Category Archives: Heritage

Irish woman inspired to return African and Aboriginal antiquities by Guardian article

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Isabella Walsh has contacted embassies and consulates to repatriate 10 objects that her father wanted to be returned

An Irish woman has been inspired by the Guardian to return her late father’s collection of 19th-century African and Aboriginal objects to their countries of origin.

Isabella Walsh, 39, from Limerick, has contacted embassies and consulates in Dublin and London to repatriate 10 objects, including spears, harpoon heads and a shield, after she read about other cases in the newspaper.

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‘Success stories’: Historic England adds several sites to risk register but removes 203

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Hotel that inspired Charles Dickens added to Heritage at Risk Register alongside Gunpowder Plot house

Charles Dickens described it as an enormous, labyrinthine tavern that was “known far and wide” and famous for its stone statue of an animal “distantly resembling an insane cart-horse”.

He was a regular guest at the Great White Horse Hotel in Ipswich, Suffolk, and was so captivated by the place that it helped inspire him to write his first novel, The Pickwick Papers.

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Half of Britons can’t name a Black British historical figure, survey finds

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Exclusive: majority of British people found to have ‘shockingly little’ knowledge about Black British history

More than half of Britons know so little about Black British history that they cannot name a single historical figure, a survey has revealed.

The researchers found that the UK knows “shockingly little” about Black British history. While 75% of British adults surveyed acknowledged that they did not know “very much” or “anything at all” about the subject, more than half (53%) could not recall any Black British historical figures and only 7% could name more than four.

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Glasgow museum says its £3m Auguste Rodin sculpture is missing

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Plaster sculpture bought by Glasgow Museum from the artist in 1901 is ‘unlocated’

A statue by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, part of his famous Les Bourgeois de Calais group, is currently “unlocated” in Glasgow’s art collections, museum officials have said.

The plaster sculpture, bought by Glasgow Museums from the artist in 1901, was exhibited in Kelvingrove Park from 25 June to 30 September 1949, according to Glasgow Life, the organisation in charge of many of the Scottish city’s cultural venues. But since then, it seems to have been lost.

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Forensic marking to protect England’s shipwreck sites from thieves

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Historic England announces scheme to deter would-be criminals from treasures at shipwreck sites

Shipwreck treasures that lie on seabeds around the coast of England are to be given “gamechanging” protection against criminals.

Historic England has announced details of a scheme that will involve, for the first time, forensic marking at some of the 57 most protected wreck sites.

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‘Dangerous precedent’: fears over plans for Calanais stones access fee

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Land access groups worry it will lead to charges at other sites, while pagans are alarmed about restrictions on worship

For generations walkers, pagans and artists have freely roamed around the standing stones at Calanais on Lewis, drawn by the site’s monumental scale, its coastal views and the spiritual impact of the rising sun and moon there.

But there are growing fears that proposals by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to introduce an admissions charge and control access to the neolithic site for the first time, could have a significant impact on those freedoms.

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Rare medieval Cheddar brooch found in Somerset field to go on display

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Silver and copper alloy disc from days of King Alfred hailed as one of the most important finds of its kind

When it emerged from the earth it was dull, corroded and battered, the centuries it had spent lying beneath a Somerset field having taken their toll.

Now restored and gleaming, the Cheddar brooch, a rare early medieval piece regarded as one of the most important finds of its kind, is going on display at a museum close to where it was found by a metal detectorist.

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Guernsey museum brings Renoir’s art to island that inspired him

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Exhibition honours French impressionist whose landscapes have helped island create jobs and forge global ties

The island of Guernsey may be best known as a tax haven for the super-wealthy, a pleasant holiday destination, and for the rich milk its docile cows produce.

But thanks to a brief sojourn by Pierre-Auguste Renoir 140 years ago, and the bold thinking of culture lovers on the island, it is becoming a draw for art fans.

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New gallery spaces showcasing Scottish art to open in Edinburgh

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Much-delayed £38.6m project brings works from 1800 to 1945 together for the first time as single collection

A suite of new galleries built to present work by many of Scotland’s most famous artists, including the Glasgow Boys, Phoebe Anna Traquair and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, opens to the public this week.

For the first time, the galleries in Edinburgh will showcase significant pieces of Scottish art held by National Galleries Scotland in a single collection, after a much-delayed construction project that involved digging out new space beside the Mound in the city centre.

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Historic Welsh pub loved by Dylan Thomas awarded £300,000 grant

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Co-operative enterprise Vale of Aeron is one of 45 projects to receive money in Community Ownership Fund’s latest round

When Iwan Thomas received the news that he had won a £300,000 grant for the Vale of Aeron, a pub adored by the poet Dylan Thomas when he lived nearby in the 1940s, he was working a shift but had to hold his tongue.

