PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
A SPECIAL exhibition of objects chosen by local volunteers from
the stores of the Roman Baths will be on display from Saturday,
April 30.
Earlier this year Bath & North East Somerset Council
received a grant of £5, 750 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to take
part in the South West Museum, Libraries and Archives Council’s
Opening up the Stores project.
Glastonbury Abbey, the Jenner Museum in Gloucestershire and the
Priest’s House Museum in Wimbourne Minster also received grants for
similar projects.
At the Roman Baths six volunteers were recruited from the local
community. These are people who are thinking about a career in
museums.
Working with staff from the Roman Baths, the volunteers have
selected around 20 objects from the museum stores which are not
normally on display to the public.
The objects date from 7,000 years ago up to the 20th century and
include a Viking sword, pottery and coins.
Susan Fox, Collections Manager at the Roman Baths, said: “The
people involved in this project have really learned a lot about how
a world class museum such as the Roman Baths, conserves and looks
after the objects in its stores.
“They have also learnt about putting on an exhibition, how to
display objects and also educate visitors about them in an
interesting and exciting way.”
Vicky Osbourne from North Wraxall in Wiltshire is one of the
volunteers. She is currently taking an access course at the City of
Bath College before going on to read archaeology at university next
year.
She said: “This has been an amazing opportunity and a
fascinating experience. I have selected a series of objects from
the stores relating to the Roman Baths and Pump Room that form a
time line. These range from a Neolithic axe to a postcard showing
the Pump Room in the 1930s.”
The exhibition will be on display in the West Baths section of
the Roman Baths throughout May – Museums and Galleries Month.
The Roman Baths is open daily from 9am-6pm (last admission 5pm)
and entry is free to residents of Bath & North East Somerset.
For more information log on to the website at
Notes to Editors:
Several of the volunteers involved in the project, together with
Susan Fox from the Roman Baths, will be available to be
photographed with the exhibition at 3.30pm on Friday, April 29.
The Roman Baths contains the remains of one of the greatest
religious spas in the ancient world and a Roman museum collection
designated as being of outstanding national importance. It is the
most popular heritage attraction in the South West and is among the
UK’s major heritage sites and, together with the Pump Room,
receives more than one million visitors a year.
For more comment, contact:
Cllr Nicole O’Flaherty, Executive Member for Tourism, Leisure
and Culture, on Tel: 01225 310341 or e-mail
nicole_oflaherty@bathnes.gov.uk
