Showtown museum opens in Blackpool
Blackpool’s first museum has now opened – Showtown celebrates the town’s rich history as a seaside resort, with six galleries exploring its social history and more than a century of popular entertainment. [Visit Blackpool]
National Archives exhibition on tour in Newcastle
The National Archives’ ‘Spirit of Invention’ exhibition, showcasing the history of technological innovation, is now on tour at Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Discovery Museum until 23 June – the first time a TNA exhibition has toured in this way.
Pop-up museum opens soon in Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest Town Museum is opening a pop-up museum in the town centre while the castle premises is closed for redevelopment. The temporary site, in the Riverside Shopping Centre, opens on 25 March and is likely to run until 2027, featuring regular and changing displays. [Pembrokeshire Herald]
New educational buildings approved for Stonehenge
Wiltshire Council has given planning permission for two new buildings – a learning facility near the visitor centre and a ‘Neolithic classroom’ – at Stonehenge (approximately 2.5 miles from the stones themselves).
British Museum tops list of most popular attractions
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions’ survey of 2023 visitor figures puts the British Museum in top place, with more than 5.8m visits, up 42% on 2022. Windsor Great Park was in 3rd place, with Windsor Castle at 20th. National Museum Wales saw a 24% increase, National Museum of Scotland 11%.
Heritage trail in Beeston unveiled
The Lord Mayor Leeds, Al Garthwaite, has unveiled a series of information boards forming a heritage trail in Cross Flatts Park, Beeston. The trail showcases local history, including the story of local hotelier and benefactor Thomas Watson. [South Leeds Life]
Museum of London halfway through move plans
The Museum of London reports that its team is now halfway through moving its collection of more than 10,000 objects to its new premises in Smithfield. The new London Museum is due to open in 2026. [@MuseumofLondon]
Important Pictish stone to be excavated
Archaeologists and local historians in Stirlingshire will shortly be excavating a rare decorated Pictish stone, found in Old Kilmadock Cemetery, Doune. It is believed to date from the 6th to 8th centuries and appears to bear Ogham script. [Stirling.gov.uk]
Women’s Museum opens in Barking
The Women’s Museum is a new space celebrating the stories, heritage and role of women in Barking and Dagenham. Its first exhibition, An Idea of Life, looking at Barking Abbey through artefacts and modern artworks, opens from Thurs-Sat each week from 14 March. [@NewTownCulture_]
New Time Team dig at Sutton Hoo
The revamped Time Team group will be starting a new dig at Sutton Hoo this June, looking to learn more about the Anglo-Saxon cemetery discovered there in 2000. The group is collaborating with the National Trust in a two-year project, and the dig will be showcased on the Time Team YouTube channel. [@thetimeteam Picture: Alex Healing]
Neolithic cursus being uncovered in Arran
Work has started to uncover what is Britain’s only known complete Neolithic cursus. Five years after its discovery, archaeologists at Glasgow University are now working at the large site – 1.km long – at Drumadoon on Arran, near the Machrie Moor stone circle. [Yahoo News. Picture: HES]
Women’s Peace Petition exhibition
A new exhibition at St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff tells the story of the Women’s Peace Petition from 1924, and the wider history of women’s activism. Runs from 9 March until 15 September. [@AmgueddfaCymru]