Blog
Behind the Scenes at Bailiffgate
Our museum blog below features updates and stories about the work of Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery. This includes both activities in the museum itself and our community projects. These my involve working with a particular street or area to gather personal stories and facts about the community. They may also involve creating a database on a particular topic. Our well-used World War One database on our bailiffgate collections website is a good example of this.
Generally a blog has been written by one of our volunteers, so that you can gain a real-life picture of what it is like to do volunteer work at Bailiffgate.
Vikings appeal smashes its target
Bailiffgate’s special appeal for funds to upgrade their CCTV and security systems has met its target of £6400 after less than 5 weeks since it launched. Donations from local residents and supporters of the museum and gallery together with successful applications for grants mean that Bailiffgate’s big summer exhibition Vikings Fact & Fiction, a unique partnership […]
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A Very Special Lecturn
Bailiffgate was delighted to welcome a visitor with a close personal connection to one of the prize exhibits in the museum’s collection. Margaret Blackwell is the niece of Arthur Shelford, whose death is commemorated with the Mouseman oak lectern. She travelled from Cheshire to see the memorial to her uncle, Alnwick born and bred, who […]
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What a great trip!
A Night of Glamour at the Museum Usually Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery is closed on Mondays. But last Thursday, 34 members of the Ellington Ladies Club visited for a special guided tour of 100 Years of Fashion. Hilary Waugh, lead curator of the exhibition, brought the vintage and designer dresses to life with fascinating tales from behind the […]
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The Missing Creation from “100 Years of Fashion”
One of the stunning hand-created dresses in the current “100 Years of Fashion” exhibition at Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery is temporarily missing, for a very good reason. In February 2019 the outstanding designer Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of Chanel from 1983 sadly died. The fashion world has been planning a special memorial celebration for some […]
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Back home from Prince George
A short time ago Ida Alleman, of Prince George, British Columbia, came to the museum with her son to present us with a beautiful ammunition belt pouch. It had been collected by her father who was in the United States airforce based in England during World War 2. The pouch was made for the 3rd […]
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The Mice!
After months of frantic knitting Mary (Dudley’s wife) has finally put away her knitting needles! The Mice have all been dressed by Hilary and are now on their way to new adventures around our lovely town of Alnwick. 20 have found homes in various shops and offices around town, they will form part of our […]
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Coquet Voices Project
Last summer, while we were waiting to hear about our OOT project, we acquired a grant from the Community Foundation to run a traditional music and dialect project in Upper Coquetdale. Three local first schools, Rothbury, Thropton and Harbottle were keen to get involved and we appointed James Tait, local musician, Rothbury resident, and writer […]
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Meeting Stella Tennant
After weeks of synchronising diaries, Hilary and I finally had a date earlier this year to meet the “world famous” Stella Tennant. We were early. Even taking into account an unscheduled visit to the pretty market town of Duns where we definitely did not want to be, we eventually managed via common sense and sat […]
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The great Cabbage Controversy
It seems that the difficulty of retaining a good fruit and veg merchant in Alnwick marketplace is not as recent as we thought. Problems seem to go back almost 200 years from the evidence of this poster. One can only assume that Earl Grey-whose enormous estate would have employed many gardeners- thought that selling off […]
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