This month the Group had its AGM followed by a talk by Biddy Allen (photo, left) on the old Marton Co-Op store. Biddy (and Roy) were the first people to move into what was once the “Old Co-op”. The talk was very well received and a summary is at this link.
There are no more Group meetings in the village hall until next October. However, the Group are having a walk around Historic Warwick led by Mike Johnson on Monday 18th May, meeting at St Nicholas car-park at 6:45 pm.
This month the Group had a talk by Joe Paget (pictured with a photo of his great grandfather William Hands) about the history of the Hands family who were Marton blacksmiths. The talk generated a great deal of interest and a very brief summary of the presentation is at this link.
The next Group meeting is the AGM and is on Monday April 27th 7.30pm in the village hall. This will be followed by a talk by Biddy Allen on the old Marton Co-Op store. Entrance to the AGM, including a glass of wine, is free.
Many of you will remember seeing Faye’s wonderful exhibition “Children Then And Now: Marton Museum Reinterpreted by Artist Faye Claridge” which took place as part of The Marton Rural Traditions Festival held in tandem with the The Heritage Open Days event at Marton Museum last September. Faye photographed village children with artefacts from the Museum to create a contrast with a similar project carried out in the nineteenth century by Benjamin Stone who was recording dying country traditions and whose collection is held in the Library of Birmingham. Some of Faye’s photographs have now moved to the Library of Birmingham, together with some of the artefacts from the Museum and can be seen on Floor 2 until 31 May 2015. More of the pictures are also exhibited at Compton Verney, where Faye has created a stunning 5-metre corn dolly “The Kern Baby” which can be seen in the Capability Brown grounds until December. Next May this will tour to the Library of Birmingham to link with the Benjamin Stone Collection that inspired Faye, alongside a larger exhibition of her photographs from Marton, prior to a high profile exhibition in London. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund the photographs will also form part of Marton Museum’s permanent collection. A display at the Library of Birmingham currently tells Kern Baby’s story ahead of the sculpture touring there next year.
The project has been a great success in raising the profile of our Museum and creating innovative ways for families to access the collection. Faye’s work is increasingly in demand, being discussed at conferences and requested for exhibitions, so we’re hoping interest in the Museum will grow even further as a result.
You are strongly recommended to visit Birmingham Library and Compton Verney to see Faye’s work for yourselves. Both destinations are well worth a trip in their own rights if you haven’t already been.