Hedon Museum is closed for the winter but next year is already planned! We’ll open again on 4th March with history exhibitions including cameras, 70s culture, pub signs and United Towing Co Ltd. We’ll also have arts and crafts exhibitions including paintings, ceramics and wood turning. We look forward to welcoming you in 2020!
Visit Us at the Hedon Lights Switch On
On the evening of 29th November, during the Hedon Lights Switch On, we will open our doors once again to welcome visitors. On a freezing cold night, what better place to be than a warm museum with a hot drink and unique gifts to buy?
Traenerhus & Lynne Lobar at Hedon Museum
Traenerhus, founded by Prudence Todd, is an artistic workshop and arts and craft shop near Hull’s Museums Quarter. Among the staff are 12 volunteers and 10 teaching artists, and there are approximately 60 artists selling works in the shop. The purchase of the premises was a last-minute decision, made out of a desire to find a workshop for herself and other crafters and painters. Prudence had a determination to bring creative people together in a friendly atmosphere. The initial intention was simply to create a place to work and teach all manner of arts and crafts. The gift shop evolved naturally from this ambition, as a place to sell the works created by the artists who work, volunteer and learn at Traenerhus. If you’re looking for unique gifts, Traenerhus is a great place to look! You’ll find, either to buy or learn, more kinds of arts and crafts than you could think of – glass, ceramic, illustration, tile, concept art, poetry, textile, book binding and more! Many of these will be on display at Hedon Museum!
Lynne Lobar has always been interested in art, though it was only 10 years ago that she decided to try painting and found she had a gift. She is especially drawn to watercolour, but dislikes washed out colour. Instead, she prefers to use deep, intensely bright colours to bring life to her favourite subjects. She enjoys looking for inspiration in art galleries, she has even visited Hampton Court Flower Show and, though Lynne has branched out over the years to portraiture, she always comes back to flowers. She strongly believes that all flowers are beautiful, even dandelions, a claim you can hardly disagree with when you set eyes upon her paintings. The inspiringly bright and colourful images will no doubt put a smile on your face.
Both Lynne Lobar and the artists at Traenerhus will be selling works at Hedon Museum, so be sure to come and have a look for some unique Christmas presents!
6th November – 29th November. Wednesdays & Saturdays 10am-4pm. FREE ADMISSION. Refreshments available. Souvenirs and pre-loved books for sale.
Hidden Holderness – SHARE YOUR MEMORIES!
This Halloween at Hedon Museum, we’re inviting you to share your memories with us.
Our latest area of research is ‘shops’ and we want to hear your stories about Hedon and other local villages.
We would love to see you on Thursday 31st October from 1pm to 4pm at Hedon Museum!
Keep the Home Fires Burning – The People Go to War
This new Hedon Museum exhibition is commemorating 80 years since the beginning of WWII. The exhibition will focus on how the people at home helped to win the war.
On Friday 1st September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. In response, Britain sent an ultimatum to Germany, demanding the immediate withdrawal of its troops from Poland. Hitler ignored it, thereby courting what is now considered to be the deadliest military conflict in history, ending the lives of approximately 75 million people worldwide.
At 11am on Sunday 3rd September 1939, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain, Neville Chamberlain, made a historic broadcast. He confirmed what many already feared, that we would be at war with Germany.
Chamberlain has gone down in history as the man who led a policy of ignorance to Hitler’s ambitions of Germany becoming a world power. With the memories of the WWI still fresh in the minds of the adult population, known previously as ‘the war to end all wars’, it was not surprising that the nation desired a lasting peace. However, the facts now show that, in spite of Chamberlain’s 3 visits to see Hitler in the hope of making peace, preparations for conflict were being made as early as July 1936. In that month, the first mass production of gas masks began. By December 1938, a National Register for war service had been opened on a voluntary basis, and in the same month the first few Jewish children arrived in Britain from Germany. The government allocated £200,000 for the building of air raid shelters, and a series of leaflets and pamphlets were printed and distributed on how to use a gas mask.
During the conflict, with the armed service busy at the front, the people back home had to play their part too. Everybody did their bit. Local organisations such as The Civil Defence, A.R.P., The Home Guard, The Land Army, The Volunteer Fire Service, The Secret Army, The Red Cross, The W.I., The Observer Corps, Special Constables and others rapidly formed or were expanded. The people at home were truly vital to the war effort.
11th September – 2nd November. Wednesdays & Saturdays 10am-4pm. FREE ADMISSION. Refreshments available. Souvenirs and pre-loved books for sale.
A Walk up the Aisle
Prepare to be enchanted! For the next month Hedon Museum will be holding an exhibition of wedding dresses, dating from the 1890s to the 1990s. Also on display will be wedding photographs, on lend from volunteers of the museum itself. Lace, silks and satins will certainly put you in a fairy tale mood.
