museum) and Kathrin Pieren preserving life at sea by Dazzle (Jewish Museum, London). This will patterning, creation of the marine be a unique opportunity to engage artist Norman Wilkinson. in a conversation about the lasting legacies of the First World War centenary. A University of Chester event
Professor Howard Williams will give the keynote lecture on Friday evening entitled Offa and Wat’s Dyke: Reassessment of a Frontier. Thursday 16 August This talk will be an excellent taster 1950s Afternoon for Saturday’s themes, which range Lecture Theatre across the English/Welsh border 2-4pm, drop- in. and explore current research and Free, suggested donation £1.50. developments. A light lunch will This mixture of film shows, handling be provided on Saturday. sessions and refreshments is aimed Organised by the Chester at older people, those living with Archaeological Society dementia, and their families and Part of Chester Heritage Festival carers. West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 11 Adult Events
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Wednesday 19 September Wednesday 3 October Corporate Partnerships Michael Sandle: The Art of War: The at the Grosvenor Exhibition Tour Many Faces of Global Museum Meet in Exhibition Gallery One, Conflict Help to care for collections, develop then Exhibition Gallery Two & Lecture Theatre exhibitions, and share Chester’s Art Gallery 1.30-3pm. £3, pay at the door. exciting culture and history by 2-3pm. Free, suggested donation £3. becoming a corporate partner of the Grosvenor Museum. As a Corporate Partner you and your business can show a real passion for social responsibility and enjoy a wide range of special benefits including brand exposure to over 80,000 visitors every year and more After the Great War (not, as it turned online. out, the War to end all Wars) artists Membership benefits include: became regular fixtures in the proliferating violence which led to • Free use of the iconic Victorian the Second World War and beyond, lecture theatre for meetings and right down to the present day. This corporate entertainment lecture by Adrian Sumner looks at • VIP invitations to private events the broadest range of artists and exhibition openings recording conflict throughout history, • Sponsor an item on public display Professor Michael Sandle RA, who in photography as well as traditional • Enjoy exclusive gallery tours and studied at Chester School of Art, is painting and sculpture, treading a access behind the scenes at the widely recognised as one of the line which seeks to avoid the worst finest sculptors in the world and is of the horror while still telling the museum also a brilliant draughtsman and truth of the stories. These are just some of the benefits printmaker. Appropriately for the available to Bronze, Silver and Gold year in which we commemorate the partners. To receive a Corporate centenary of the end of the Great Partnership Scheme information War, his powerful work explores the pack and to discuss sponsorship themes of violence, war, death and opportunities for your business, memorialisation. Join Peter please contact Richard Hall on Boughton, the museum’s Keeper of 01244 972094 or Art, to explore the extraordinary richard.hall2@cheshirewestand work of this great artist. chester.gov.uk 12 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Chester History & Heritage
Grosvenor Museum, 27 Grosvenor Street, Chester, CH1 2DD
Chester History & Heritage has a new home in the Grosvenor Museum, together with many of our books and maps, photographic collections and our popular Family History research service. We are maintaining our wonderful Facebook and website pages which are followed by well over 4,000 history lovers, and you can explore our online imagebank which boasts over 21,000 unique historic images of Chester. We are also the hub for the Heritage Open Days in September – the brochure for these exciting weekends will be available in early summer. We look forward to seeing you all in our new home!
Telephone 01244 972197 Email: [email protected] Find us on Facebook: Chester History and Heritage Centre Follow us on Twitter @cwacmuseums Website: www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 13 Stretton Watermill, Farndon
Mill Lane, Stretton, Farndon, SY14 7JA
Step back in time and visit one of Disabled access the country’s best preserved water powered corn mills. First recorded Accessible toilet, ramp to first floor in 1351, Stretton Watermill was a of mill. working mill until its last miller retired in 1959. Visit the Telephone 01606 271640 19th-century stable block to learn Find us on Facebook: Grosvenor about the history of the mill and Museum and Stretton Watermill explore models of the building Follow us on Twitter and its machinery. One of our @cwacmuseums Website: www.westcheshire millers will then take you on a Admission fascinating tour to see the ancient museums.co.uk wooden machinery in action, listen Adult £3.50, child (ages 4-16) to stories, and have a go at milling Volunteers £1.80, 1 free child for families of 4- 7 people. Free for children under 3. grain. Bring a picnic and enjoy the Please see all West Cheshire idyllic rural setting with beautiful Museums volunteering roles May to August: Tuesday – Sunday and views of the pond and mill on the website Bank Holiday Mondays 1-5pm. buildings. www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk September: Saturday & Sunday 1-5pm.
Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 Exhibitions Events September Until 30 September Saturday 8 & Victorian Harvest Crafting the Woods Sunday 9 September Weekend In the trees and woodland on site Heritage Open Days 12noon-5pm. Mill visit £3, free Following the success of last year’s 1-5pm. Free mill tours, donations activities. Woollen Woods, Stretton Watermill welcome. Celebrate the traditional harvest has invited makers to contribute with apple pressing (bring your own), creations to a crafty woodland in its butter making, corn dollies, recipes, grounds. An array of woolly and music, and ‘the wonders of the woody native flora and fauna are on bicycle’. This delightful end to the display, from knitted ladybirds to season captivates all who felted fungi and turned toadstools! experience the romance of the mill.
This is a national celebration of historic buildings and architectural treasures, many of which aren't often open to the public. Our doors will be open free of charge to encourage people to explore the treasures on their doorstep. 14 West Cheshire Museums I Exhibitions and Events Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse
162 London Road, Northwich, CW9 8AB
Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse is full of displays and tales of the history and industry of West Cheshire. The stories are told through films, reconstructions, models and vivid displays of intriguing artefacts, which relate to local industry, market towns, transport, archaeology, and the building’s history as the Northwich Union Workhouse. An exhibition in the former workhouse schoolroom explores life for the paupers. Around the rest of the museum you can find out about workhouse food, discover some of the people who lived here, and visit the recreated Master’s sitting room.
Admission Support us Adult £3.50, concession £2.50, child £1.80, family (2+2) £8, The Friends of Weaver Hall offer pre-booked groups £2.50 per person. Season tickets: adult £6, vital support for the museum. concession £5, 2 senior citizens & up to 3 children £15, 2 adults & Friends enjoy a full and varied up to 3 children £18. Free to view temporary exhibitions programme of events including (suggested donation £3) and to visit the coffee shop and gift shop. evening talks and film nights. See www.fowhm.org.uk. Tuesday – Friday, school holiday Mondays & Bank Holiday Mondays 10am-5pm, Saturday & Sunday 2-5pm. Volunteers Please see all West Cheshire Museums volunteering roles on the website www.westcheshire museums.co.uk
Disabled access Full independent access is available throughout the museum.
Telephone 01606 271640 Find us on Facebook: Weaver Hall Museum and Lion Salt Works Follow us on Twitter @cwacmuseums Website: www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 15 Exhibitions & Family Events
Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse, Northwich
Wednesday 8 & Exhibitions Family Events Thursday 9 August Until 14 July Children’s activities are aimed at 4 Paint a Masterpiece Visual Arts Cheshire: to 12 years unless otherwise stated. 10am-4pm, drop-in. Children must be accompanied by an £1.80 per child. Inspirations from the adult. Please contact 01606 271640 Collections II for group bookings
Wednesday 30 & Thursday 31 May Glove Puppets 10am-4pm, drop-in. £1.80 per child. From a spider to a superhero, make your own hand puppet to take home. Picasso, Lowry, Monet. Just three great Artists. Are you one too? Come and find out. Produce your The members of Visual Arts Cheshire, own masterpiece to exhibit at a Northwich-based community arts home. group, have been back exploring the museum stores and creating work in response to some of the more Wednesday 15 & unusual artefacts in our collections. Thursday 16 August Roman Clay Pots From 21 July 10am-4pm, drop-in. £1.80 per child. Northwich in Stitch What did the Romans do for us? Well, Roman pots for one! See some 2,000 year old pottery in the museum then make your own pot.
Wednesday 1 & Thursday 2 August Make your own Shield 10am-4pm, drop-in. £1.80 per child. Prepare yourself for battle and make a shield to take home.
