“Very good quality” Museum’s help from Town Council

Fairlynch will benefit from a £500 grant from Budleigh Salterton Town Council following Councillors’ agreement to contribute towards the cost of inclusion in the 2015 Devon Museums brochure. 

 The Devon Museums Group publishes annually a guide to the county’s museums, which currently number 77.

Reporting on the good news, the Budleigh Journal quoted Councillor Tom Wright, pictured above. “Fairlynch Museum runs a very good quality operation, of interest to all sorts of people,” he said.

More information about the Devon Museums Group can be found at  http://www.devonmuseums.net/Devon-Museums/

Roger’s Christmas Day swim at Budleigh beach

The Chairman of Budleigh’s Fairlynch

From a challenge he never did flinch.

With his son-in-law Mark,

He swam for a lark,

Then told us it was “just a cinch.”

Congratulations to Fairlynch Museum Chairman Roger Sherriff, seen left, with daughter Karen and her husband Mark. Roger is probably the first-ever Fairlynch Museum Chairman to take part in Budleigh's Christmas Day swim

A Brewster bird and some medieval history

A beautiful visitor to Budleigh's sister-town of Brewster on Cape Cod.  We have kingfishers of course!
Photo credit: Ryan Bushby

I do take an interest in the wonderful wildlife of Devon, and sometimes I blog about plants and creatures that I’ve photographed. But really I’m a bit of a dunce in such things: not observant enough about detail, and happy to enjoy them at a superficial level.

But every so often my eye is caught by a flash of unexpected colour or an exotic-sounding name.

Like the Glossy Ibis, a flock of which turned up at Budleigh’s Cricket Club some four years ago and which I wrote about at http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/feathered-friends-are-another-link.html

And these things are worth recording on my ‘museum in cyberspace’. After all, Fairlynch’s Priscilla Carter Room does have a display area devoted to the wildlife of the Lower Otter Valley.

So I took special note of a recent Google news alert telling me that a rufous hummingbird had been “attending a feeder in Brewster for some time.”  

Rufous? Surely that should be Rufus, I thought, thinking of William the Conqueror’s son who succeeded to the English throne in 1087 AD on the death of his more famous father, and whom I’d always thought of as red-haired, hence his name.

But no, the Rufus name was apparently because of his ruddy complexion, I learn from the excellent Wikipedia.

 

Red-haired or ruddy-complexioned? So many uncertainties about King William II, portrayed here by an unknown artist

I learn also that the man was “a figure of complex temperament,” described in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as "a rumbustious, devil-may-care soldier, without natural dignity or social graces, with no cultivated tastes and little show of conventional religious piety or morality—indeed, according to his critics, addicted to every kind of vice, particularly lust and especially sodomy."  

Well, that's something they didn't teach us at school. 

Fascinating, and according to Wikipedia, therein lies an explanation for his possible assassination in the New Forest. The monument seen above makes no mention of those vices, by the way.

Sorry about the digression. 

Back to the birds.  The wonderful Wikipedia, to which I donate from time to time, tells me that I’m right! This beautiful creature’s Latin name is in fact Selasphorus rufus, a reference, I suppose, to its red neck which you can see in the above photo.

Plenty of other birds found on Cape Cod were mentioned in the Cape Cod Times article by E. Vernon Laux entitled ‘Area bird counts recording rare, unexpected finds’ which I found at http://www.capecodonline.com/article/20141220/NEWS/141229974/?Start=1

Of course another reason for my interest in Selasphorus rufus is that it has been spotted in Brewster MA, where I continue to follow the news in the vague hope that one day our so-called twinning may become official.

A picture perfect project

With so many artists, both professional and amateur, attracted by the picturesque East Devon landscape, it's no surprise that Fairlynch boasts a fine collection of works of art.

The Museum's Disposal and Acquisitions Committee has estimated that Fairlynch has around 400 sketches, drawings, original paintings and prints of local significance or by local artists.

