Celebrate Christmas 2010 in true Tudor style

Thursday 30th December 2010

A Tudor Christmas

3.30 & 5.30pm

This Christmas make a visit to the Merchant's House part of your family's celebrations and join us for an exciting one-off event designed to open the house up to new visitors and provide a Christmas treat for our regular guests.

Step back in time as we invite you to join us for a candle lit tour of this unique timber framed building, brought to life by traditional Tudor food and decorations.

Children can enjoy a festive trail, make a pomander, explore our new character boxes and find out how families celebrated Christmas in the house in the 16th century.

Later in the evening adults can enjoy an informal talk and tour of the house as we reveal more about traditional Tudor customs, followed by a complimentary glass of mulled wine. You can even pick up some Tudor recipes to take home and try for yourself.

Wrap up warm and come and join us on Thursday 30th December from 3.30pm (for families) and 5.30pm (adults only). Tickets are available from the John Moore Countryside Museum or by contacting us on: 01684 297174

Admission – Adults: £2.50, Concessions: £2.25, Children: Under 5s FREE, Over 5 £1.50, Family: (2 adults, 2 children) £6.50

Project Launch Brings Back Old Memories

On 30th October we opened the doors of the Merchant’s House for one final time before we begin installing the new interpretation. For one day only we invited visitors to explore the house free of charge and to let us know what we could do to improve their visit.

For the team, this was an invaluable exercise as we were able to meet our visitors and share our enthusiasm for the project for the first time by showcasing our plans for the new interpretation.

A record 98 visitors took us up on our invitation and we were thrilled to find that 6 of these were former residents of the Merchant’s Row. Together they had a wealth of fascinating memories and have each kindly agreed to share their stories as part of our new Oral History Archive (available to the public from April 2011).

The project is beginning to gather momentum with objects for the character boxes arriving daily and the Oral History team poised and raring to go. Undoubtedly the most exciting development to date has been finding out, first hand, what it is like to live in such unique timber framed buildings, but we still have plenty to discover.

This project brings new and exciting challenges each day so please keep visiting our blog for regular updates from the team.

Project team embarks on new multi-media interpretation project

We have recently embarked on a brand new project, funded by the HLF, to enhance the interpretation of this enchanting building. Below is our first press release, announcing our award. We will be posting regular updates on the project to our mailing list (sign up now if you haven't already), as well as on this blog.

Press Release 24 August 2010

Heritage Lottery Fund interprets life past and present at Countryside Museum

Thanks to an award from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), The John Moore Countryside Museum can begin a new multi-media interpretation project. The project will explore the history of the unique row of seventeen Grade 1 listed, 15th century buildings which house the museum complex in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. The award of £34,400, announced today, will mean that a much under-explored portion of the buildings’ history can be preserved for future generations.

The project, which starts in September this year, will include the creation of sound recordings featuring a range of people connected with the medieval row of shops and houses, including current residents, building experts, historical consultants and people connected with the original restoration. Visitors to the Merchant’s House, part of the John Moore Museum, will be able to hear ‘voices from the present’ via sophisticated audio guides.

The lives of residents in the Tudor period will also be brought to life with specially commissioned replica 16th century ‘character boxes’ and furniture, educational aids and living history sessions.

The project, led by a newly appointed Education Officer and Project Leader, Lucinda Hall, will involve local residents in the Abbey Lawn Cottages, museum volunteers, local societies and schools.

Simon Lawton, curator at the John Moore Countryside Museum said, ’We have known for a long time that the Merchant’s House has the potential to be much more than a beautifully restored listed building. We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has enabled us to capture the experience of living in the row both in Tudor times and, more importantly, today, leaving an important legacy for the next generation.’

Explaining the importance of the award HLF regional manager Nerys Watts said, ‘This fantastic project will really bring the Museum’s collections to life for everyone to explore. HLF is dedicated to supporting projects that open up our heritage for locals and visitors to learn about and enjoy. The new displays and research that this project will deliver will be a great addition to this beautiful building and its ongoing story.’