An exhibition of textile and mixed media work by the Breakaway group, inspired by items in the museum collection, local waterways, structures and the Northwich Union Workhouse which once occupied the museum building. 16 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Family & Adult Events
Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse, Northwich
Wednesday 22 & Wednesday 30 May Thursday 23 August Adult Events Watling Street Clay Tiles Fridays 25 May, 29 June, 27 July, 3-4pm, with a complimentary tea or 10am-4pm, drop-in. £1.80 per child. 31 August, 28 September coffee from 2.30pm. £1.50. Make a decorative clay tile to take home Craft and Chat Find out the history behind this famous 'Roman road' and why it is 10.30am-12.30pm. more than one road, and indeed £3, including tea or coffee. why it was a road several hundred Meet like-minded crafters, learn a years before the Roman Empire new skill, and enjoy a cup of tea in even existed. the relaxed setting of Weaver Hall Museum’s café. There will be demonstrations and projects to work on. Suitable for all levels of experience.
Friday 24 August Teddy Bears Picnic 12-3pm, drop-in. Free. Bring your own picnic and join us for a fun filled afternoon of storytelling and crafts, suitable for Thursday 14 June early years. Open Poetry and Music Evening 6-8pm. £5, to book visit www.northwichlitfest.co.uk. Come along and share a poem or a song, or sit back and listen. Open floor compered by Angela Topping. Guest sets from Angi Holden and Angela Topping. Headline musician Gordon Tyrrall. A Northwich LitFest event
Wednesday 29 & Thursday 30 Build your own Historic Site 10am-4pm, drop-in. £1.80 per child. Stonehenge, the Pyramids or the Lion Salt Works! Build a model of your favourite historical site. West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 17 Adult Events
Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse, Northwich
Wednesday 20 June Wednesday 27 June Saturday 15 September Vale Royal Abbey: Tea and Talk: Visual Heritage Open Days A Failed Enterprise Arts Cheshire 2-5pm. Free. 7 for 7.30-9pm. £5, to book 3-4pm, with a complimentary tea or visit www.northwichlitfest.co.uk. coffee from 2.30pm. £1.50. The Members of Visual Arts Cheshire, a Northwich-based community arts group, have been back exploring the museums stores and creating work in response to some of the more unusual artefacts in our collections. Find out about what has inspired them.
Weaver Hall Museum is housed in the old Northwich Union This medieval abbey, founded in Workhouse, a grade II listed 1270, later became a country building dating from 1837-39. residence and is now a golf club. The displays explore the workhouse Intended to be the finest abbey history of the site, as well as local ever built, financial difficulties, history and archaeology. Visitors will get a chance to see the Board gross mismanagement and poor of Guardians meeting room, which internal discipline created a focus is not always open to the public. for community discord. Tony Bostock will tell the abbey’s story Friday 14 September Wednesday 26 September from its establishment until its Film: Suffragette Who Stayed at dissolution in 1538. Tatton Park? A Northwich LitFest event. 7-8.45pm. Free, but booking essential on 01606 271640. 3-4pm. £1.50. Join Corey Estensen for an examination of the visitors’ book from 1884-1909, when guests to the mansion left behind their signatures, sketches and ephemera. Gain a fascinating insight into a world far removed from modern life; a rarefied world of rank, formality, privilege, but also of artistry, eccentricity and scandal! In early 20th-century Britain, the growing suffragette movement changes forever the life of working wife and mother Maud Watts. A chance to see this award-winning 2015 film in our Regalette Cinema, as part of Heritage Open days supported by Townscape Heritage. 18 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Lion Salt Works, Northwich
Ollershaw Lane, Marston, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 6ES
The Lion Salt Works is a restored historic open-pan salt making site in the village of Marston, beside the Trent and Mersey Canal and close to the remarkable Anderton Boat Lift. This £10 million project opened in 2015 and was voted the UK's Best Heritage project in the 2016 National Lottery Awards. It offers a fascinating journey through the life of the country’s last open-pan salt works. When exploring the site and its restored buildings, you will discover how the Salt Works operated and the impact of salt on mid-Cheshire’s people, economy and landscape. Your visit will also set the scene for a wider exploration of the footpaths, waterways and attractions of the adjacent Northwich Woodlands and the Weaver Valley.