Some of these paintings can now be viewed online thanks to a partnership between the Public Catalogue Foundation and the BBC. 

200,000 publicly owned oil paintings are held in institutions ranging from museums large and small to town halls, universities, hospitals and even fire stations.

However, four in five of these paintings are not on view. Over the last few years the PCF has been working closely with collections up and down the country to photograph such works of art and collate information about each painting.

The Foundation launched the project in summer 2011 with approximately 60,000 paintings. There are now over 210,000 paintings online.

Oil paintings at Fairlynch can now be viewed online by clicking on http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/galleries/locations/fairlynch-museum-5056

Pictured above is 'Rainy Day' by George Ellis Carpenter MC, one of the paintings in Fairlynch now viewable on the PCF site.

To see how the Muse encouraged me to compose yet another piece of ‘glorious doggerel’ inspired by the painting click here   In due course, more information will be published about the artist.

A Hotelier's memories, by Iris Ansell: 2. On the sherry

Friend of Fairlynch Iris Ansell, who helps in the Museum’s Costume Department, recalls some memorable moments from her time as proprietor of Southlands Hotel in Budleigh Salterton

Like most hotels of a certain size, to elongate the season, those of us that could, took a coachload of pensioners, early and late season.

As we were newcomers to the hotel life, we employed a cook for the season. She was a treasure and stayed with us for many years. She did however enjoy a glass of sherry while waiting for everyone to be seated for dinner. (Pensioners who came on very reduced rates had fixed meals and times, so everyone arrived at the same time and took a while to be seated). 

Peg, as she was called, enjoyed her sherry, stirring her lovely home-made soup and waiting.

My husband bought sherry by the box, putting it on a shelf above the hatch where Peg was waiting with her soup. Unfortunately the tap came unattached and the sherry poured into the soup below. Peg calmly carried on stirring, and sent it out with the waitresses.

Everybody loved the soup, some even asked for seconds, and by the end of the meal we had a very “happy” dining room, with much laughter and even singing.

However we did notice quite a lot of early retirements, and luckily no ill effects.

A History of the Longcase Clock by Trevor Waddington Part 1

Lantern clock by William Bowyer c. 1630

© Trustees of the British Museum   

The British longcase or grandfather clock, as it became known after the popular song ‘My Grandfather’s Clock’ written by the American Henry C. Work in 1876, has its origins in the mid-17^th century.   

The first domestic clocks to be housed in long cases were brass lantern clocks. Initially lantern clocks were hung high on the wall with the driving weights and ropes hanging down to the floor, the disadvantage of this being that children and domestic animals could interfere with the workings of the clock.  The solution to this problem was to house the clock in a long wooden case with a hood to access the dial and a lockable trunk door to give access to the weights.  The introduction of the anchor escapement and 39-inch (1-second beat) pendulum in 1671 made the need for a longcase even more necessary.

An architectural longcase clock by Ahasuerus Fromanteel, c.1665.  © Trustees of the British Museum 

Makers such as Edward East, Joseph Knibb and Thomas Tompion, who made clocks for royalty and the wealthy, made the first true longcase clocks in London during the last quarter of the 17^th century.  These clocks usually had 8-day movements, square brass dials and were housed in finely proportioned ebonised cases of ‘architectural’ design. 

Longcase clock in marquetry case with scrolls, foliage and birds of paradise by John Draper 1700-1710
© Trustees of the British Museum   

Around 1700, cases of walnut or olivewood with veneered marquetry or parquetry (geometric) decoration became fashionable.  

 














 







The flat-top hoods often had barley twist columns and originally had carved pediments, of which few have survived.   

Many of these early longcases had a glass lenticle in the trunk to display the newly invented long or ‘Royal’ pendulum. 

 













 Image credit: Trevor Waddington

It should be noted that during the 17^th and 18^th centuries the name on the clock dial was normally that of the clockmaker.  The cabinetmaker who made the clock case was subordinate to the clockmaker and only very rarely ‘signed’ his work inside the case.  

