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Tewkesbury is a town with a wonderful architectural heritage. It is also full of surprises and hidden alleys. On the main road and overlooked by the Abbey there is a row of medieval houses, in the middle of which is the John Moore Countryside Museum. Just opposite is one such surprise: up a narrow alley there is the country's oldest Baptist Chapel and burial ground, which in its turn developed inside a medieval hall house. It was in this unusual but appropriate building that the ladies of The Guild set up their tudor businesses. It was appropriate because the overhanging gallery enclosed much of the ground floor and gave us the atmosphere of enclosed rooms. Beth the weaver plied her spinning wheel producing linen thread that could be woven into material for shirts and shifts. She also explained about different fleeces and helped children discover for themselves how to draw a thread from raw wool. There were different methods of weaving on display, and both children and adults had a go at using weaving sticks. Mistress Eleanor Spencer not only modelled the latest fashion, an indication of the success of her spice business, but she also held visitors' attention as the told the tales her sailors had brought back of their adventures in search of rare and exotic spices and flavourings. The tall - and taller- tales helped to justify the alarming price of items like pepper and nutmegs which today we take for granted. But Alys was responsible for the smell on which many visitors remarked. Like the chemists but without the packaging, said one visitor. All along the front of her apothecary's shop were bunches of herbs waiting to be dried and blended into cures for everything from sore throats to painful feet. The bizarre and mysterious rubbed along with old herbal lore, some of which we are rediscovering today . The doctrine of signatures and the need for balance in the humours was also explained to visitors. We were invited to Tewkesbury as guests of the John Moore Museum and the town's newest visitor attraction, the heritage centre called Out of the Hat, and we would like to thank everyone involved in this joint initiative for making us so welcome. |
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The start of August saw us at this delightful Georgian house near the castle in Colchester where the museum was celebrating all things Victorian. The amateur lady Egyptologist had a wide variety of artifacts from the tombs of the Pharaohs which she explained, along with graphic descriptions of the mummification process which held visitors, especially children, in horrifed fascination. The late Victorian period saw popular fascination with other cultures, and both men and women who had the means to support their interest took an active part in developing the science of archaeology. On Saturday the strict Victorian schoolmistress held sway in the classroom, and children were expected to speak clearly and precisely - but only when asked to do so. They heard about rote learning, and recitation , saw a Victorian primer and then practised their copperplate on either slates or with dip pens. Toys were an added attraction for all ages, and many older visitors were reminded of childhood favourites whilst proving to children that they hadn't lost their touch with marbles, acrobats, yoyos and the like. On Sunday the kindlier face of the governess held sway, and children heard about Sunday toys and life in the nursery before visiting the museum's own excellent toy collection, including an exceptional Noah's Ark and dolls' houses. Out in the main hall the demonstration of spinning held people mesmerised and they were able to see a variety of sewing techniques and lace making in action as well as finished samples. This demonstration complemented the museum's own collection of sewing ephemera contained in one of the galleries. If you live in the Colchester area but haven't visited this museum then try to find time to do so as it houses an interesting collection of social history items which will interest children and adults as well as having a varied calender of events throughout the holidays. |
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Our gallery shows the range of periods we cover, and we post a photo resume of events we've attended during the year. Although The Guild retains the copyright on all photos, we are happy to share them with anyone who wants to download them for educational purposes, as publicity for events in which we are participating, or who has bravely appeared in any photos with us. Please acknowledge our copyright in any documents. If you wish to get in touch for publicity purposes or about the website, email
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, or for bookings and queries, email
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Please note that Guild bookings have to go through our bookings officer, Eleanor McGann. This is to ensure that named members who attend events are fully covered by our public liaibility insurance. Our thanks to Andrew Stockdale who has done all the intricate stuff which has made this site work. It's a revelation to see all the coding that's needed behind the scenes. |
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