Admission Adult £6.25, concession £5.50, child £4, family (2+2) £15.20, concession family (1+3) £14, adult annual pass £18, family annual pass (2+2 or 1+3) £50. Free access to café, gift shop, butterfly garden, play area, canal towpath and car park. Museum open Tuesday – Sunday & all Bank Holiday Mondays 10.30am-5pm. Play area and butterfly garden open daily 9am-5.20pm.
Support us The Lion Salt Works Trust offers vital support including technical and historical advice, project and General Enquiries 01606 275066 grounds development, visitor Room Hire and Group Bookings 01606 275040 tours and a regular publication. Find us on Facebook: Weaver Hall Museum and Lion Salt Works To become a Saltie contact Follow us on Twitter @cwacmuseums [email protected]. Website: www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk Volunteers Please see all West Cheshire Museums volunteering roles on the website www.westcheshire museums.co.uk. Disabled access Full independent access is available across the whole site. West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 19 Exhibitions & Family Events
Lion Salt Works, Northwich
Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 June Exhibitions Family Events Heritage Transport Until 15 July Children’s activities are aimed at 4 Festival Little Leigh and Jabez to 12 years unless otherwise stated. Children must be accompanied 10.30am-5pm. Thomson by an adult. Please contact Suggested donation £2. The church at Little Leigh, about three 01606 271640 for group bookings. miles from Lion Salt Works, was built in There is a suggested donation or 1878 from bricks, tiles and decorative charge for most events and friezes manufactured in Northwich by activities. If you would also like to the firm of Jabez Thompson. This go round the Lion Salt Works exhibition explores the mystery of the museum and historic core, usual reredos of the Last Supper and the admission charges apply. links between brick works, decorative This very evocative festival of a art and the Lion Salt Works. bygone era gives visitors an Little Leigh Church is open 11am-4pm Tuesday 29 & Wednesday 30 May opportunity to imagine what vintage every Saturday until 14 July. Salt Science transport would have been like in its heyday. Visitors can enjoy seeing a 10.30am-4pm. 20 July – 16 November Suggested donation £2. range of transport vehicles from the Letters Home: 19th and 20th centuries, including Salt can be used in lots of different traction engines, miniature steam Communications on the scientific experiments. Come and engines, working narrow boats, Front join us as we have a go at some vintage cars and commercial vehicles. experiments and be amazed by This poignant exhibition displays the There is also a series of themed science! collections gathered during the last four children’s activities over the weekend. years during the Cheshire Great War Roadshows and reveals communications Saturday 16 June with the Front. Post cards, personal Angel Day items and letters talk of love and loss, creativity and resilience in the face of 10.30-2pm. Suggested donation £2. great hardship. The exhibition has been curated by award-winning research Come to the Lion Salt Works and help St Michael and All Angels volunteer, Nigel Meyrick. Church at Little Leigh to fill the church with angels! You can personalise your angel for the Friday 1 June church exhibition and make a little Make a Little Leigh angel to take home. Terracotta Tile 10.30am-12.30pm & 2-4pm. Suggested donation £2. See if you can spot the differences between the original painting and the amazing terracotta sculpture of the Last Supper. Then recreate a small section of the scene in clay. 20 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Family Events
Lion Salt Works, Northwich
Tuesday 31 July & Tuesday 14 & Monday 27 August Wednesday 1 August Wednesday 15 August Live and Local presents Superhero Summer Fossil Fun a Bank Holiday Bonanza 10.30am-12.30pm & 2-4pm. 10.30am-12.30pm & 2-4pm. 11am-5pm. Free. . Suggested donation £2. Suggested donation £2. Family festival and fun day with With so many Superhero outdoor stage, live music, children’s blockbusters in the cinema this activities, stalls, refreshments, hot summer, it’s only right we do a food and much more. Enjoy the craft to celebrate our favourite Bank Holiday at this traditional Superheroes. village festival with a contemporary twist, featuring local live bands throughout the day.
Fossils hold exciting clues about our past. Join us for some fun activities exploring these preserved remains.