[This article appeared previously in The Primrose, the newsletter of the Friends of Fairlynch Museum and Arts Centre. To be continued] 

Trevor Waddington is a retired Royal Navy engineer officer who ran an antique clocks conservation-restoration business in Wiltshire before moving to Budleigh Salterton in 2012. He is a Trustee of Fairlynch Museum.

A limerick: ‘Rainy Day’

 

There is a fine picture of rain
That I look at again and again.
For the artist, I’ve found,
Was a hero renowned
For a courage you could call insane.

This painting by  George Ellis Carpenter MC is part of Fairlynch Museum’s art collection. It shows Budleigh Salterton High Street and is entitled ‘Rainy Day.'  

 A fuller commentary on the work will be published in due course.

 

Happy Christmas to Everyone from Fairlynch Museum

Party time at Bowmers for Fairlynch volunteers

 Fairlynch volunteers enjoyed an excellent evening at Bowmers in Budleigh High Street. A popular event at a great venue which is sure to be repeated. Here are some pics of the revellers.  

Not forgetting Claire Bowmer and her helpers:

Claire, second left, heads a friendly and welcoming team 

You can read news about Bowmers here

Mob caps and top hats on parade

 Volunteers from Fairlynch added a vintage note to Budleigh’s Late Night Christmas Shopping event on Friday 5 December as they paraded along the High Street in 19th century costume.

“We decided that we'd be dressing up in long skirts, high-necked blouses, shawls, mob caps, aprons, mittens and baskets in our interpretation of Victorian street sellers,” said the Museum’s Christine Bailey. “Some of our trustees were in frock coats and top hats to complete the picture.”

 

Fairlynch is noted for its fine collection of costumes from past centuries, but only a few of its garments are available for dressing-up events and these are kept separately, being mostly in poor condition.

“We would welcome any donation of vintage costumes which might be suitable for wear by volunteers or visitors for dressing up,” said Christine.  

You can read about the Museum's need for hats here

Oriental mystery at Fairlynch

 

Cataloguing all the artefacts at Fairlynch is a time-consuming but fascinating activity, especially when there’s a story attached to a particular acquisition. But it’s frustrating for our volunteers when there seems to be no hint of when an item turned up in the Museum, or indeed where it came from.

Some recent examples are the finely woven silk pieces shown here, one of them being identified as 20th century Indian embroidery. However two others caught the eye of our Antiquities Consultant Piers Motley-Nash, who tells us that they are Chinese and probably 19th century or even earlier.

The above panel showing a bird in flight, facing the sun, is typical of the embroidered Rank Badges made for civil officials during the Qing dynasty which ruled China from 1644 to 1911.  Such panels, with their intricately worked embroidery full of symbolic detail, are collectors’ items.

The Museum is keen to discover the source of these three items, as there is no indication of the identity of the donor. If you think you can help to provide this information please contact Martyn Brown at Fairlynch on 01395 442666 or by email at admin@fairlynchmuseum.co.uk 

 

A Jolly Nigger Bank speaks out

Poetry inspired by museum artefacts is nothing new. Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn is probably the bext known example, and I read recently about Cambridge University's Thresholds project in the Museums Association Journal 

However nobody seems to have been inspired by the Muse to write about any of the items in what my friend Simon Heptinstall called Fairlynch Museum's "delightfully eclectic mix of locally donated period costumes, radioactive pebbles and natural history (ie, stuffed seabirds)" in his amusing 2001 Daily Telegraph article

There are some pretty odd things at Fairlynch, but that's possibly what a museum is all about.  

Anyway, here is what I was inspired to write about one of them:

I’ve got the most enormous mouth, my tongue is round and red.

My eyes are blue, my face is dark, my origin’s unsaid.

Cos I’m a Jolly Nigger Bank,

I sit here every day.

Some people think I’m curious,

And others look away.

I’ve got a hand, I hold it out for people to put in

A penny large and round which I acknowledge with a grin.

