Local and Community History Month – Exploring Burwell Museum

I have been on holiday from work this week, it has been a very productive and enjoyable week writing and researching possible ideas.  The weather has been brilliant and progressively lovelier throughout the week.

At the beginning of the week my new website went ‘live’, you can view it at mariahopwoodfreelancewriting.co.uk, please do have a look, feedback is very welcome

May is Local and Community History month, my latest Local Secrets article looks at how to get the best out of researching your local history in the Cambridgeshire area, but is worth reading if you are interested in researching local history anywhere.

I decided to visit a few local museums this week, which has been very interesting from a local history perspective.

Yesterday I visited the lovely village of Burwell, which lies ten miles North East of Cambridge. The photo at the top of this post is of the very pretty Burwell Church, we also enjoyed a tasty pub lunch in The Five Bells garden.  However, my main reason for my trip was to explore the Museum of Fen-edge Village life, which is a fascinating look in to Burwell’s past.

 

The open air museum is organised into themed displays with an exciting treasure trove, which includes ancient artefacts, farmland machinery, vintage exhibits ranging from vehicles to clothes, old household accessories and not so old retro objects, such as dial-up telephones!

Many of the items in the museum have been donated, some of the objects are very random but fit perfectly with everything else, there is always something that catches the eye. I loved wandering around, some of my favourite exhibits included a mock-up of a shop, a pottery exhibition with mannequin potters, a telephone exchange with the retro telephones included and all the old bits and pieces donated from people’s homes.

The museum also has a dedicated archive room, which includes films of Burwell.  Viewers can sit on rows of old battered green cinema seats, which are another of my favourite things on show!

      

 

The museum also includes Steven’s Mill which is currently undergoing restoration work over a period of thirty months, made possible by a Heritage Lottery Fund award.  Once completed it is intended the windmill will be returned to working order, you can read about the restoration project in a dedicated blog.

Staffs are very friendly and happy to chat to you, or show you how things work.  Make sure you look at the summer-house near the entrance, it was built as a moving summer-house so wherever the sun was it could be turned towards it, clever! One of the museum staff were happy to demonstrate how it worked by fully turning it around.

Burwell museum is definitely a great place to visit if you are interested in local history and artefacts, check the opening days/times as it is only open on certain days.

Magdalene College/Pepys Library, Cambridge

Hello! Well, my blog is two years old!  It doesn’t seem that long ago I celebrated its first birthday!  Isn’t it scary how quickly time goes!

Since my last post I have been commissioned to write three more pieces for Local Secrets, which is very exciting!   I have the week off from work this week, I had nothing planned (apart from having a lazy week!) so I can spend it pretending I’m a full-time writer, haha!

I will update you on my articles in my next post.  I am also setting up a basic website which I hope will go live by the end of this week so look out for that too!

Anyway, back to blogging, the subject of this post is Magdalene College and the Pepys Library.

                                                                                                                     

Magdalene (pronounced ‘Maudlyn’) College is situated in the Quayside area of Cambridge, the college site started off life, in 1428, as a hostel for Benedictine Monks and has expanded over the centuries.  As with most of the colleges it is free to look around the parts that aren’t private, it also has a lovely fellows garden which is open to everyone and takes you on a short riverside stroll.

       

Within the grounds is the fascinating Pepys Library, which houses three thousand books belonging to famous diarist, and graduate of the college, Samuel Pepys. Pepys bequeathed his library to the college, although it only came to the college after his nephew’s death.

Pepys’ books, housed in twelve beautiful seventeenth century oak book cases, are in height order, the smallest first, the largest last.  The book cases, known as presses, are fascinating in themselves as they are known to be the first of their kind.  They were made specially for Pepys, beforehand books would always have been kept flat in chests.

The library is also home to many other artefacts belonging to him, including six volumes of his famous diaries.  Pepys was also Secretary to Admiralty and his navy collection is a big part of the library, with illustrations of ships, including The Mary Rose on display. Framed portraits, calligraphy, maps and music are also on display.

There is always a member of staff on hand in the library, who will give you a guided talk and answer any questions you might have.