Tuesday 28 & Tuesday 7 & Wednesday 8 August Tuesday 21 & Wednesday 29 August Alice Garden Party Wednesday 22 August Wild at the Works 10.30am-12.30pm & 2-4pm. The Beano Bonanza 10.30am-12.30pm & 2-4pm. Suggested donation £2. 10.30am-12.30pm & 2-4pm. Suggested donation £2. Join us as we celebrate Suggested donation £2. Wonderland! We have a special Lion Salt Works is surrounded by garden party planned, including nature. Come and have a go at games and crafts, all based around making some crafts inspired by the Alice and her underground butterflies and nature around Lion adventure. Salt Works.
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge is all around The Beano. Come and celebrate your favorite characters by doing some Beano- inspired crafts. West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 21 Adult Events
Lion Salt Works, Northwich
Saturday 21 July Saturday 15 September Adult Events Letters Home: Heritage Open Days Wednesday 27 June Talk and Gallery Tour Free. Paradise Lodge 2-3.30pm. Free. 7.30-9pm. £10, book at Award-winning Great War www.northwichlitfest.co.uk. researcher Nigel Meyrick has curated the Letters Home exhibition, drawing together items gathered from local people during the Cheshire Great War Roadshows. Nigel has detailed knowledge of the items in the exhibition and will offer insight and reflection into the As part of Heritage Open Days, we authors and recipients of the letters are offering free admission and a and postcards. 30-minute guided tour of of the unique buildings of the Lion Salt Works.
Saturday 29 September The Salt Works Sessions 7-11pm. £12.50, book at [email protected].
Saturday 21 July Paradise Lodge examines how we A Series of Unscrupulous deal with dementia in a thought- Events, Part V provoking and hilarious exploration of identity, reality, love and loss. Vi 7.30-10pm. £7, book in advance at and Ronnie are in the big lounge to Lion Salt Works 01606 275066. be entertained by a dysfunctional Join us on the quest, a mysterious The first in a series of folk evenings to be held over the coming year. duo called ‘The Doodlebugs!’. But adventure through the Portal on a time-travelling journey to solve Session 1 will feature Kathryn Vi wants to join her husband and another unscrupulous event! Free Roberts and Sean Lakeman, well Ronnie wants to search for his light refreshments. known in the UK for drawing upon kidnapped family. Trouble is, Vi’s folk tradition’s natural backdrops husband is dead and Ronnie’s whilst weaving in their own family just don’t visit. Through a distinctive and eclectic flavours. series of flashbacks and comic Twice winners of the BBC Radio 2 songs from the war years, Vi, Ronnie Folk Award for ‘Best Duo’, an and the audience are transported evening in the company of this back to a time when they thought highly respected and much loved they could live and love forever. couple is intimate, inclusive, warm A Northwich LitFest event and inspiring. 22 West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events Diary
Wednesday 30 • • Wednesday 27 Key Watling Street Tea and Talk: Visual Arts Cheshire Thursday 31 Wednesday 27 Grosvenor Museum • • Glove Puppets • Paradise Lodge Chester History & Heritage • Thursday 31 Stretton Watermill Friday 29 • • Giant Paper Flowers • Craft and Chat • Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse June Friday 29 • Lion Salt Works Chester Archaeological Society • Friday 1 Conference • Make a Little Leigh Terracotta Tile Saturday 30 Friday 1 • • Chester Archaeological Society May 1970s Fashion Conference Monday 21 Friday 1 • Museum Explorers • ‘Quiet’ Afternoon July Monday 21 Friday 6 • Dementia Awareness Week Saturday 9 • Heritage Transport Festival • ‘Quiet’ Afternoon Tuesday 22 Monday 9 • Dementia Awareness Week Sunday 10 • Heritage Transport Festival • Etching Course • Wednesday 23 Michael Sandle RA in Conversation Tuesday 12 Monday 16 • Germans in Cheshire during the • Museum Explorers First World War Thursday 24 • Memories of Weddings in Chester Wednesday 18 Thursday 14 • The Great War: Modernist Art on • Open Poetry and Music Evening the Front Line Friday 25 • Craft and Chat Saturday 16 Saturday 21 • Angel Day • Letters Home: Talk and Tour Sunday 27 • Stories, Poems, and Letters from Monday 18 Saturday 21 the Front • Museum Explorers • Series of Unscrupulous Events, Part 5 • Tuesday 29 Etching Course Tuesday 19 • Belgians in Cheshire during the Friday 27 Tuesday 29 First World War • Craft and Chat
