Takeover Day at Castleford Museum

A review by Sarah and Danielle - Front of House at Castleford Museum

What. A. Blast! Our first ever Takeover Day at Castleford Museum went better than we could have ever hoped. After months of planning, a few sleepless nights, marvellous support from Kids in Museums and lots of reassurance from our excellent museums team, we managed to get through the entire day without a hitch.

We first began planning Takeover Day, way back at the start of the year. It was an event that we were both really keen to do and we felt it would be a good way to give something back to our regular young visitors. They always want to help us with workshop ideas so we thought; why not give them a chance to work for the museum for real and see what it’s actually like?

Our young people arrived at 10am and were thrown straight in at the deep end! We gave them a presentation on the different duties of museum professional, such as curator, exhibition designer, learning officer etc., and asked them which role they would like to take on. They then had 10 minutes to collectively agree on a theme for our day, which turned out to be: Vivian Nicholson, our very own ‘Spend, Spend, Spend’ legend!

After some research they planned and designed a new trail, 2 workshop activities, a mini exhibition, and wrote scripts for some role play.

As well as this, they welcomed visitors with great enthusiasm, made themselves ‘Happy to help’ staff badges and excitedly updated social media.

                            

All this before lunch!

After lunch parents and guardians were welcomed back to participate in all the activities on offer. Some parents were making clay microphones and Vivian Nicholson inspired masks, while others were being assisted with our new museum hunt ‘Viv’s Missing Notes’.  Our young people really got stuck in engaging with visitors, answering questions, assisting our toddler visitors with the activities and generally being magnificent museum professionals.

     

The feedback from our parents/guardians was really positive and they all said they’d had a great time.
(Adele, parent of one of our young people)

 Overall it was a fantastic experience, not just for our young people, who got to run the museum for a day, but for us as Front of House staff. It was an absolute privilege working with our young people. It was heart-warming to watch their confidence grow through talking to the public and leading craft workshops. We saw them embrace team-working, conduct fair decision-making, take on responsibility and develop their planning skills. By the end of the day, we really felt like we had got to know them.

If there is one thing we have learnt through Takeover Day, it would be that the young people in our communities want to get involved in the museum, you just have to give them the opportunity to surprise you.
(And that, generally, young people aren’t as scary as you first think!)

Something wonderful is about to happen at Pontefract Museum

Pontefract Museum is about to receive over £50K of investment to redevelop some of the displays. Since 2015 Pontefract Museum has undergone a programme of gallery development worth a total of £119,700.

A model of what the new displays will look like

The new displays will tell the story of Pontefract from the Georgian period up to the present day.  The ballot box used in the first secret ballot to elect an MP in 1872 will take a prominent position, with a new comic book style interpretation.  More display space will be created alongside interactive and family friendly elements.

One of the boxes used in the first secret ballot to elect an MP in 1872

Cllr Jacquie Speight, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport,  said “Pontefract Museum has a fascinating story to tell.  The museum is filled with some amazing and special objects, the new displays will make these objects and stories more accessible to visitors.  With investment also taking place at the Castle, Pontefract has so much to offer visitors.”

This project is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

The museum will close for the redevelopment work on Saturday 23 December 2017 and reopen in spring 2018.  Keep checking this blog or follow @WFMuseums for news and updates.

If you still want a day out in Pontefract why not visit Pontefract Castle with its wonderful new visitor centre and Liquorice Café.

Pontefract Castle Visitor Centre

20 Years of Treasure

20 years of Treasure


September 2017 saw the 20^th anniversary of the Treasure Act 1996 coming into force. This made it easier to define treasure than the old common law of Treasure Trove. Treasure Trove was based in part on knowing what the person who buried the treasure had intended (which can be pretty hard to know when we generally don’t know who they were and they have been dead for 100s of years). Instead the Treasure Act defines treasure using the less subjective criteria of age and precious metal content.


More significantly for Wakefield Museums the Treasure Act also sets out a clear process to save treasures for local people. Local museums are notified of all potential treasure finds in their collecting area. If the museum wants to save the find for the local community it can by paying the finder / landowner a reward based on the market value of the find.


Sometimes the market value of a Treasure case is very high and the find becomes a headline story but usually Treasure finds aren’t especially valuable, many items of Treasure are worth less than £100. However these less high profile finds can still tell us a lot about life in the past and as important pieces of heritage for local people Wakefield Museums tries to preserve them.


