2014 Christmas Lunch

3rd December 2014

Every December, David Hunt shows his appreciation to the volunteers of the museum by treating them to a Christmas meal.  This year the event took place at the Leyland Golf Club.  The Mayor, Councillor Graham Walton was also in attendance and welcomed everyone.

Photographs courtesy of David Ashmore 

Click an image for a larger view...

Gina Campbel at Samlesbury Hall

23rd November

Gina Campbell, daughter of Donald Campbell CBE, British speed record breaker and the Bluebird K7 driver visited  Samlesbury Hall this Sunday to plant a tree and to commemorate 60 years since the Bluebird was built.

Representatives of the South Ribble Museum and Exhibition Centre were there to record the event. The Bluebird craft was a replica as the original is currently undergoing renovation.

Visit the Samlesbury Hall website for more information about this remarkable building.

www.samlesburyhall.co.uk

Click an image for a larger view...

Bluebird K7

Gina Campbell planting the tree

Gina Campbell with Sharan Jones, Curator of Samlesbury Hall
and Stephen Whalley, the event organiser

South Ribble Open Art Exhibition

1st November 2014

The event was a really happy one, never had there been such an atmosphere of mutual good feeling between a large audience (around 50 to 60 people) at the Museum. Curator David Hunt introduced the mayor, Mr Walton who welcomed and congratulated the guests. 

89 paintings from 48 local artists make up this years exhibition.

The prizes were awarded and Mr David Jaundrell of Leyland Artists(winner in 2013) presented the claret jug to this year’s winner Mr David McKittrick of New Longton Artists. 

Local artist Michael John Ashcroft had made the selection and in a short speech praised the entrants, and pointed out that he himself (a subsequent winner and now a professional artist) had had his work rejected! Amidst much hilarity the museum curator added that at the time he had the chance to purchase an Ashcroft  for £70 and that he had heard that one had recently changed hands for £7000! 

This years winners...

First - Preston Station - Oil - David McKiddie

Second - Winter Rydal - Oil - Peter Davies

Third - Morning Sun, Buttermere - Pencil - Margaret Dent

125 Years of Morris Dancing

4th October 2014

We were very grateful today to have Roy Smith giving a talk, one of the leading Morris Men in the north west of England and historically quite a significant figure in the art. He was responsible for the book produced for Leyland Morris Men's centenary and has undertaken a tremendous amount of work collecting photographs and reminiscences of the early days of the Morris Men.

Click image to play video

We were pleased to have him here today because not only is he a great exponent himself but he is so very knowledgeable on the subject.

Roy is particularly keen in collecting old photographs of the Morris Men and hopes to identify new trends and individuals and if you wished to contact him on this he would be very pleased to hear from you. He is also doing a lot of work with us at the museum trying to trace early film of the Morris Men as he suspects the earliest film of morris dancing is actually of the Leyland Morris Men in east Lancashire in 1902. We know the 1905 Leyland Festival was very carefully filmed by Mitchell and Kenyon and we are hoping to have this at the museum for our Festival Exhibition planned for 2015.

Do visit the Leyland Morris Men website at www.leylandmorrismen.co.uk

Functional Origami

27th September 2014

Local paper folding expert Stephen Watson was with us again for one of our Saturday activities.  This time the theme was functional origami, Items that could be used around the home.

Models folded by all those who attended were decorative vases, boxes, ornamental napkins and one young lady is now an expert at book and bottle wrapping using Furoshiki the Japanese art of Fabric Folding!

Visit Stephens website at www.foldpaper.co.uk and have a go yourself by following one of his video tutorials

Family History Workshop

20th September 2014

Members of the public took the opportunity to learn the basics of Family History research today as members of the Preston branch of the Lancashire Family History and Heraldy Society ran a bustling workshop in the exhibition centre today.

Experts were on hand to answer questions and to discuss your family history problems.

Click picture for larger image.