Thomas, the 53-year-old chair of the Menter Tafarn y Vale co-operative group that runs the pub, could not tell any of the regulars until the news embargo lifted. “There was certainly a wry smile, where you know you’ve got something you’re keeping a secret, but it’s a good secret,” he said. “We’re delighted.”

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UK and France to investigate Dunkirk shipwrecks from second world war

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Archaeologists to survey waters off coast of northern France using latest technology to scour seabed

Churchill called the mass evacuation of allied forces from the beach and pier at Dunkirk a “miracle of deliverance”, but the operation to rescue more than 330,000 troops trapped by German forces in May 1940 came at a heavy cost.

Of the up to 1,000 vessels, from military warships to fishing boats, lifeboats and pleasure craft, that scrambled to help the stranded men, hundreds were sunk during the nine-day Operation Dynamo with the loss of many lives.

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National Trust reports record £179m annual spend on conservation

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Membership steady and income from legacies tops £70m in financial year

The National Trust spent a record £179.6m on the conservation of its historic buildings and collections in the last year in the face of significant challenges regarding rising costs.

Its coffers were boosted by an increase in the number of visitors to pay-for-entry venues and record amounts bequeathed in legacies, its annual report says.

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V&A to look after ancient Yemen stones found in London shop

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Museum agrees to care for stelae dating from second half of first millennium BC until it is safe to return them

The V&A is to look after four ancient carved funerary stones that were found by police in a shop in east London in a historic agreement with Yemen.

The stelae, which date from the second half of the first millennium BC, come from necropoli that have been looted in recent years.

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‘We can’t take any of this for granted’: Gaza’s fight to keep its treasures safe at home

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Local archaeologists dedicate their lives to protect priceless artefacts from smugglers, Hamas and Israeli attacks in a land at history’s crossroads

There is considerable debate over the origin of the name Gaza. Some etymologists trace it back to azaz, which means “strong” in Semitic languages; other accounts believe it derives from the Persian word ganj, which means “treasure”.

It’s true that you almost can’t move for ancient treasures in the tiny blockaded strip. Fishers, farmers and construction workers regularly uncover elements of Gaza’s 5,000-year-old past in the course of a day’s work.

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Sir Mark Jones put forward as interim director of British Museum

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Former head of V&A has suggested Parthenon marbles could be shared with Greece

A former head of the V&A Museum, who previously suggested the Parthenon marbles could be shared with Greece, has been put forward as the interim director of the British Museum.

Sir Mark Jones will replace Hartwig Fischer, who quit after it emerged thousands of objects had been stolen from the museum’s collection. A police investigation is under way regarding the reported thefts.

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Roman emperor statue seized from Cleveland museum in looting investigation

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Warrant issued in investigation into smuggling of antiquities looted from Turkey and trafficked through US

A headless bronze statue believed to depict the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius has been seized from the Cleveland Museum of Art by New York authorities investigating antiquities looted from Turkey.

A warrant signed by a judge in Manhattan on 14 August ordered the seizure of the statue, which the museum acquired in 1986 and had been a highlight of its collection of ancient Roman art.

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Save our seaside – campaign to give UK beach towns the same status as castles and historic houses

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Votes invited for the public’s top 10 resorts and experiences, from beach huts and lidos to the Blackpool Tower

The British seaside may be derided by some for being as tacky as the candyfloss stuck to the side of your mouth. Yet tackiness is fundamental to its charm, according to campaigners who say that seaside heritage sites should be protected as fiercely as castles and stately homes.

The Seaside Heritage Network (SHN) says amusement parks, lidos and scenic railways are all part of the UK’s role in the creation of modern tourism and should be cherished.

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British Museum director Hartwig Fischer resigns after suspected thefts

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Fischer to step down after blunders prompt international embarrassment and questions about systemic failures

The head of the British Museum has resigned and his deputy has stepped back over its handling of the suspected widespread theft of artefacts following a string of blunders that have prompted international embarrassment and questions about systemic failures.

Hartwig Fischer said on Friday he accepted responsibility for the museum’s failure to properly respond to warnings about the suspected thefts of thousands of objects in 2021.

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Paranormal society keeps night’s watch on Crooked House pub site

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Group guards bricks until morning as local people tell of ‘major lack of trust’ over what could happen next

As large building machinery started arriving on the site of the Crooked House pub on Monday night, fears for the remains of the much-loved building grew – with locals wondering what might happen to it under the cover of darkness.

But one group of people used to staying up all night – the Black Country Paranormal Society – stepped in to guard the site perimeter and make sure all remaining bricks made it to the morning.

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Death masks help recreate face of Bonnie Prince Charlie

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De-aged image offers likelife image of how prince may have looked during unsuccessful Jacobite rising of 1745

The face of Bonnie Prince Charlie has been recreated using death masks that depict him as he would have looked during the Jacobite rising of 1745.

The prince, who was renowned for his good looks, has captivated a new generation of interest through the TV show Outlander.

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