To mark this anniversary Wakefield Museums are joining the British Museum (which administers the treasure process) in ’20 years of Treasure’. We’re highlighting some of the treasure cases we’ve saved that are in the museums. Look out for the black stickers on display cases in Pontefract, Castleford and South Elmsall coming soon.

 

 
The Cridling Stubbs Hoard, Treasure Case 2011 T646


This treasure case consists of 445 Roman bronze coins, found by 2 metal detectorists searching a field near Cridling Stubbs in late summer 2011. Although none of the coins were gold or silver, because there were more than 10 of them and they were more than 300 years old the hoard counted as treasure. The coins date from the 330s to the 350s AD and the hoard was probably buried in 354 AD. Coin hoards are usually a sign of trouble; people bury their wealth to protect it, but are then unable to recover it as the trouble overtakes them. 354 AD was a particularly troubled time in Roman Britain.


From around 270 AD onwards some senior commanders in Britain and Gaul had taken advantage of the large armies they had to protect the Empire’s frontiers to try and make themselves emperor. Constantine the Great was the most notable, becoming sole ruler of the whole empire and establishing a dynasty, but most had less success, if any. One of these less successful usurpers was Magnentius. A senior officer in Gaul he rebelled against the western emperor, Constans, and took the throne himself in 350 AD. He had strong support in Britain, Gaul and Hispania, in part because of his relative religious tolerance; although probably a Christian himself he tolerated both Christians and pagans. Despite this support the eastern emperor, Constantius II, defeated him in successive battles and in 353 AD Magnentius finally committed suicide.


However that was not the end. Determined to prevent another rebellion Constantius rooted out and punished Magnentius’ supporters. The crackdown in Britain was led by Paul the Chain (named for his harshness). Paul was notorious for his ruthlessness, executing people with only flimsy, or even without, evidence. When the governor of Britain tried to limit the bloodshed he too was accused and forced to commit suicide, despite proven loyalty to Constantius II. The hoard was buried against the background of this violence, its owner maybe unable to retrieve it after being caught up in the purges.


Chi-Rho coin


The most interesting individual coin in the hoard is one minted for Magnentius in 353 AD. The obverse (heads) has a standard bust of the emperor, with an inscription of his name and titles around. The reverse (tails) has a Christogram, the first 2 letters of the word Christ in Greek superimposed (X – chi, P – rho), with the Greek letters alpha (A) and omega (ω) either side. This type of coin is the first Roman coin to have explicitly Christian symbolism at the centre of the design. There are earlier uses of the Christogram but they are small details in designs that are much more traditionally Roman.

^Aω

 

Chi-Rho coin




The Ackworth Hoard, Treasure case 2011 T428


This treasure case consists of 52 gold coins, 539 silver coins, a gold ring and the pot in which they were found. They were all found during building work in a back garden in Ackworth in summer 2011. Because there were more than 2 coins made of gold or silver and they were more than 300 years old the whole find counted as treasure, including the pot. The coins date from 1547 to 1645 AD and the hoard was probably buried in 1645 AD. Coin hoards are usually a sign of trouble; people bury their wealth to protect it, but are then unable to recover it as the trouble overtakes them. 1645 was a particularly troubled time for Pontefract and Ackworth.


In 1642-5 Yorkshire was an important battlefield between Charles I and Parliament in the Civil Wars. At first Yorkshire, especially Pontefract and Ackworth, was Royalist, though with important Parliamentary centres around Bradford and Hull. But following the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644 Parliament was dominant with the Royalists trapped in isolated garrisons. One of these pockets of Royalist resistance was Pontefract Castle, and on Christmas Day 1644 a Parliamentary army began to besiege it. Troops from the siege were billeted in Ackworth when they weren’t on active duty in the siege lines. The castle surrendered in July 1645.


Interestingly the hoard contains a dozen foreign coins, ducatons from the Spanish Netherlands. These are very strongly associated with the Royalists, with records of them being sent and then brought, to Yorkshire by the queen, Henrietta Maria. Analysis of the other coins associates the hoard more closely with the Royalists than the Parliamentarians. So it would seem likely that the hoard was buried by a Royalist supporter to protect it from the Parliamentary troops billeted in Ackworth, but some misfortune was unable to retrieve it.