(L to R) Eileen Briggs with workshop organiser Pat Griffiths
assisting visitor Glenys Richmond

Research equipment at the ready

Assistance always on hand

Our Museum’s Great War Room

18th September 2014

To mark the Great War we have decided to dedicate this room to items loaned by local people and institutions. It is a work in progress and will grow through the years to 2018. The Lancashire Infantry Museum at Fulwood Barracks have loaned many of the items currently on display, local people have brought in their treasures, and enthusiasts have created our first exhibition.

If you have items which you think may be of interest please speak to the curator. But please be patient, we will get there!

James Ross: A Scottish Soldier

Part of the dress uniform, medals and the box of personal effects belonging to James Ross of the 7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders, killed in action on the 12th of October 1916. He was 26 years old, and his name is on the Thiepval Memorial. The case contains the actual communication received by his parents Janet and Duncan Ross at 113 East Main St, Darvel, Ayrshire. James Ross had links with Longridge, and the items have been loaned to us by the Lancashire Infantry Museum at Fulwood Barracks. The kilt is stamped with his service number and the date of its issue, earlier in 1916. The personal items include his spectacles, a tube containing a pen and a small wallet containing darning materials.

Private James Ross. Killed in action 1916 aged 26 years

Personal effects

Weapons

Examples of Trench Art

Arctic Witness

On Saturday 3rd August South Ribble Mayor and Mayoress Councillor Graham and Karen Walton officially opened the Arctic Witness exhibition.  

As the museum is comparatively young and we do not have many exhibits depicting the great war it was decided to think laterally and  take a different but closely related view of August 1914, as it also marks the centenary of Shackleton’s heroic Antarctic expedition. We are pleased to present the photographs of Frank Hurley depicting the expedition of  Earnest Shackleton.

Dr David Hunt with the Mayor and Mayoress of
South Ribble Councillor Graham and Karen Walton

Stephen Watson performed Great War pipe tunes
 ‘The Battle of the Somme’ and ‘Field of Flanders’ 
on the bagpipes to start the proceedings before piping
 in the Mayor and Mayoress.

 Museum Curator Dr. David Hunt introduced the relatives 
of John McNamara, a Walton le Dale born soldier who was 
awarded the Victoria Cross for his service during the
 conflict.

Among the visitors and guests were relatives of the 
Belgian refugees who took shelter in and around 
Leyland in 1914.

From 11am on Saturday the 16th and 23rd of August (and also by request at most other times) visitors will have the opportunity to see the fim 'South' the film record of Sir Ernest Shackleton's heroic but ill-starred attempt to cross Antarctica in 1914-16

Punch and Judy

28th June Saturday Activity

During the Brownies 100 Years exhibition various Brownie packs are in attendance each Saturday and today the 8th Moss Side St. James Brownies had a real treat.

Also visiting today to put on a traditional Punch and Judy show was Prof. Ivan Walters who entertained both young and old with his traditional show and workshop.

Click on the photographs below for a bigger image.

David trying to bring order to chaos

Prof. Ivan Walters with 8th Moss Side Brownies and guest
 Mrs Karen Shaw, a member of the Codman family who hold
 an important place in the history of Punch and Judy in Britain.

Tea and Coffee in plentiful supply

Cakes provided by the Brownies
Not many left at the end by the way!

Do Visit the Museum website at www.southribblemuseum.org.uk

Visit to Ribble Steam Railway Museum

June 26th 2014

For the last two years we have been working more closely with other local museums, and are members of the Preston Museums Group. One of the aims of the group is to develop closer links between the various volunteer networks and The Ribble Steam Railway Museum on the old Preston Dock estate hosted a gathering and staff and volunteers here at the museum were invited along with members from the other museums in the group, namely the Harris Museum, the County Museum and the Museum at Fulwood Barracks.

It was a wonderful way to spend a warm summer evening. We had a tour of the museum and even a ride on one of their trains. During the buffet we had an opportunity to meet and mix with staff and volunteers from the other museums, making new friends in the process.

Visit the Ribble Steam Railway Website for more information about the work they do. Just click their logo below.

The images below are courtesy of David Ashmore, a volunteer with us at South Ribble. Click them for a larger view.