It is a very interesting historical record of Pepys’ life and worth a visit.  The library is only open at certain times of the year, so check the website for information.

King’s College Chapel, Cambridge

Hello everyone I have been trying to write this post for absolutely ages! If you are reading this I have finally posted it! Yay!

I recently spent a couple of weeks researching and writing an unrelated article for a Local Secrets (a website/online magazine for Cambridgeshire).  I was very excited to see it published on their site on Monday!  The article is primarily aimed at local people but would be helpful for anyone looking for ideas of things to do/places to see in Cambridge.

Here is the link to my article Please do have a read

So, on to the main point of this post…

It is possible I have mentioned this before, one of my favourite things to do in Cambridge is spend time wandering around the grounds of the colleges in Cambridge.  I love that you can be in the middle of a busy, noisy city and then transported somewhere peaceful and completely different in an instant.  Every time I leave I find myself wishing I was a student! Although all of that studying and research might give me second thoughts!

The university is made up of thirty-one colleges, each one unique, dotted about the city with several on the outskirts.

Following on from my previous post I decided this post would be about King’s College and its famous Chapel.

     

Founded by King Henry vi in 1441, King’s College and its chapel (which was built later, building started in 1446) are one of Cambridge’s most iconic buildings.  Some of my photos above show the amazing architecture in the grounds.

Although most of the college is out-of-bounds to the public a little wander around the grounds does give you an insight in to what it might be like inside.  It would be lovely to be able to have a look round all the buildings but that’s just me being very nosey!

The college has a library which is open to the public, I haven’t been in there yet, but look forward to visiting.

The chapel, which took a century to build, is definitely worth visiting.  It’s a fascinating place, there is a lot to see and learn whilst wandering around, it is also very warm which was very welcome the day we were there!

Whilst exploring don’t forget to look up for an amazing view of the fan vaulting, which is the largest in the world.  Not sure what fan vaulting is?  Here is a history of fan vaulting should you want to know more!  Alternatively here is a pic I took, which doesn’t do it justice but gives you an idea of what it looks like!

There used to be a no photos policy in the chapel, but visitors can now take photos as long as there is no flash photography.  The signs also show ‘no mobiles’ but as most visitors use their phones as cameras they seem to be fine with that, as long as you don’t make calls on them inside.

Here are a few more of my photos.  I love stained glass windows, as you might have noticed!

         

The King’s College choir, famous for its Christmas Eve festival of Nine lessons, uses the chapel on a daily basis.  The choir also receives invitations to perform around the world.  The choir has been an important part of the college since Henry iv introduced it, specifying that the choisters should be young poor boys who would be provided with meals and clothing.

As you can see the chapel has always been a very important  of the college, and remains tha way.  There is so much more to it than I have posted about here.  If you are unable to visit I can recommend the virtual tour.

It is posible to work as a volunteer at the chapel, so something to think about if you are local or visiting for an extended period of time!  I’m thinking of applying to volunteer this year.

 My next post, which I hope won’t take me as long!, will be about Magdalene College.  I am thinking about writing more college related posts in future.  Would you be interested in finding out more about the other colleges?  Let me know what you think

King’s Parade, Cambridge

A belated Happy New Year to my readers!

I hope 2013 has been good to you so far? After a little blogging break I am back!  My first post of 2013 is dedicated to one of my favourite streets in Cambridge – King’s Parade (and its immediate surrounds).

King’s Parade, once Cambridge’s main high street, is a picturesque and atmospheric street in the centre of the city.  This busy street has its own unique and exciting atmosphere, bustling with tourists, students and thriving with cafe’s, restaurants and shops. During it’s quite periods it still has an exciting, yet gentile, atmosphere which allows you take in its history and architecture, at a slower pace.

The focal point of the street is the world-famous King’s College and its chapel (more about that later).  However, it also has many other fascinating buildings and unusual things to look at, which you can find out about below. There are some lovely little streets you can walk through, from the main area of the city, to get to King’s Parade. A couple of those streets lead through from the Market Square, which is where I will start for the purposes of this post!

On the right, as you enter King’s Parade, is Gonville and Caius College and Trinity Street (where you can find the brilliant Heffers Book Shop!, it’s been there since 1876!).

