 Saffron Walden Museum 
A Step Back In Time.
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Recommendation added: 21/02/2007 19:29
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +817)dewberry has been thanked 0 times for this contribution
"I love browsing around museums, so while we were in Saffron Walden I decided to go and have a look at theirs. This museum was founded in 1835 and is one of the oldest in Britain; from the outside it looks gorgeous, although not grand enough (in my opinion) to really look like a museum � to be honest I wasn�t expecting much more than a few oddments from the past judging by the museums exterior, but considering admission is just �1 I thought I might as well take a look.
Wow, I was impressed. The museum holds loads and loads and loads and, well, you get the picture � the Saffron Walden Museum is the perfect example of never judging a book by its cover. While the beautiful red brick exterior is really pretty to look at, you�d never guess that behind these innocuous looking walls is such an amazing collection of historical artefacts.
The museum is separated into different galleries and items are arranged within the most appropriate gallery, the building is much larger than it looks from the outside and each gallery is a large open plan area which means you can observe many of the items from different angles.
I particularly enjoyed the Local and Social History gallery which contains a history of Saffron Walden itself. Here there are old farming tools, clothing from the early 18th century and later, a beautiful display of old coins and medals and lots more to accurately depict what life in the market town of Saffron Walden used to be like. Much of the displays are concentrated on what it was like to work in the area in times gone by, but there is also a smaller sub display which tells what family life was like in the 17th century. I loved the display of old children�s toys and dolls which are beautiful, although somewhat basic by today�s standards � toys without batteries, whatever next? Also included in this gallery is a small collection of watches and photography items, which were fascinating to look at today and realise just how far we�ve come in terms of gadgetry. The majority of this collection is sourced from the local area, although the museum has gone further afield in order to get some of the more unusual objects. I liked the full sized wooden ploughs which weren�t from Saffron Walden itself, but shows what the larger tools in the area would have been like back in the day.
The Ancient Egyptian Collection is, I think, a coup for such a rural museum. Here you can see a fabulous selection of authenticated Egyptian artefacts, along with details of both the donator and the original excavator when possible. Obviously this stuff is so old that this information cannot always be provided, but there is good signage around each collection of items which tells the general area of Egypt where these came from and more information is given as and when it can be accurately confirmed. Everything from mummified cats to Egyptian glassware and pottery is included in this vast display, even a full size painted mummy case which dates back to the 10th century BC! Even now thousands of years later this mummy case is amazing, I found it utterly captivating and was stunned at how vibrant the colours still are after all these centuries have passed. I also enjoyed looking at the palettes used by Egyptian women (and men!) for applying their cosmetics, as well as a selection of both crude and ornate hair combs and ornaments. The girl in me really appreciated this section of the display, and I think I was much more interested in this stuff than Mark was!
The Fine and Decorative Art gallery contains some absolutely beautiful pieces. Again, much of this collection concentrates on the general history of Essex and Saffron Walden in particular although there are a lot of interesting and pretty pieces from around the world. Here you can see portraits of notable people from Saffron Walden, some exquisite miniatures, lacework and much more. This gallery is set out to make the most of fairly limited space, with artwork adorning the walls and the more substantial pieces of art displayed along the wall and in specially crafted display cabinets dotted throughout the gallery. As soon as you enter this space your eyes will be everywhere looking out for the next exciting and beautiful display piece. There is an absolutely stunning four poster bed on display which dates back to (if my memory is correct) the 16th century and an ornate baby cradle from around the same period. What astounded me was the high quality of the furniture on display, a zillion times better than you could expect to buy from Ikea!
Those were my top three galleries, but I also enjoyed wandering through the archaeology gallery which contained mainly Roman artefacts and the Archives which was a brilliant collection of old maps and documents pertaining to the general Essex area. This was Marks favourite section of the museum as he�s interested in looking at old letters and deeds, and there were tonnes of the things in here! I thought this was a very family friendly museum as there seemed to be something for everyone; our children weren�t with us for this visit, but I just know they would have loved looking at the old toys and jewellery � my ten year old in particular would have enjoyed seeing a beautiful old necklace which is rumoured to have once belonged to Mary Queen of Scots.
The museum is laid out in such a way that you can easily get to the gallery you�re most interested in seeing first, all the galleries are well signed and pretty much lead onto one another so there�s little chance of missing anything you particularly want to see. Most displays have excellent snippets of information located near the main exhibition pieces which tell either the story of that specific piece, or how it generally fits into the collection as a whole. I found reading the various placards really informative, especially for some of the less well preserved pieces where I couldn�t quite work out what they were! I also liked the fact that details of the people who had donated various collections to the museum are included where possible, as some of the larger museums I�ve visited don�t tend to give this information and I think it makes a nice legacy to �immortalise� the donor.
There is a small souvenir shop within the museum which sells very reasonably priced reminders of your visit to Saffron Walden. Stuff you can buy includes replica maps of the area, thimbles and other collectibles, pens, models of some of the more interesting displays and quite a bit more. Looking around I didn�t spot anything that cost more than a fiver, and most items were around �1 - �2 meaning kiddies will be able to find something to spend their pocket money on. Personally I bought a fridge magnet and a selection of pens and pencils for the kids and this cost a bargain �4.27 for a decent sized paper bag full of goodies.
Saffron Walden Museum is situated inside a large meadowland which has had picnic benches added so you could take a packed lunch along and sit in the relative quiet after (or even before) you take in the wonderful collections inside. We saw plenty of families enjoying the February sun and the open space meant the kids� could run around and enjoy themselves with freedom.
Disabled access is brilliant here, possibly the best wheelchair access I�ve seen in a museum. In fact Saffron Walden Museum has won several awards in the past for making it such a suitable environment for wheelchair users and this is in evidence by the stair lifts, ramps and wide doorways throughout the museum. In the same way prams and pushchairs are well catered for.
To find Saffron Walden Museum you need to leave the M11 at Junction 10 and follow the A505 which is signposted Saffron Walden/Newmarket. Then it�s simply a case of following the signs to Saffron Walden, and the museum is signposted from B184 Windmill Hill. The museum is located, aptly enough, on Museum Street. Admission for adults is a measly �1, and under 18�s go free � you can even buy an annual season ticket for just �3! The museum is open every day of the year apart from Christmas Day, so if you�re in the area then do drop in and be amazed at history.
Saffron Walden Museum
Museum Street
Saffron Walden
Essex
CB10 1JL
Tel: 01799 510333"
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