Castleford Forum Museum: Bad poetry, hedgehogs and giants

Castleford’s new museum, due to open in Autumn 2013 will tell many stories about the area and its people.

One of the stories told will be about a medieval manuscript, written in 1327 by Thomas of Castleford. The Book of Brute or as it is more commonly known, the Castleford Chronicle, is one of only 7 chronicles written in English before 1600.

The manuscript, now kept in a library in Germany, tells the story of Britain from its discovery by a boat full of ship wrecked sisters (the Legend of Albina) to the imprisonment of Edward II.  With tales of giants and haircuts, hedgehogs and King Lear, love and being hit over the head with axes in between.

Detail of a miniature of Albina from a French or Netherlandish manuscript in the British Library

The chronicle, told in verse, would be unreadable to most of us; with its northern dialect Middle English, and not many people would read its 39437 lines! Those that have read it have also noted that Thomas of Castleford was a terrible poet.

The author’s longwinded, badly rhyming history of Britain can give all aspiring artists the hope that talent is not necessarily a vital ingredient of enduring legacy.

 

The Castleford Chronicle - kept in Germany - has no illustrations, but plenty of bad rhymes! Image courtesy of Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen

 

Lots of fun in museums!

The summer holidays are upon us and at Wakefield Museum everyone has been getting creative! 

From flapper-inspired fascinators for all ages to fruit-based crafts for our younger visitors, there's been a lot to choose from!

We wanted to see how much juice an orange might hold . . . so we peeled and squeezed to find out!

Remember potato printing? We tried printing with apples, grapes, melon, lime...

“Brilliant again!  She loves coming to these sessions and can’t wait to come again.”

“This has been great for her, she wouldn’t normally even touch fruit!”

“Nice and friendly group with activity to keep everyone entertained”

The holidays have barely begun!  There's lots more to do!

Local Heroes
Some weird and wonderful people have come from Wakefield. At this workshop, you can find out all about some of these amazing and curious people – and you can also make some fabulous crafts to take home.
Ages 6-12 years old
11am-12.30 and 1.30-3pm
Wakefield Museum Learning Zone
Booking essential as places are limited on 01924 302700 or email.
Thursday 8 August


Why not drop into Pontefract Museum on Wednesday 21 August for Pontefract Of The Past?  No need to book!
 

Pontefract Of The Past
Pontefract is an amazing place with an amazing history – it even played a part in one of Henry VIII’s wives getting her head chopped off! You can learn about some surprising Pontefract stories at this drop-in workshop, as you make some brilliant crafts to take home.
Ages 3-12 years old
11am-2pm
Pontefract Museum
No need to book for this session!
Wednesday 21 August


Or if you have any budding thespians in the family, why not book onto Fantastical Theatricals?

Fantastical Theatricals
Almost a thousand years ago, Wakefield was really famous for its plays – and ever since then, there have always been plays and theatres in Wakefield. We will learn about some of those plays here – and you can make some dramatic props to take home!
Ages 6-12 years old
11am-12.30 and 1.30-3pm
Wakefield museum Learning Zone
Booking essential as places are limited on 01924 302700 or email.

Wednesday 28 August

 

Please email if you would like to be added to our mailing list.

 

For these, and lots of other great events over the summer, have a look at Experience Wakefield.

 

Castleford Museum sneak preview!

Castleford Museum is really taking shape.  Many of the museum structures have been made, delivered and installed.  The objects have been selected and case layouts considered.  The graphic panels are just about ready to be sent to print.

As a special sneak preview here are some images of how the museum will look with the structures, cases and panels in place…

This is what you will see as you first enter the museum space on the third floor of the Castleford Forum Library and Museum building

  

Here you can see an example of the panel designs and the specially commissioned images of Iron Age Castleford. The large case will house an amazing and unique chariot.

A huge empty case! This will be filled with pottery and glass including some spectacular glass walking sticks.

A glass walking stick that will form part of the glass and ceramics display.  These incredible glass sticks show the skill and craftsmanship of the glass workers.

Wakefield Art Walk

Our special 1920s event – All in a flap at Wakefield Museum – is nearly upon us.

The flapper dresses have been prepared, the accessories chosen (check out the incredible scarab beetle necklace with legs!!!), the bow ties are ready to be tied, the feathers are set to be added to fascinators and a selection of roaring ‘20s hits chosen. 

A necklace made from real Egyptian scarab beetles

The scarab beetles' legs are visible on the reverse!

Create Café have designed a 1920’s inspired menu for the occasion:

Wakefield Art Walk special 

Wednesday 31^st August 4.30-7pm

2 Courses with a tea or coffee - £10

TO START

Soup of the day with fresh bread £4

Thai Coconut Broth £4

Greek Salad with Feta Cheese £5

1920’s Inspired special – BBQ Ribs

BBQ Ribs first became popular when Henry Ford, in collaboration with Thomas Edison and EB Kingsford, began commercial manufacturing by making them from sawdust and wood scraps from Ford's auto plants in Detroit. The Kingsford Company then built the town Kingsford, MI. The company was later sold, and today Kingsford converts more than one million tons of wood scrap into briquets a year. So Ford not only brought the world affordable cars, he created an industry that made backyard barbecue easy.

MAINS

Chargrilled Halloumi with Chargrilled Veg and Salsa £6

Grilled Salmon, Chargrilled Leeks & Fennel, Lemon Dressing £6

Chicken Noodle Salad with Thai Coconut Dressing £6

1920’s Inspired Special – Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

Philadelphians Pat and Harry Olivieri are often credited with inventing the sandwich by serving chopped steak on hoagie rolls in the early 1930s. They began selling this variation of steak sandwiches at their hot dog stand near south Philadelphia's Italian Market. They became so popular that Pat opened up his own restaurant which still operates today as Pat's King of Steaks.

TO FOLLOW

Bakewell Tart with Pear and Almond Compote £3.50

Warm Triple Chocolate Brownie with Cream £3.50

Treacle tart with Orange Yoghurt £4

1920’s Inspired Special – New York Vanilla cheesecake, rhubarb syrup £3.50

In 1912, James Kraft developed a form of pasteurized cream cheese. Kraft acquired the Philadelphia trademark in 1928, and marketed pasteurized Philadelphia Cream Cheese which is now the most commonly used cheese for cheesecake.

DRINKS – All £2.50

For tonight only, we also have a selection of 1920’s inspired non-alcoholic drinks. We have put this list together by thinking of the traditional drinks that were consumed in this era and then adjusting them to be non-alcoholic versions. Not easy as most drinks in the era were Prohibition drinks meaning they were very short and very alcoholic…..!

Planters Punch – (Lemon Juice, Sugar, Orange, Pineapple, Grenadine)

During this era, "rum-running" became a "legitimate" trade in the United States. Smugglers used station wagons, trucks and boats to heist rum from Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico. The Bronx was a rum based cocktail very popular in the 1920’s.

Mojito - (Lime Juice, Fresh Mint, Sugar, Soda)

This Cuban drink became popular in the mid-19^th century, but it really became famous in the mid 1920’s when the recipe was adjusted to include Bacardi, and it became the national drink of Cuba, and spread into America.

French 75 – (Lemon Juice, Sugar, Soda)

The drink was created in 1915 at the New York Bar in Paris—later Harry's New York Bar—by barman Harry MacElhone. The combination of gin and champagne was said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field gun, also called a "75 Cocktail", or "Soixante Quinze" in French. The French 75 was popularized in America at the Stork Club in New York.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Free entry and activities

Wednesday 31 July 5pm – 7.30pm

New Young Curators' Club

We are excited to be launching a new Young Curators’ Club in September.

This free club will give young people the opportunity to get involved in the museum, handle real museum objects, discover interesting historical facts and try new craft activities.

Over the summer, young people are also invited to two drop-in activities to meet the session leader, find out more about the club, pick-up a members’ pack, and try a new craft activity to take home.

No need to book, just drop-in!

Free drop-in activities for 8-13 year olds
Learning Zone within Wakefield Library
17^th August and 31^st August

Saturday 17 August – Monster Pebbles – 10am to 12noon

Using the Sandal Castle stone gargoyle as inspiration, have a go at creating your own painted stone monsters!

Saturday 31 August – Butterfly Bonanza – 10am to 12noon
Taking a look at the butterflies in the Waterton Collection, and drawing inspiration from Waterton’s Nature Reserve, create your own butterfly feeder to take home.

Young Curators’ Club

• Are you aged between 8 and 13?

• Do you enjoy discovering interesting historical facts and trying new crafts?

Why not join the Young Curators’ Club?

The Young Curators’ Club will start on 21 September and will take place on the third Saturday of each month, from 10 am to 11.30 am.

Email for an information pack.

Scissors, Paper, Stone

Wakefield Museums recently secured funding from Arts Council England to commission an artist to create an installation using museum objects in an innovative and exciting way in a special showcase in Wakefield One – the building in which Wakefield Museum is based.  

We were looking for an artist to use our collections as inspiration to create a beautifully engaging display. We asked artists to submit ideas that would allow people to engage with museum collections in a different way. 

We received loads of fabulous proposals that used the objects (we suggested a decorative Victorian bath or some stone heads) in some really interesting and unusual ways.

In the end we selected a proposal to use the stone heads in a piece called ‘Scissors Paper Stone’ by artist Rachel Sim.  Rachel is a recent graduate from the Royal College of Art.  Her work offers a graphic interpretation of cityscapes using various methods of printmaking to reflect her personal view of architecture and contemporary urban experience.

In Scissors Paper Stone, Rachel will explore the themes of renewal, reinvention and the passing of time in Wakefield.  She will create a series of sketchbook drawings of the architecture, patterns and textures of Wakefield.  These will inspire structures and prints that will be formed into a 3D installation -a cardboard city. The stone heads (from buildings in Wakefield) will then be placed on plinths within the cardboard city, allowing the viewer to peak through and spot them.

The installation will be in place from autumn this year.  So watch this space for more updates.

For more information about Rachel Sim, visit her website.

Behind the scenes for Castleford Museum

Some of the rarest and most important pieces going on display in the new Castleford Museum are the remains of an Iron Age chariot. 

After over 2000 years in the ground they are very fragile and had to be sent to a specialist conservation lab at York Archaeological Trust to get them ready for the exhibition. Here is one of the finished tyres in its protective sealed box being loaded into the van to come back to the museum stores. The next step is for a specialist mount maker to create some sort of cradle to hold it all in place.

Inside this box is an Iron Age tyre!

Buried in the chariot was the body of an Iron Age man. His remains are also very fragile and the conservator’s next job is to prepare the skull for display.

 

Archaeological conservator, Mags Felter from York Archaeological Trust

This skull was buried with the iron age chariot and is now very fragile