Museum Week Events 2018

By on 23rd October 2018 in Events

To celebrate our fortieth birthday and as part of Bath Museums Week (formerly Heritage Open Week) 27 October to 4 November 2018, the Museum of Bath at Work is showing a series of vintage films that range from textiles to ghosts. Admission to the film shows is free to all, while Bath and North East Somerset residents with a valid Discovery Card or other evidence of residency will also get free entry to the museum in Museum Week. 🎦

Monday October 29th

11.00 a.m. Free Admission

 

Making!

Museum week film-Colour in Clay

Two documentary films from the 1940s made in colour – Good Value (1942) and Colour in Clay (1944) concerned with mass production during wartime.

 

Tuesday October 30th

11.00 a.m. Free Admission

Textiles!

Museum week film -Queen Cotton

Two short documentaries –Queen Cotton (1946) and King Wool (1944) focussing on the textile industry during wartime.

 

Wednesday October 31st

11.00 a.m. Free Admission

Women at Work

Museum week film-Women at Work

Two documentary films – Women at War (1943) and Student Nurse (1949) celebrating women’s contribution to the war effort and the nascent National Health Service.

Wednesday October 31st

7.30 p.m. Free Admission

Ghost Story (1974)

Museum week film-Ghost Story

Creepy ghost story, perfect for Hallowe’en night viewing. Curious film, made in India pretending to be Sussex and featuring Marianne Faithful and Penelope Keith amongst others! Certificate 15

Thursday November 1st

11.00 a.m. Free Admission

On Common Ground

Museum week film-On Common Ground

Showing of a rare film ‘On Common Ground’ about ground breaking environmental and local history charity Common Ground. The work of this charity has informed much of the museum’s local history engagement agenda. Followed by a discussion on local history led by Museum Director Stuart Burroughs.

Friday November 2nd

11.00 a.m. Free Admission

Child’s Play

Museum week film-Child's Play

Two documentary films about children in post-war Britain – Child’s Play (1950) and Learning to Live (1952). Brilliant viewing for young and old.

 

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Luigi Micheletti Award 2018 Report

By on 22nd October 2018 in News

 

 

In May of this year the Museum of Bath at Work entered the Luigi Micheletti Award organised by the European Museum Academy. The Award is given each year to the best Museum with industrial or social history as a basis of its collection, and over two hundred museums across Europe entered in 2018. The judges visited the Museum during the summer, and although we did not win we did receive this supportive and encouraging report.

 

Judges Report:
“This is a delightful museum giving an interesting overview of the industrial and commercial heritage of Bath.”
Two museums represented the United Kingdom this year. The MUSEUM OF BATH AT WORK was founded in 1978, the initiative coming from the designer Russell Frears, who had worked in the U.S. with Charles and Ray Eames.

The closure of J.B. Bowler’s local brass foundry, workshop and mineral water factory and its 400,000 objects formed the collection’s starting point, which is housed in an impressive historic building (1777), a former Real Tennis court. Kenneth Hudson, the museologist who is specially honoured in the exhibition, acted as an adviser during the early years.

This Museum is the only cultural institution in the city that deals with the history of ordinary Bathonians and relies heavily on its 40 volunteers. Founded as an industrial museum, the focus has shifted more to the social history of the city. The Heritage Lottery Fund funded an exhibition, ‘Knowing Your Place: Bath in Twelve Picture Alphabets’, which featured alphabetical lists from the 12 areas making up the city of Bath. The 312 suggested local features included buildings, local personalities, natural features, archaeology, traditions and stories, all relating to the working life of those who submitted them, providing a unique perspective on the city and created by its citizens.

This is a delightful museum giving an interesting overview of the industrial and commercial heritage of Bath. It shows what can be achieved with a minimum of staff and budget, adapting its strategy to developments in society. The collection is the real star, impressive in its unique authenticity. The enthusiasm of those responsible deserves much more support.