Senate House

Just before you get to Gonville and Caius is Senate House Hill, which is not actually a hill! This is where, as the name suggests, you will find the Senate House, built between 1722 & 1730.  The Senate House is the University parliament building, mainly used now for graduation ceremonies.

Great St Mary’s Church

Close by is St Mary’s Church, which I previously posted about after walking up its 123 steps (phew!).  A church has been situated on the site for over 800 years, the current version was rebuilt in the late 15th century. The church, which looks out over both King’s Parade and the Market Square, also became known as the ‘university church’ as the University originally used it for their ceremonies and official meetings.

If you like a challenge do take the steps up the tower, there are great views at the top!

Cambridge University Press Book Shop

Whilst you are wandering around the area have a mooch around the Cambridge University Press Book Shop.  The shop is situated on the oldest book shop site in the country, books have been sold on the site since 1582.  However, the current shop has been open since 1992. Read more about Cambridge University Press and the books it publishes here.

Architecture and Businesses

As you continue your walk down King’s Parade you will arrive at the shop, cafe’s and restaurants. Take time to look up as you will see some lovely architecture, also take time to have a look at the shops, cafe’s and restaurants as you’ll find some interesting places.  Benets of Cambridge is worth stopping at for a bite to eat, especially if you are craving something sweet! The Copper Kettle is another good place if you are hungry, there’s also Rainbow Cafe if you are vegetarian.

One of my favourite places to go on King’s Parade is Inner Space, which is a meditation space and shop.  They run meditation sessions, retreats and seminars, it is definitely worth a visit if you are staying in Cambridge for a while and in need of some relaxation!  I attended their meditation sessions on Tuesday evenings for a while, it was a great experience, definitely worth giving it a go! Inner Space is directly opposite the entrance of King’s College.  The meditation room is upstairs, when you look out of the window the view you get of King’s College is amazing.

Meditating at Inner Space is quite a challenge when you are a learner, it’s a very busy street!  When you meditate you are supposed to be able to block out any noise and think of nothing, which proves quite tricky when you can hear people below and the chimes of the King’s College clock!  However, I aways enjoyed my meditation experience there, I haven’t been for a while, I must go back!

King’s College

King’s College needs a whole blog post to itself, watch this space! For now here is a (very!) short description!

The college was founded in 1441, replacing houses which were situated on the site.  In 1446 work began on building the its chapel, one hundred years later it was finished! The iconic chapel is home to the Festival of Nine Lessons, broadcast each Christmas Eve.  People queue out for hours, in all weathers, to be able to get in to the service.

Visitors are welcome, admission times can be found here.  I took the tour around the chapel and grounds a couple of years ago and really enjoyed looking round it, I recommend it.  I think another visit is in order for blogging purposes!

Chronophage

King’s Parade leads on to Trumpington Street, to get there you will need to walk past a very odd clock!  It is called The Chronophage (meaning ‘time eater’) and was unveiled by Stephen Hawking in 2008. You can read more about it in this link to the BBC news website. It’s a great talking point, there are always a big groups of people hanging around fascinated by it.

I feel there is a lot more to the King’s Parade area than this post has highlighted.  However, I hope it has interested you enough to want to discover it for yourself.

101 Challenges

Lists…not the most exciting subject for a blog post but I thought I would tell you about the list of challenges I have recently set myself.

I am the sort of person who loves challenges and deadlines, so what better way to mix the two than by taking part in the Day Zero Project. You can read my list on another page in this blog.

It’s not the first time I have set myself 101 challenges to achieve, I tried this a few years ago.   I only managed to tick off about a quarter of the things on my list last time, partly because some of the things on the list weren’t really achievable and partly because I concentrated on the writing challenges.

When I was considering doing more challenges I thought about doing a ‘bucket list’ this time, but I like the 1001 days deadline of the Day Zero Project.  I am a contradiction in that I am prone to procrastination until I finally get my teeth in to something, then the impatient part of me takes over and I want to get something done now rather than later!  A bucket list would either never get done or I’d start it and want to do everything straight away, so a deadline of 1001 days is perfect for me!

I feel the challenges are achievable this time (although a few may turn out to be a bit tricky!) and will involve writing in some way. I plan to write about my experiences as I go along, including how I achieved them, things I discover whilst doing them, where the challenges take me, what they lead to, that kind of thing.

It’s an experiment aswell as a challenge I suppose.  I’m looking forward to the unexpected.  Many of the challenges I tick off will probably appear here as blog posts, so watch this space   I hope to turn my experience in to a book at the end (it’s on the list!), which will be a fun thing to achieve!

Another challenge that appears on my list is The Curiosity Project Box Swap, which appealed to me very much.  I registered to take part a few weeks ago, I received the name and address of the mystery person I will be sending a box to this week, very exciting! I will be collecting lovely things to put in the box over the next weeks.  I really can’t wait to see what is in the box I receive from my mystery sender.  Check out the website, it’s full of creative ideas, I love it! Make sure you have a look at the lovely photos from last years box swap, maybe you could join in next year!

I would love to hear about your experiences with these kind of lists, or maybe you are the kind of person who writes lists for anything and everything.  Why do you like to write lists? Or perhaps there’s a way you can can help me achieve something on my list, which would be amazing!

Here’s a history of ‘to do’ lists I just came across, which is quite interesting!

Watercolour painting – The story so far

I thought it would be fun to ask my twitter followers for suggestions for my next post.  One of them (@MillRoadCambs – worth a follow if you are on twitter, also their blog is interesting too) suggested that I should post an update on my watercolour painting.

Looking back at my posts, the last time I wrote about my painting was October 2011, so it’s definitely time for an update.

I began taking watercolour classes in September 2011 and continue to attend classes on a Tuesday evening.  The class is taught by Sarah Spruce, who makes the classes a fun and interesting way to learn the medium.  Like me, most of the people who attend have also been going since the classes started.

It’s a lovely way to spend a Tuesday evening   Classes are held in Barrington Social Club, a Wednesday afternoon class is also held for those unable to attend on a Tuesday evening.

Sarah’s teaching style ensures that we are encouraged to learn and progress at our own pace.  Classes are structured to incorporate a short demonstration and class discussion, in the remaining time we spend time working on our  projects, with Sarah offering advice and guidance on a one to one basis throughout the evening.

I have learnt that I am not very patient when it comes to painting, so I have been trying to overcome that.  It doesn’t always work and sometimes I feel that a few of my paintings would have looked better left as drawings!

Below are most of my paintings so far.  The first one (below) was my first ever attempt, as you can see I have improved since then, which feels like a big achievement  A few paintings are pictures I have drawn from magazines and then painted my own version of, others are from photographs I have taken.  Some paintings are still a ‘work in progress’ (some have been in progress longer than others!).

The painting at the very top of this post is from a photograph of my village church, which I painted for my mum and gave her for Christmas last year.

 

I thought I would also add a short history behind watercolour painting to this post. I have ‘cheated’ a little with this.  I submitted an article about the classes, and the history of watercolour, to a local website but it didn’t get published…so I am pasting part of it in to this post

Here is what I wrote..

Watercolour is a very versatile medium which has existed since pre-historic times; the earliest use can be traced back to our ancestor’s caves.  Primitive versions of watercolour, a mixture of natural minerals such as ochre and charcoal, became an outlet to depict wild beasts they encountered daily.

Over time the medium began to evolve thanks to greater technical awareness, improvements in pigments and innovations in paper manufacturing from China.  Watercolour painting eventually became popular with 12 century western artists who were also swayed by Chinese decorative use of paint.

However, an important breakthrough in 1832 further improved the life of the watercolour artist.  William Winsor and Henry Newton, using their background in science, formulated an enhanced version of the paint.  Described as ‘moist’, this new version meant that artists could apply paint with a wet brush for the first time.

In 1841 the innovative pair, known in the trade as ‘colourmen’, discovered metal tubes developed by an American painter.  Winsor and Newton realised the tubes would be an ideal aid for storing their paint and quickly patented it, eventually adding screw caps.  Storing the paint in tubes ensured it could be kept in larger quantities whilst also keeping the depth and strength of the ‘wash’ intact.