Cos I’m a Jolly Nigger Bank,

I sit here all the time

Some people think I shouldn’t be.

They tell me it’s a crime.

You work me with a lever, my hand goes up until

The penny drops and people laugh. They think it’s quite a thrill.

Cos I’m a Jolly Nigger Bank,

I’ve time to sit and think,

And wonder as I listen to

The ancient penny’s clink.

The penny has an image of Britannia o’er the waves,

That makes me wonder why it was they treated us as slaves.

I’m called a Jolly Nigger Bank

By those who know the facts.

I hope you feel embarrassed

By the history of the blacks.

So when you put the penny in and see my rolling eyes

Please think a little, share my thoughts and listen to my sighs.

Just see this Jolly Nigger Bank,

With all those pennies clinking

As the product of a nasty mind

Imbued with racist thinking.

With acknowledgement to The Museum of Belief, curated by Bill Mayblin    http://www.museumofbelief.com   

You can read Mr Mayblin's excellent article about this kind of artefact here

Magic at the Museum

The mince pies and mulled wine went down well during Late Night Shopping at Fairlynch, but it was for Professor Bumble’s tricks that the event will be remembered by the children.  

The Sidmouth-based professional entertainer has been running Circus Workshops for over 20 years, teaching skills such as unicycling, stilts, tightwire walking and juggling.

You can contact him via his website at http://www.professorfumble.co.uk/

Antarctica in the news again

 

Author Meredith Hooper presents a copy of her book The Longest Winter: Scott's Other Heroes to Fairlynch Museum Secretary Iris Cooper

The great age of Britain’s polar heroes lives on thanks to the organisers of centenary events like Fairlynch’s much-praised  ‘Survival!’ exhibition of 2012-13.

Antarctic expert Meredith Hooper followed up her visit to the Museum’s exhibition with an appearance as one of the guest authors at Budleigh Salterton’s 2012 Literary Festival.  Her book The Longest Winter: Scott's Other Heroes highlighted the heroism of those members of Robert Falcon Scott’s Northern Party, which included former Budleigh resident Murray Levick.

The book was praised by Brian Schofield in The Sunday Times as “an authoritative and insightful chronicle” of the group’s harrowing experience during Scott’s fatal Terra Nova Expedition of 1910-13.

It was, he wrote, a vivid reconstruction which displays “the true grit and peculiar Englishness of the six explorers who survived half a year holed up in an ice cave in the Antarctic.”

 

Sub-Lieut. Ernest Henry Shackleton, R.N.R, aged 27. Unidentified photographer. From Hugh Robert Mill, The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton, William Heinemann, London 1923, p. 56.

Meredith is now very much involved with various celebrations to mark the achievements of Sir Ernest Shackleton. The 8 August 2014 marked the start of the centenary of Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, also known as the Endurance Expedition.

The voyage of the James Caird is one of the gripping aspects of the Expedition. It was a small-boat journey from Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a distance of 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi).

 

The Endurance, listing heavily, immediately before being crushed by the ice, October 1915.   Photo by Frank Hurley - Project Gutenberg - from Shackleton's book South, published by William Heinemann, 1919

 

Undertaken by Sir Ernest Shackleton and five companions, its objective was to obtain rescue for the main body of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–17, stranded on Elephant Island after the loss of its ship Endurance. Polar historians regard the voyage as one of the greatest small-boat journeys ever undertaken.

 

 A depiction of the James Caird landing at South Georgia at the end of its voyage on 10 May 1916

“A  Shackleton/Encyclopaedia Britannica exhibition - small but very nice - recently opened  at Cambridge University Press in their in-house exhibition space,” says Meredith. “CUP picked up on some research I was doing on the Endurance expedition, and the subsequent article I wrote for the James Caird Journal, and decided to  run with it.”

The exhibition stays open till Feb 2015.   Click on http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/history/press-museum/greatest-treasure-library3/  to find out more.