Posy ring


At first sight the ring is a plain gold band, but in fact it is a posy ring. These are rings with a short rhyme, known as a ‘poesy’, inscribed on them. They were popular in the 15^th-17^th centuries AD. The earlier posies often had the inscription around the outside of the ring, but the later ones usually had it inside. This made the inscription private and very personal as it was literally against your skin and posy rings were often love tokens. The Ackworth has a very small diameter, fitting a young woman. The inscription inside reads ‘When this you see, remember me’.

Posy ring from the Ackworth Hoard

North Elmsall Roman coins, Treasure case 2015 T658


This treasure find is 10 bronze Roman coins. They were found by a group of metal detectorists in autumn 2015. Although none of the coins is made of gold or silver the whole find is treasure because it is a group of 10 or more coins over 300 years old. The coins were issued by the emperors Trajan (98-117 AD) and Hadrian (117-138 AD) and must have been buried in 128 AD or later. This is because the latest coin records one of Hadrian’s official titles as Pater Patriae (Father of our Country), a title he only took in 128 AD.


Nine of the 10 coins are a denomination called a sestertius (famous from the Asterix books), while the tenth is a dupondius or a half sestertius. A Roman legionary in the 120s AD was paid 300 denarii, or 1200 sestertii a year, but of that he’d have to pay nearly back to the army in deductions for his food and equipment, so the 9½ sestertii here represents about 5 days take home pay. Auxiliary soldiers like those who built and garrisoned the fort at Castleford were paid less but still had the same deductions, so this represents a week or more of take home pay. Soldiers were paid 3 times a year, presumably pretty rowdy occasions.


North Elmsall would have seen lots of legionaries and auxiliaries as Ermine Street passed through the area. Ermine Street was one of the main Roman roads in Britain, connecting the provincial capital London with the legionary fortresses / cities of Lincoln and York. Just north of Lincoln Ermine Street split into 2, one branch continuing north and crossing the Humber by ferry to Brough, while the other swung west via Doncaster and Castleford to avoid the problem of crossing the Humber in bad weather, especially in winter.


Sestertius of Trajan


This coin commemorates the emperor Trajan’s victories in Dacia, on the east bank of the Danube in modern day Romania and Moldova. Relations between Dacia and the Roman Empire were uneasy at the beginning of Trajan’s reign; the Dacians had won several significant battles against the Romans. Trajan quickly decided on a pre-emptive attack and collected troops from across the empire, including the 4^th Cohort of Gauls. This auxiliary unit had been the garrison of the fort at Castleford, but was withdrawn about 100 AD and the fort was demolished. In 101-2 AD and 105-6 AD Trajan fought 2 brutal wars against the Dacians. Trajan was victorious, and part of Dacia became a new Roman province. The victories were commemorated on coins like this one and most notably Trajan’s Column which still stands in Rome today.

 

Trajan coin

 

Curating Spend, Spend, Spend

A new exhibition has opened at Castleford Museum, documenting the life of one of Castleford’s most famous women, Vivian Nicholson. The display was curated by our Front of House staff at Castleford Museum, Danielle and Sarah. 

In this blog Danielle and Sarah share their experiences of curating the exhibition.

Viv Nicholson and her husband with their cheque. With thanks to the Football Pools.

Way back in early August 2016, whilst planning for the following years workshops, Danielle and I were thinking of themes, relating to our collections, that we could turn into activity workshops. Through this discussion we realised that apart from Jack Hulme, there was no collection or mention of other famous people from Castleford. So, out of interest, we googled ‘famous people of Castleford’ and the results returned many, many images of Vivian Nicholson; a lady famous for winning (big time) on the football betting game ‘The Pools’.

A month later, Danielle mentioned that she had been researching  Viv Nicholson and she was a very interesting character. After hearing about her and reading her autobiography, I was hooked. We both really wanted to share the extraordinary life of Viv with the public so we decided ask our managers if we could curate a case on her. We are currently Front of House staff. As a general rule, Front of House staff are there to welcome visitors, encourage discussions through engagement with the public and facilitate activity sessions, so we were a bit nervous to do something outside our comfort zone and actually curate a case.

Fortunately for us, we have a great museums team. They were all really supportive and readily agreed for us to curate, not just one case but two whole cases! We were delighted…then we realised we needed to start some serious work.

The first step was research, research, research. After making copious amounts of notes on Viv’s book, looking at endless newspaper articles, talking with Viv’s family and generally being a nuisance to the local studies staff, we produced a case ‘Data Sheet’. This document outlined what the key message of the exhibition was going to be, what the public were going to learn from it and which objects would be included to tell her story. 

