Saving Silbury Hill - a talk by Chris Penny on the 24th of October

Despite it being my daughter's birthday last Thursday, I managed to be at the singing and candle blowing out part of the celebrations and was then surplus to requirements, and was very pleased I had managed to hear  Chris's talk on Silbury Hill, he's such an enthusiast and knows so much about neolithic features in the landscape. He also has been associated with Avebury and Stonehenge since 1991, and now looks after 241 National Trust volunteers.
What we learned was that Silbury Hill is the largest man made mound in the world in the prehistoric period, it's the most labour intensive as well, 500,000 tons of chalk were used in its construction between 2400-2300BC. It sits in the centre of a Roman complex and was probably constructed in the area because there are 187 springs around Avebury providing water for the settlements. It is thought it was possibly built for ceremonial or religious reasons, but this is pure speculation, no one really knows for certain why Silbury Hill was constructed.but there are no artefacts inside.
The Anglo Saxons cut the top off Silbury Hill to make a fort, it measures 70 feet across, and is 36metres high and the base covers 5 acres.
Excavations have been made into Silbury Hill to find out what is inside and maybe gain insight into why it was built. Firstly in 1776, Cornish miners drilled a hole into the top, then in 1849, John Merryweather tunneled into Silbury Hill; this was repeated in 1968 when a 250 foot long tunnel which was 6 foot wide and 8 foot high.
 And here's a photo of the tunnel:

 The BBC hoped it would become a tourist attraction, but English Heritage wanted it filled in. The tunnel was poorly filled in leaving voids in 1968.
In 2001 a hole opened up in the top of Silbury Hill, previous excavations and tunnel making had made the hill potentially unstable, and here's a photo of the hole in the top of Silbury Hill:

 There are very few Neolithic finds, as is the case with the stone circle, these sites are called 'clean sites' because of this. Dating for the completion of Silbury Hill as 2300BC came from the finding of a strategically placed antler; there are artefacts from the Roman and Anglo Saxon periods.
 It has now been restored and is now stable and should stand in the landscape forever.

Many thanks again to Chris for coming in to give us such an interesting and informative talk, and thank you very much Chris for the great photos of the tunnel and the collapsed top of Silbury Hill.

Autumn Talks 24th October and 22nd November

 Chris Penny will be talking about Saving Silbury Hill on Thursday 24th October at 7.30pm in the Art Gallery

 Join Friends of Swindon Museum & Art Gallery on their monthly talk for October, Saving Silbury Hill by Chris Penny.

Chris Penny from the National Trust will talk about the partial collapse of Silbury Hill. The 131 feet high man made mound that survived intact for 4,500 years before tunnels dug by treasure hunters and archaeologists weakened its structure.

His talk will cover how the weaknesses were analysed and how it was repaired in time unlike its neighbour at Marden Henge which collapsed and disappeared 200 years ago.

Ticket Prices: £4.50, Friends of SM&AG £3.50 - on sale from the Museum & Art Gallery

 November's Friends talk is by Erik Burnett-Godfree - 

An evening with the Swindon Collection 

Friday 22 November, 8pm




 

Erik Burnett-Godfree will talk about some of the best paintings currently on display in the Art Gallery. For those of you who remember his weekly lunchtime talks at the gallery, during the 80’s & 90’s, this is an event that should not be missed as he brings to life the backgrounds and techniques to the paintings and shows how the artists set out to inform and entertain us with their work.
Erik has also worked as director of Swindon Arts, Co-ordinator for the Big Screen and as a reporter for BBC Wiltshire.

The talk will be preceded by the AGM of the Friends of Swindon Museum & Art Gallery which will start at 7pm.

Ticket Prices: £4.50, Friends of SM&AG £3.50

The Friends Visit to Chiswick House and Hogarth's House on Wednesday 26th of June

Twenty of the Friends met in the Chiswick House car park beside the A4, and proceeded to the house via the glorious gardens. We had organised a guided tour, so were given much background and history to the house and gardens. I didn't take notes, so am using the information provided on the Chiswick House website for the bare essential details:
Chiswick House is a magnificent neo-Palladian villa set in beautiful historic gardens in west London. A £12.1 million project has restored the gardens which were unveiled in June 2010.

Built by the third Earl of Burlington in 1729 to showcase his art collection and to enthral his guests, the house continues to display many spectacular works of art and provides a stunning venue for entertaining.

The gardens at Chiswick are the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement and have inspired countless gardens including New York's Central Park.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/chiswick-house/
The photos convey something of the splendour of the gardens and house:

 The 'garden furniture' is so attractive.

 More urns, and an obelisk with a heron on top, just visible.

 The group approaching the house form the car park.

 A marvellous sphinx.

 And below the front of the house where we had the first part of our talk.

 We started the visit in the hexagonal room below, listening was made much easier by the introduction of very good quality folding stools. Our guide, Hans, talked quite a bit about the meaning of signs and symbols in paintings and architecture and recommended a book whose title and author evades me for the moment. I will find out and add it.
There is a lack of furniture in the house because it was taken by the last occupants.

 After we had been shown around, I took a few photos of my favourite areas.

