See behind the scenes at Stourhead House

Following last week’s snow, Stourhead house will emerge from it’s winter hibernation this weekend.
The team have been busy all winter with conservation cleaning and a thorough inspection of the historic collection inside. For the three weekends between 18 February and 4 March the team are giving you the opportunity to step inside and see this work in action, and to find out more about how they look after all the valuable objects, including the famous Chippendale furniture and numerous paintings.

Opening times are 11am-3pm and last entry is 2.30pm.


http://stourheadnt.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/rise-and-shine/

Conference in Bristol on Localism and Heritage Wednesday 7th March

English Heritage and Bristol City Council are holding a joint conference entitled Localism and Heritage: Working Together to explore what localism means for heritage.

The conference is on Wednesday 7 March at the Bristol City Conference Hall and is aimed at community groups, local amenity societies, elected members, local government and private sector conservation, design and planning professionals and any individuals involved in planning and managing change in the historic environment in the South West.

Check out the winter news from Stourhead house...

...and find out what happens behind the scenes when the house is closed. See here for the Stourhead Blog.

Check out Will Self pondering the meaning of cemetries, AONBs and the meaning of 'english heritage' in his latest blog

Will Self's latest Madness of Crowds Column ponders Death in the Suburbs and wonders whether we would not all be better buried under areas of outstanding natural beauty

Check it out at http://will-self.com/2012/01/22/death-in-the-suburbs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=death-in-the-suburbs

New energy guide for owners of historic homes

Saving energy: a guide for owners of historic homes

An Historic Towns Forum project in conjunction with The Prince’s Regeneration Trust and fourth year UWE architecture and planning student Heidi Tremlett, has produced a useful guidance leaflet to show how historic home owners can reduce CO2 emissions in their homes. Download the leaflet here.

DCMS opens up debate on Cultural Value

What does 'cultural value' mean, and to whom?

The latest blog post from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) seeks to stimulate discussion across the cultural sector on the very idea of measuring cultural value. Dr Claire Donovan is an academic working at DCMS to write a report on this issue, and wants to know what we in the heritage sector, and those in the arts, libraries, and museums sectors, think.

Dr Donovan asks can the value of culture be measured by government in monetary (or other) terms, or is it ‘priceless’? Is ‘measure’ the right word? What is ‘culture’ anyway? What does ‘value’ mean and to whom? And how should DCMS go about deciding what to support with public money? Get involved in the discussion here.

  

Survive the Stone Age this Spring at Salisbury Museum

Surviving the Stone AgeVenue: Major Exhibition Galleries / Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum
Category: Exhibitions
Date: 28 Jan 2012 - 12 May 2012
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 

When the climate changes from warm to freezing, the plants and animals you rely on for food and clothing die out or disappear, how would YOU survive?  Packed full of fun activities set alongside Ice Age animal bones and the oldest objects made by people found in this area, this exhibition looks at how the earliest people survived over 300,000 years ago. 
Specially suited for primary school ages or families, but with something of interest for everyone, you will be asked to think about whether you think you could have lived in a time before farming, when people survived by hunting and gathering and when extreme climate change threatened their existence.  
Plus, if you enter our cave Art Competition, you get free admission in to the exhibition if you bring your entry with you.  We will display it in the exhibition and you have chance of winning a special Behind the Scenes tour with the Museum’s Director who will even let you touch a real mammoth bone!