After this we then assigned ourselves roles to make the process easier; Danielle would be ‘the Collector’ and I would be ‘the Writer’. This generally meant that Danielle would be in charge of finding objects, liaising with museums to discuss loans etc and I would be in charge of anything text related such as the case information panels and object descriptions etc, though we did agree and decide everything together.

Over the following months and with help from the museums team, we were able to secure loans from The West Yorkshire playhouse in Leeds, Sheffield Library and some of Viv’s family members. One of the most exciting parts of the research process was conducting an oral history with Viv’s granddaughter, as neither Danielle nor I had done one before. We organised, prepared and recorded an interview with her, which we hope to present to the public in an audio format in the future.

As well as external associates we also worked closely with our in house teams such as the collections team to make good use of our existing collection; the exhibitions team to design information panels, case backgrounds etc; the education team to discuss interactives through which the public could learn and the marketing team to promote the case once it was completed.

Throughout the entire process we have enjoyed gaining many new skills, from how to curate a successful exhibition and write interpretation text to filling in object loan forms; from how best to conduct an oral history to writing a great press release.

We have had a wonderful experience and we hope to do it again soon in the future. If you would like to know more about the Viv Nicholson exhibition and our experience, please visit Castleford Museum.

The ‘Spend Spend Spend’ exhibition runs until end of August 2018.

Join Our Team!

Wakefield Museums are recruiting

Exhibition and Design Assistant
£20,661 - £22658
Full time - 37 hours per week


Wakefield Museums, Wakefield Council, Wakefield One, Burton Street, Wakefield WF1 2EB

We are looking for an enthusiastic and creative individual who is passionate about museums and heritage.

You will assist in the practical delivery of Wakefield Museums' exhibition and display programme.

With excellent three-dimensional build skills you will create exhibition elements within the museum workshop, at Wakefield One, and install across our museum sites; whilst also maintaining the permanent displays to good working order.

You will have a good understanding of health and safety issues; be able to work to strict deadlines; and work well in a team.

'This role carries the potential opportunity to gain a fully funded nationally recognised qualification'

For further information and guidance, or to apply online please visit: Wakefield Council Job Search [search 'exhibition' in job title]

Alternatively, you can contact the Recruitment Line on 0345 8506506 (typetalk calls welcome) for an application form.

Wakefield Council is wholly committed to ensuring children and young people are fully supported and safe. We are dedicated to the safeguarding of all children and young people whilst promoting their welfare and expect all staff and volunteers to share this responsibility


CLOSING DATE 11 AUGUST 2017

Pontefract's Townscape Heritage Initiative

Since 2011, the Pontefract Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) has been helping to preserve the heritage of Pontefract town centre, working with owners and tenants to fund repairs to historic properties in order to restore and improve the Market Place conservation area. The THI, which is jointly funded by Wakefield Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, has also worked with local partners to raise awareness of Pontefract’s important historic buildings, and to promote its unique, and often hidden history.

To celebrate the scheme’s final year, the THI team worked with Pontefract Museum to create the new ‘Pomfret’s Printery’ exhibition about the Holmes Printing works, which was based at 11-13 Gillygate for over 80 years.

Pomfret's Printery - exhibition now open in Pontefract Museum

11-13 Gillygate is now being restored with funding from the scheme, and the exhibition explores the fascinating story of the building, as well as the important role that the Holmes family played in documenting everyday life in Pontefract throughout the 20th century. 

Pomfret's Printery - exhibition now open in Pontefract Museum

The scheme has also created a new Pontefract ‘Spotters Guide’ an architectural treasure hunt around Pontefract Town Centre for children and families.

 

To find out more, drop into the museum between

10am and 3pm on Tuesday 1 August - Yorkshire Day

where you can pick up a copy of the guide and

create your own mini ‘pop-up’ market place.

 

 

For more information about the THI please visit www.wakefield.gov.uk/pontefractthi

Fabulous Family Fun for the Summer Holidays

Are you ready for an adventure this summer?


There are loads of exciting events, fun family activities and things to see and do around the district during the school holidays.


Castleford, Pontefract and Wakefield Museums have a brilliant selection of creative workshops and fun activities throughout the summer; there really is something to do every day.


To help you plan ahead download a copy of our free Fabulous Family Fun Summer Holiday Planner today at Fabulous Family Fun Summer Holiday Planner