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2010 News
Please click here
for 2009 news.
Please click here
for 2008 news.
Photo: Plowden and Smith Ltd
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Medieval Tortington Exhibition at The History Store
Formally opened on 14 July, Medieval Tortington is the latest exhibition at
The History Store.
It was hoped that the display would feature the Museum’s 13th Century Lead Coffin
Lid from Tortington Priory, but it is too delicate to frequently move, and too valuable to be in
the portacabin. Instead, we have a life-size facsimile on display, along with other artifacts
from the excavation of the site.
The coffin lid has been recently restored with a grant from the Pilgrim Trust.
On the right is a photograph of the work in progress at the workshops of Plowden and Smith Ltd who
carried out the restoration.
The Medieval Tortington exhibition will run until the Autumn.
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Museum Brings Historic Camp to Arundel
A glittering crowd of over 200 ticket holders danced the night away
on Saturday 22 May to the Sell-Out FUNdraising event organised by Linsi Halsey to
raise cash for the much needed Museum. Party goers danced to 80’s music and revelled
at the camp comedy dance performances put on by the fabulous, London-based Glitterbanditz,
drenched in their signature body glitter and hilarious glam pop outfits.
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The bar raised over £1,000 profit alone, with the expert help of Helen &
Terry Bedford of the St Mary’s Gate Inn, who once again, offered their services on a
completely voluntary basis. A further £3,000 profit made on the night from the raffle
and auction plus the ticket monies and donations/sponsorship, mean that a total of
£7,282.23 has been donated to The Arundel Museum Society, which spearheads the launch
of the public appeal to raise funds for the new museum building.
This was Linsi’s first ever attempt at event organising and she said
‘it bought a breath of fresh air to Arundel - something a bit different, enabling
people to really let their hair down and have a giggle. It was great to see so many
people wearing 80’s style fancy dress too-which was optional. Feedback on the event
has been fantastic and people are urging us to do it all again soon. I could not have
done it without the help of my husband Ben and help on the night from teenage volunteers,
James Peters and friends, (Chloe, Dan and Anthony) and not forgetting Eugenie Chabernaud
– so a big thanks to all of them’.
The event was held in the garden of the Arundel Lido by kind permission
of the Lido Trustees. It was an indoor event thanks to the generosity of Chris May
of County Marquees Ltd, who is kindly supplied the GlitterMarquee. Thanks also to
India Gate for supplying their delicious Hot India Gate canapés, and donating their
profit and time.
Official Glitterati Party photos capturing the essence of the evening
can be viewed and purchased by contacting photographer Peter Nemeth at
gokarnadesign@hotmail.co.uk.
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Just Walk Sponsored Walk at Goodwood Racecourse
Forty one walkers signed up to support Arundel Museum by completing
the Just Walk 10km sponsored walk on Saturday 15 May. They started and finished
at Goodwood Racecourse on top of the Downs, and experienced breathtaking views towards
the coast during the walk. We were fortunate that many of our supporters sponsored
our walkers, and some turned up on the day to support them.
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Called Just Walk, this is an ideal event for raising sponsorship
because all organization is carried out by Across the Divide, including planning,
advice, on-the-day support, safety back up, and medical support.
That left the Museum to attract supporters to enter the event to raise funds
for its cause, and to provide local advertising to help them get sponsorship. However,
we must make special note of the efforts Joan Davenport put into making this such a successful
and profitable event for the Museum. Her efforts, and those of the walkers, has resulted
in £2,291 being raised for Museum funds.
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Shops and Shopping: A History of the Small Shop through the Ages
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During the evening of Thursday 22 April, at the Norfolk Centre, Janet Pennington
gave a fascinating talk on the history of the small shop. It went a long way to explain our
current situation in Arundel where we have very few shops left except those serving sustenance
to our visitors. However, evidence of the past is to be seen on many of our streets: the
large front windows of what are now domestic houses fronting onto the pavement.
We are indebted to Janet for presenting a special insight into our history.
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The Marquee Events
By kind permission of the Sparkle Ball Committee, these
three events were held in the Sparkle Ball Marquee in Mill Road Car Park
on 27 and 28 March.
- Bonhams Valuations
On Saturday afternoon, having searched their cupboards and attics,
people were able to bring their items for valuation by a panel of
experts from Bonhams.
- The Museum Bash
A grand Saturday night out was had by all, with music provided by The
Phoenix Big Band and the Caws Brothers. Terry Bedford managed the bar.
There was a Hog Roast provided by Michael Courtney Family Butchers from
Midhurst, and a Barbecue laid on by Arundel Butchers. Table flowers
were supplied by Country Fresh of Barnham, and the arrangements by
Margaret Canovan were on sale at the end of the evening.
- Market in the Marquee
Everyone was welcome at our Market in the Marquee on the Sunday. It
featured numerous stalls, games, tombola, etc. And there were refreshments
to sustain everyone.
