News

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July 2008

Bushey Museum and Reveley Lodge

The proposed visit to Wymondley Priory on 24th June had to be postponed so there are no member visits to report for last month. But this allows space to tell you something about the activities that go on behind the scenes before a visit is arranged, which you may find interesting.

The committee receives many recommendations for places to visit, as you can imagine, and the twelve visits included in our current programme were the favourites amongst many suggested. We entered into negotiations with the various owners or administrators of these twelve places, and made preliminary visits to ensure each place was convenient and practical for our members to visit. These arrangements usually take place during the previous summer months.

For example, this June three committee members made the journey, on a lovely sunny weekday, to Bushey in Hertfordshire to visit the impressive local museum and also the nearby Reveley Lodge, an early Victorian house donated to Bushey Museum, with all its contents, in 2003. The house, on a hill with commanding views, is beautifully presented and set within extensive gardens, including a kitchen garden. We intend to give members the opportunity to visit the museum and house, and possibly to have lunch in an excellent local restaurant, sometime next year.

If you have any ideas for places you'd like to visit in and around Hertfordshire, including places not normally open to the public, do please contact the Programme Secretary with details. We will investigate whether a visit might be possible and do our best to include it in the programme.

Book Launch

Late May saw the publication of "Archaeology in Hitchin", written by Keith and Tony Fitzpatrick-Matthews and published jointly by the Society and Hitchin Museum. The launch outside the museum on a lovely sunny day was well-attended, Keith and Tony were kept busy signing copies and the book has been selling so fast that our publications officer, Pauline Humphries, says, "My Delivery Trolley has hot wheels caused by repeated 'top-up' trips to our local outlets!"

If you would like to purchase of copy of the book (and don't delay if you would, we're down to our last 50 copies) please contact Pauline via our 'contact us' link on the left of your screen.

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This page updated 12th July 2008