People have looked forward to their wedding days for thousands of years, but it was Queen Victoria who cemented the idea of the ‘white wedding’ which has since endured. At the time, many different colours were used for bride’s wedding dresses, including white, depending upon the personal taste of the bride and the money the family could afford to spend. However, since that happy royal day, it has become expected for a bride to wear white (although these ideas are now changing for modern brides).
17th July – 7th September. Refreshments available. Pre-loved books for sale.
James Lee & Dianne Brown
Our double exhibition is quite a treat for art-lovers. There will be realism, impressionism, abstract and surrealism. If you want to see huge variations in style all in one room, then Hedon Museum is the place to be. This is the ideal display for art students to visit for research, advice and ideas.
James Lee is returning, a year after exhibiting with The Secret Artists. He’ll be bringing the favourites from the previous exhibition, as well as new series of works, including nature paintings on broken wood. His incredible skill with realism caught the attention of our visitors last Spring and will certainly impress again. The eyes of the primates and big cats look so alive you can hardly believe they’re painted! James Lee has also produced a new dot-work series of landmarks in Hull. It takes a great deal of patience to create these pictures, made entirely of tiny dots. Equally enchanting are his portrait series of tribal-style women. These intense and spiritual portraits will undoubtedly draw you in.
Dianne Brown, who works under the name Artizanne Muralz, is sharing the space to display works of art unlike any we’ve displayed before at Hedon Museum. She has a BA (hons) in Animation and has dabbled with many art forms and styles but specialises in murals and enjoys painting murals for children. You might recognise her work in the Chatty Couch on St Augustine’s Gate, Hedon. Bored with the ordinary and traditional, she turned her style around to try something very different. She is fascinated by surrealism and takes her inspiration from Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte and M C Escher. Her paintings are skilful, thought provoking and amusing. Pop in for a look and they’ll put a happy smile on your face for the rest of your day.
19th June – 13th July. Refreshments available. Pre-loved books for sale.
Photography by Paul Berriff & Hedon Viewfinders
Have you ever wanted to see RARE photos of THE BEATLES? Yes? Then Hedon Museum is the place to be this Spring! That’s right! From the end of April to the beginning of June we are displaying rare photos of 1960s rock and pop bands and stars by internationally renowned photographer Paul Berriff OBE!
It’s an incredible Spring at Hedon Museum! We are truly privileged to hold an exhibition by the internationally acclaimed, BAFTA award winning documentary film-maker and photographer, Paul Berriff. Hedon Museum is excited to display his rare photographs of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and more! As a young press photographer, he’d use his spare time to take photos of the rising music stars, using his camera as a backstage pass. On one occasion in Huddersfield, he arrived at a theatre two hours before The Beatles were due to play. As luck would have it, The Beatles took to the stage to rehearse their new single ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and, of course, they were perfectly happy for Paul to take some unique photos. It is difficult not to be enchanted by the birth of modern music, and you can see this wonder documented in photography at Hedon Museum!
As a world-renowned producer, director, cinematographer and photographer, Paul Berriff has experienced both wonderful and terrible things. He has lived an extraordinary life, surviving a helicopter crash, a sinking ship, a volcano and even the devastating destruction of the World Trade Centre.
Also, don’t miss a show of Hedon town pride by the Hedon Viewfinders! Exhibiting alongside Paul Berriff, we have the local photography group returning to displaying their work, based around our beautiful and historic town! Hedon is an inspiring place for photographers. Whether it’s countryside landscapes, Gothic architecture or that village feel, Hedon is the right place to be a photographer! St Augustine’s Church is, without a doubt, awe-inspiring but it is by no means the only subject for creative viewfinders with a camera. To a photographer, interesting shots can be found in the most seemingly insignificant places.
Paul Berriff’s Official Website
Paul Berriff Photographer Biography
Hedon Viewfinders Official Website
Exhibition runs from 24th April – 15th June. Refreshments are available. Souvenirs and pre-loved books for sale.
EPSON scanner image
Happy Mothering Sunday!
Hedon Museum would like to wish mothers everywhere a very happy Mothering Sunday.
Have you ever wondered about the origins of this wonderful celebration? Unlike in modern times, it didn’t initially involve giving gifts to our beloved mothers and grandmothers.
Mothering Sunday began as a 16th century Christian holiday. During this time, those who’d been employed away from home had a day off to visit their family and attend the church where they were baptised, aka their ‘mother’ church. With the help of the name ‘Mothering Sunday’, the day evolved over time to become a celebration of a mother’s love and contribution to the family.
Enjoy the day everyone!
Our current exhibition is A View of Spurn!