 There was a lot of gold paint used to decorate the interior as shown below:

 This is a curved ceiling:

 A lovely fireplace, as you can see, it's quite small, this is because the house itself is not that large, in fact smaller than usual grandiose furniture was made for it.

Above more gold around the door, and a view into the blue study at the far end.

And below a view of the garden.

Below there is a photo of the blue furry wallpaper in the study.

 After the tour of the house, we walked to the cafe via the Italianate garden with its huge Magnolia conservatory with Magnolias dating back to the 19th century.

 A particularly beautiful urn, not easy to see in the bright sunshine.

Above a delightful Doric temple in an amphitheatre.

 There are two bridges, one at either end of the lake, the one above very grand, and the one below like a grotto.

And from Chiswick House, we walked the short distance to Hogarth's House which is a delight, it is free to get in and not only has much of Hogarth's prints on display, but also reminds us that this area of London was once countryside.

 Above the outside of the house, and below paintings Hogarth did of his 2 sisters

 The print below is an example of the woeful state many people found themselves in due to venereal diseases and excessive alcohol consumption.

 I have included the text for the above print 'Marriage a la Mode'

Notes of the meeting on Friday evening before the talk will be circulated soon.

A Busy Week for the Friends

There is a trip to Chiswick House and Hogarth House on Wednesday, meeting up there at 11am.
On Friday evening at 7.30pm, there is a talk by Roger Trayhurn on the History of the Swindon Empire at the Museum and Art Gallery.



Before the talk, at 7pm, there will be a meeting so Friends and interested people can say what they feel about the future of the Museum and Art gallery.

Swindon Borough Council's position on the proposed changes can be found at this website:
http://www.openswindon.org.uk/leisureandcultureoptions/

Visit to Chiswick House and Hogarth House on Wednesday 26th of June

 Our next Friends trip is on the 26th of June to Chiswick House and Hogarth House.
It promises to be a great day out. 
If you would like to go, please phone either Paul Ricketts  on 01672 539688 or email lindakasmaty@hotmail.com
We are sharing cars to get there because it will work out cheaper than hiring a minibus.
I hope you can join us.

Chiswick House and Gardens

Chiswick House is a magnificent neo-Palladian villa set in beautiful historic gardens in west London. A £12.1 million project has restored the gardens which were unveiled in June 2010.

Built by the third Earl of Burlington in 1729 to showcase his art collection and to enthral his guests, the house continues to display many spectacular works of art and provides a stunning venue for entertaining.

The gardens at Chiswick are the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement and have inspired countless gardens including New York's Central Park.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/chiswick-house/

Hogarth House


















Hogarth bought the house to act as his family’s country refuge, a weekend and summer home, away from the noise of his other home in what is now Leicester Square.
The Hogarths extended the house and enjoyed the fruit trees and nut walk in the walled garden. Stepping through the gate you will see the ancient mulberry tree - the Hogarths are said to have made mulberry pies for the Foundling children who stayed with them.
Hogarth had a ‘painting room’ at the bottom of the garden where he was working until a few days before his death.
http://www.hounslow.info/arts-culture/historic-houses-museums/hogarth-house

Talk by Bill King on Coleshill Secret Army

There was a record turnout for Bill's fascinating talk last night.It's always good to be in the presence of someone with passion and great knowledge and understanding of their topic, and approaches it with a sense of humour.
Bill scored 10 out of 10, and appeared unfazed by a wait for microphone batteries to arrive, or lights remaining undimmed due to a technical hitch with the lighting arrangements.
I knew about underground bunkers built in case of a WW2 invasion, but had no idea that Coleshill was the centre of operations, and that there was a large house on the site behind the large iron gates.
Here's the crowd:

 With ex Commonwealians on the front row, and Journal editor John Walsh a little way beyond them.

 And another  photo of the audience.

Maybe I can find a better photo of Coleshill House on the web.
And below Bill and Flora King.

The next talk is on Ashdown House and is on the 24th of May at 7.30pm in the Museum.

Spring 2013 Talks and Trips.

We are pleased to announce the latest talk s and trips for 2013, as follows:

Friday 26th April 7.30pm at the Museum and Art gallery
Coleshill Secret Army a talk by Bill King

The second one is on the Friday  24th of May at 7.30pm about
Ashdown House by John Farrow

The third talk is on Friday 28th of June at 7.30pm on
the the History of the Swindon Empire by Roger Trayburn


TRIP 1: MONDAY 13th MAY 2013 - 1.30 pm
AVEBURY MANOR
A local trip where we
plan for members to
make their own way to
Avebury (only 12
miles away from
Swindon & served
hourly on the No. 49
bus route) to see the
recently renovated
Manor House.

TRIP 2: WEDNESDAY 26th JUNE 2013 - 11.00 am
CHISWICK HOUSE
Chiswick House is the
first and one of the
finest examples of
neo-Palladian design
in England. Created by
the third Earl of
Burlington, inspired by
the architecture of
ancient Rome and
16th century Italy. We
will also visit the adjacent Hogarth House.

For details, phone Paul Ricketts on 01672 539688 or
e-mail paul.unhinged @macunlimited.net

Illustrated version tomorrow.