Our Chairman and Vice-Chairman extend a big, warm thank you
to all the volunteers who worked over the weekend to ensure the events were
such a success. Through everyone’s efforts, approximately £3,000 was raised
towards our new museum.
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Oral History Project
A new Oral History Group has been formed by members of the Arundel History
Society, and it has embarked upon a project to capture the recollection of the older inhabitants
of Arundel and the surrounding areas. The current project aims to collect memories of the
period from 1939 to 1953, that is from the start of the Second World War to the Coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II.
In the past, the museum has captured memories on cassettes, and these have
been transcribed and used to create our publication Arundel Voices, published by the
Museum Society, and on sale at the History Store. However, the new group is using state of
the art digital audio recording. This means that the recorded interviews will be stored on
hard disc as well as transcripts, and so the original material will be easily accessible in
the planned new museum for visitors and educational groups who want to learn about the rich
living history of Arundel.
Do you have memories that we should capture now for the future, or do you
know someone who has such memories? If so, you are welcome to contact Roger Halls by post
at the Museum's address or by telephone on 01903 214231.
The contributions of members of key community groups such as the Women's
Land Army, the Home Guard and the WI would be especially welcomed. The group would also
like to hear from anyone who is interested in researching material (such as newspaper
articles) that would be useful to our group of interviewers.
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Rosemary Hagedorn's New Local History Books
Rosemary Hagedorn was on hand at a book signing from 2.00 to
4.00pm on Saturday 13 March in Grounds Coffee Shop in Arundel High Street, at
which the first of her new books, The Making of Arundel, was launched:
- The Making of Arundel: The Architectural Legacy of the Earls
of Arundel and Dukes of Norfolk.
This book reveals the impact which the holders of the castle had, directly or
indirectly, on the development of Arundel’s rich architectural heritage from
the Norman period to the 20th century. There is a useful timeline putting the
history of Arundel into the context of national events from 1066 to 2008.
A second title is now available:
- Earls and Dukes: A Brief History of the Arundel
Dynasties.
This book describes the dramatic and eventful lives of the Earls of Arundel and
Dukes of Norfolk, and is unique in listing every noble holder of Arundel Castle
from 1067 to the present.
A third title is in preparation:
- Arundel Through the Ages: A Brief History of the Town from
1000AD.
The books cost £4.95 each plus p&p. They are in A5 format with
34 pages and black and white illustrations. The series is published by Arundel Museum
Society, and proceeds from the sale of all books will go to support the development
of Arundel Museum.
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The first book was on sale at the Sell and Sign Session, and
now the two published books are on sale at the History Store, and at Arundel Museum
Society events.
Regular visitors to this website and the Museum Society events may
remember that Rosemary's original plan was for a new, larger book on the history of
Arundel. This has now evolved into this series of 40 page booklets.
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Fish & Chips
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Our first event of the year took place during the evening of
Tuesday 16 February. It was a fish and chip supper.
Fins Fish Restaurant in Queen Street provided us with an
excellent meal that was extremely well received by all.
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The bar provided liquid refreshments, and Nick Lipton was
there to play on his saxophone while we ate. The evening was rounded off
with the usual raffle of prizes generously donated by Museum Society
members and friends.
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Re-Branding Arundel Museum and the Society
Coincidentally with the success of our first round bid to the Heritage
Lottery Fund, Arundel Museum re-branded itself with a new logo. This can be seen on
each page of our re-vamped website, which takes its new colour scheme from the logo. It
can also be seen in such things as our newsletter and stationery. We believe it reflects
a more modern approach with its crisp design.
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So what does our new logo represent? Arundel’s history is closely
associated with the river and this connection is reflected in the design for the new
museum building by Graham Whitehouse. The prow of the new building has a mast, and
it is this that has been captured in the logo designed by the museum’s interior designer,
Jonothan Potter. To the left of the mast is an echo of the roof line; to the right is
the shape of an Arun barge sail. The blue splash represents the river.
Please
click here to read a full explanation of the new logo written by its designer.
Arundel’s New Museum Plans Take a Huge Step Forward
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We started the New Year with some really good news.
Our first round bid
to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been successful.
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This means that we have been awarded a grant of £102,800 to develop
our plans. A big thank you to those who spent time putting the first round grant
application together.
We can now progress to the second round of the HLF application process
and have until the autumn to submit more detailed development plans and apply for up
to £888,000 support for our £1,978,550 project. There is still a great deal of hard
work to be done but we can now employ the professional help needed to bring the new
building even nearer.
Stuart McLeod, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East said 'This
grant provides the opportunity for Arundel Museum to develop their proposals to offer
high quality space and facilities so that local people and visitors alike can learn
about the history of Arundel. We also hope it will be a huge boost for the volunteers
that work so hard to keep the museum open'.
The fact that HLF like our plans and think they are worth supporting
means a great deal; it raises the profile of our project and will, we hope, encourage
others to support it. Of course, we still have to raise the additional money required,
and there will be some major fundraising efforts during the coming year.
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