• Salt Science Wednesday 20 Tuesday 31 • Vale Royal Abbey: A Failed • Tuesday 29 Superhero Summer • Steampunk Jewellery Enterprise Tuesday 31 Friday 22 • Wednesday 30 Clay Shells • Glove Puppets • Chester Celebrates August Tuesday 26 Wednesday 30 • • Wednesday 1 Salt Science The People of Roman Chester • Make your own Shield Tuesday 26 Wednesday 30 • • Historic Sports Day The Centenary of the First World Wednesday 1 War • Superhero Summer West Cheshire Museums Exhibitions and Events 23 Diary
Wednesday 1 Thursday 16 Thursday 30 • Voices from the Other Side • Paper Plants • Stained Glass Windows
Wednesday 1 Thursday 16 Friday 31 • RAF Motto Badges • 1950s Afternoon • Craft and Chat Thursday 2 • Tuesday 21 • Make your own Shield The Beano Bonanza September Thursday 2 Tuesday 21 Friday 7 • Rosettes for Race Day • Suffragette Sashes • ‘Quiet’ Afternoon
Friday 3 Wednesday 22 Saturday 8 • • ‘Quiet’ Afternoon Clay Tiles • Heritage Open Days
Tuesday 7 Wednesday 22 Sunday 9 • The Beano Bonanza • Alice Garden Party • Heritage Open Days Wednesday 22 Tuesday 7 Friday 14 • Be a Pirate! • Fans and Windmills • Film: Suffragette Wednesday 22 • Wednesday 8 • Film: Swallows and Amazons Saturday 15 Paint a Masterpiece • Heritage Open Days Thursday 23 • Wednesday 8 • Clay Tiles Saturday 15 Alice Garden Party • Heritage Open Days Thursday 23 Wednesday 8 • Rainbow Boats Wednesday 19 • Be an Artist • Michael Sandle: Exhibition Tour Friday 24 Thursday 9 • Teddy Bears Picnic • Paint a Masterpiece Wednesday 26 • Who Stayed at Tatton Park? • Monday 27 Thursday 9 Live and Local Bank Holiday • Battleships Bonanza Friday 28 • Craft and Chat • Tuesday 14 • Tuesday 28 Fossil Fun Wild at the Works Saturday 29 • Victorian Harvest Weekend Tuesday 14 Tuesday 28 • Pesky Pests • Make an Art Deco Desk Tidy Saturday 29 • The Salt Works Sessions Wednesday 15 Wednesday 29 • Roman Clay Pots • Build your own Historic Site Sunday 30 • Victorian Harvest Weekend Wednesday 15 Wednesday 29 • Fossil Fun • Wild at the Works October Wednesday 15 • Wednesday 29 • Please look after this child! Animals in War Wednesday 3 • The Art of War: The Many Faces Wednesday 15 • Wednesday 29 of Global Conflict • Film: The Railway Children Film: War Horse Thursday 30 Friday 5 Thursday 16 • • ‘Quiet’ Afternoon • Roman Clay Pots Build your own Historic Site Grosvenor Museum Stretton Watermill Chester History & Heritage Mill Lane, Stretton, Nr. Farndon, SY14 7JA
27 Grosvenor Street, Chester, CH1 2DD Chester
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Weaver Hall Museum Lion Salt Works and Workhouse Ollershaw Lane, Marston, Northwich, CW9 6ES 162 London Road, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 8AB M56 CHESTER J9/20 MANCHESTERMANCHESTEST R M56 M6
Anderton Boat Lift
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A556 Weaver Hall A533A53A 3 Museum and Workhouse M6 A5566 A54 J18 A54
Accessing Cheshire West and Chester Council information and services Council information is also available in Audio, Braille and Large Print formats. If you would like a copy in any of these formats or in another language, please email us at [email protected] We are also able to provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter to support customers with accessing Council services.
Tel: 0300 123 8 123 Textphone: 01606 867 670 email: [email protected] web: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk