Gift of Stonehenge to the Nation – letter from Cecil Chubb
A thank you letter written to Canon Goddard from Cecil Chubb dated 1st October 1918 found whilst cataloguing a book entitled Wiltshire Autographs. The year it was discovered (2018) marked the centenary of Sir Cecil Chubb giving Stonehenge to the nation on 26th October 1918 after buying it for his
Ship Money Tax – Kingsbridge Hundred 1635
Stored in the Archives are over 450 boxes of papers given to the Museum over the years. The papers were donated and often represented research by individuals interested in the history of their part of Wiltshire. Handwritten in ink in 1635 is a list of Ship Money Tax raised for
Cunetio hoard – the largest coin hoard from Roman Britain
The Cunetio hoard of 54,951 coins was discovered at the site of the Roman town of Cunetio, near Mildenhall in Wiltshire. In 1978, after the find was made, the coins were deposited at the British Museum and the pottery vessel in which they were concealed was put on display at
Roundway Archer
Beaker from Roundway Down. A 3D model of the Roundway Beaker is featured on the BBC Civiliations Augmented Reality App – available for modern smartphones and devices running Apple and Android. The model was created by the Bolzmann Institute in Vienna during our loan to the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes exhibition
Calne Fates sculpture
This sculpted block has been identified by Dr Martin Henig as depicting the three ancient goddesses of fate, the Parcae , and may come from a substantial an important Roman funerary monument. The sculpture is still being researched by Dr Henig and a note has been published in the newsletter
Sir John Popham – Reports and Cases
We have recently been donated ‘Reports and Cases’ by Sir John Popham of Littlecote, written in 1682. The Reports and Cases collected by the Learned Sr John Popham Kt, Late Lord Chief Justice of England, written with his own hand in French, and now faithfully translated into English, to which
John Britton
John Britton was born at Kington St Michael in Wiltshire (7 July 1771 – 1 January 1857) From an unpromising beginning he became an English antiquary, author and editor. Orphaned at an early age he was at first apprenticed to a wine merchant. Following this he had a series of
William Cunnington III
A figure who should not be overlooked in the centenary year of his death is William Cunnington III (1813-1906), the principal founder of Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society in 1853. He was the grandson of William Cunnington I, the Heytesbury woolstapler who excavated the Salisbury Plain barrows with Sir
Hungerford Papers
Among the Library holdings are the Research papers of Canon J E Jackson (1805-1891) relating to the Hungerford family, their seat at Farleigh-Hungerford, and their other estates. This important collection has been microfilmed by the Bodleian Library and subsequently digitised by the Hungerford Family Foundation, and can be viewed on
Half Length Portrait of an Unknown Man by Sir Thomas Lawrence
Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was a portrait painter born in Bristol, and the youngest of 16 children. In 1772 the family moved to Devizes where Lawrence’s father was landlord at The Bear Inn. Thomas went to school in one of the buildings that is now the Museum. Thomas Lawrence was elected