Visit to Bishop’s Stortford Museum On Saturday 25 June 2022, 15 members had a guided tour of the Museum housed in the South Mill Arts Centre. Greeted by the Museum Curator, Chris Lydamore and assistant Alex, we were split into two groups to be shown the displays on the First and Second floors. Taking the stairs up meant we had a good view of the Bishops Stortford Mural, worked in the 1980’s and displayed on a wall at 1st Floor level. They have recently been given a new audience with a reproduction display of panels in the alleyway wall on the M&S store in town. On the First Floor, Chris explained his vision to reconfigure the layout and displays. Formerly devoted wholely to the Cecil Rhodes Museum displays, space is being created to allow new displays on benefactors of the growing town, the impact of changes in transport modes over time and Bishops Stortford in the two world wars. The Cecil Rhodes legacy is getting an update in appraisals of his life and the impact on the African tribes that were there before his arrival. Quite a workload to achieve this major revamp but Chris is very enthusiastic for the topics and the ways the Museum can then engage with a new generation. On the Second Floor, Alex led us through the display based on the original Bishops Stortford History Society Museum collection. Covering Bishops Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and High Wych as its main county boundary based area of collecting, it ranges from the Romans to 1800’s and gives a broad sweep of human activity. What is not apparent on first arriving on site is that the 1960’s building is in fact built around a pair of Georgian semi- detached houses, one of which has the bedroom where Cecil Rhodes was born in 1853. There is a plaque on the 1st Floor external wall facing the road to mark this but the mature trees mask this view. As part of the revamp, Chris hopes to expose more of the Georgian room features to show which are the older walls and link that into the story of Bishops Stortford growth, as the house was rented by Rev. Francis Rhodes to allow his Vicarage to become the High School. A very enjoyable and informative visit and shows that return visits to see the revamping work on the displays in progress should be borne in mind. The photo above shows the second group to were on the 1st Floor tour. Quentin Spear
0 Comments
|
Editor
|