Watercolour techniques and styles have continued to evolve, ensuring it remains a popular genre in the 21st century.

My Favourite Place – Brighton Seafront

I recently spent a weekend in Brighton, on England’s south coast.  It is a favourite place of mine to go for a weekend away, I would throughly recommend it to anyone reading this.

Situated on the East Sussex coast, an hour by train from London, Brighton has the vibe of both bustling city and relaxing seaside town.  Many other words can be used to describe it, such as; atmospheric, cool, picturesque, bohemian, unique, accepting, diverse, exciting, stylish, interesting, fun, quirky and arty.  Where else, for instance, would you find a shop selling vegetarian shoes, an eccentric royal pavilion, an opera themed restaurant complete with a live opera singer and Volks, the oldest working electric railway track, which runs a short distance along the seafront.  There is so much I could write about Brighton itself, but for this post I am going to stick to my favourite part, which is the amazing seafront.

                                                                                                       

Before I write about the seafront I feel I need to do a mini review of the restaurant mentioned above. Little Bay is a brilliant place to eat out if you are looking for something a bit different with amazing food.  Looking out to sea, the plain red exterior shows no sign of what you will find inside.  The entire venue is decorated to make you feel you at an opera.  Downstairs there are large group tables, but if it’s a table for two you need there are tables upstairs which really make you feel you have your own box at an opera.  It’s such a fun place to be, you need to experience it!

The food itself is very affordable, desserts for instance are just over £2.00! (the desserts at my local pub are about £6.00!!).  I ordered garlic mushrooms for starter, duck with spiced red cabbage then the cheese board for dessert.  The duck was really tasty and the spiced red cabbage was GORGEOUS, but incredibly spicy, so be warned!  I could have eaten more of it! And yes, as advertised, an opera singer was in attendance from 8.30 pm.  Eating amazing food, whilst entertained by a wandering opera singer, made for a great evening out!

Back to the seafront, which is where I tend to spend most of my time when I visit Brighton.  I’m instantly drawn to it but also find it hard to leave!

Up until 1750 Brighton was seen as dilapidated, depressed and not worth rebuilding.  In 1750 a physician in Lewes (a short train ride from Brighton) wrote a paper suggesting that bathing in sea water could cure most ‘human ills’, whiten teeth, clear the head and was good for the bowels!  The papers became highly influential and Brighton’s townsfolk saw an opportunity to make money from the sea.  Brighton, especially its seafront, became very popular.  Bathing machines, or huts on wheels pulled by horses, became a regular site and many in number. You can read more about this in a lovely little book called ‘The Neat and Nippy Guide to Brighton’s History’

These days Brighton seafront is a mixture of art, sporty pursuits, souvenir shops and many bars.  Although there is a very busy main road running alongside the seafront the atmosphere is still one of a relaxed, fun nature.  I love to sit down by the beach, take in the atmosphere, great views and people watch.

Brighton is also known as the ‘gay capital of England’ which makes the mix of people so varied.  It has a feeling of people just being able to be themselves whatever their style, sexuality, age or interests. I think its diversity is the thing I love the most about Brighton.

The iconic piers are a talking point. The West Pier is now just a shell of what it used to be.  In 2002 part of it collapsed in a storm, in 2003 more of it was destroyed in an arson attack.  There is no funding available to restore it but the remaining shell is an iconic sight, it is made even more iconic at dusk when starlings can be seen circling around it.  They are an awesome sight and one of the things I most remember about my first ever visit.  If you’d like to see the starlings there are a few videos on youtube, I have added one to the bottom of this post. Brighton Pier is now the main pier and exactly what you’d expect a pier to be like, it’s fun and brash and makes a lovely walk.  The two piers are opposites in every way but the two of them together are an impressive sight.

A new seafront feature is a big wheel, which is worth travelling on for the amazing views. You also get a history of Brighton as you go round, told by the comedian Steve Coogan! It is very interesting but the ride includes several rotations, which means you get to hear the same history a few times!

There is so much more I could write but I feel this post is probably long enough as it is!  So, I will leave you with the video of the starlings.  Enjoy!