Collection: Whittlesey Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Local and Social History

  The social history collections include craft and trade tools (woodworking, wheelwright’s, blacksmith’s, cobblers, barber, tailor), domestic and household items, toys and items illustrating a Post Office and general store of the 1950’s. Of particular interest is the ‘Straw Bear’ and other ephemera relating to the Straw Bear Festival.; Collection of bricks, tools, photographs etc representing brick manufacture in Whittlesey.; Extensive collection of photographs postcards and copy images showing streets, buildings, events and people from Whittlesey and the surrounding villages.; Coins and tokens of local significance.; Medals of local significance.; Memorabilia associated with Sir Harry Smith, the Hero of Aliwal, who was born in Whittlesey in 1787 and fought in many battles including the campaigns of the Spanish Peninsula Wars.; Fossils found during the excavation of local brick pits.; Collection of costume with local associations or provenance, ranging from wedding dresses of the 1870’s to underwear, shoes, uniforms and local labourers working outfits, up to the 1960’s.; Extensive collection of pamphlets, news cuttings and other material relating to local customs and traditions, people, buildings, events and involvement in the two World Wars. A ‘Straw Bear’ costume and other ephemera associated with the Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival. This tradition was revived in 1979, and involves a man dressed in straw dancing through the streets of Whittlesey on the first Saturday after Twelfth Night.

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC