Collection: Bruton Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The history of Bruton is commemorated in the fascinating collection of objects housed in the museum on the High Street at the heart of the medieval Somerset market-town. The museum was founded in the 1990s by a local history teacher and opened at its current site in 1999. The museum, run by volunteers, exhibits scores of historic objects and images as well as the work of local artists and craftspeople.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Bruton is built over a Jurassic outcrop, and some spectacular fossils from the locality are an important part of the museum collection. A large ammonite on display was found in a garden directly beneath the bay window in the museum. It is a member of the genus Sonnididae, a key representative of the Middle Inferior Oolite rock which underlies much of Bruton.

  Prehistoric flint tools and evidence of flint-tool making are among the earliest evidence of human activity in the vicinity of Bruton, some examples of which are on display.

  Although strong evidence of Roman activity is absent in the river-valley where the Anglo- Saxon town of Bruton emerged several centuries later, two spectacular high-status Romano- British sites have been excavated close by. On the top of Creech Hill, known as Lamyatt Beacon, there was a late third-century Romano-British temple. It was in use until the early fifth century AD. The museum displays coins, brooches, beads, spearheads and Roman figurines associated with this site. Facsimiles of figurines of Mars, Hercules, a priest, Minerva and Mercury excavated on Creech Hill can be seen in the museum.

  In March 1984 a Saxon-era sword, probably of ninth-century date, was discovered in the east of the parish at Sheephouse Farm in Cogley Wood, during the excavations for the dam that was to be constructed there by Wessex Water. It is now kept at the Museum of Somerset but a reconstruction of the original, made in 1986, can be seen in Bruton Museum. It is classified as a ‘type L’ sword, of which 15 have been found in Britain. Although more have been found in Norway, many, if not all, of these are thought to have been of British origin. Thus it can be presumed to be an ‘English’ sword and quite possibly one intended for the defence of Wessex during the reign of Alfred the Great (871–899).

  Material associated with Bruton’s medieval priory (subsequently an abbey) is displayed. This includes a large Doulting stone fragment, carved on all sides but most strikingly with what appears to be a horned demonic creature or grotesque, and is dated on stylistic grounds to the mid-12th century. Its form suggests that it comes from a cloister or arcade, possibly part of Bruton Priory. It was found in the basement of 17 Quaperlake Street. A delicately carved head with closed eyes can be seen in the museum. It is atypical of the late-Norman period and may have been reworked at a later date. A large fragment on display appears to be the central boss from the earlier chancel of St Mary’s Church. The 12th-century chancel survived until the re-modelling of the east end of the church by Sir Charles Berkeley in 1743, which is why remnants of it have been found. The carved interlacing motif represents the Trinity. Its carved oak leaf is a fine example of ‘stiff leaf’ carving, characteristic of the 12th century. The workmanship shows that the resources and probably the skills brought with the canons from Normandy were considerable. This fragment was found in the garden of the former rectory.

  Two splendid carved statues on display may have come from the Berkeley mansion on the abbey site following its dissolution. The style suggests they were carved in the 18th century and that they have origins in Mesopotamia. It has been suggested they might be copies of figures seen or collected by a member of the Berkeley family while travelling abroad and that they were then placed in ornamental niches on their Bruton estate. They were given to the museum by the family of the late Dr Jack Taylor.

  We have a number of items concerning Bruton’s American connections and a dedicated case displaying some of these. Sir William Berkeley of Bruton (1605–1677), in August 1641, purchased the governorship of Virginia. He was instrumental in the development of Jamestown and the westward expansion beyond Virginia’s frontiers. In 1674 the new parish of Bruton, in honour of its governor, Berkeley, and his fellow Brutonian, Thomas Ludwell, was created in Virginia where Williamsburg was subsequently established. This silver plate, now in Bruton Museum, was presented to the town to commemorate Williamsburg’s 300th anniversary in 1999. In the 1620s John and William Ames left Wyke for Massachusetts, where, until 1952, the family business manufactured the famous ‘Ames Shovel’, standard issue for the US Army – a pristine example of which was gifted to the museum by the Ames family in c.2000.

  Bruton Museum was able to buy a tankard in July 2017 through the generosity of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and an Art Fund grant. It is a rare William III/Queen Anne silver tankard made in Bruton by Gabriel Felling and it is marked with the initials GF in nine places. Felling trained in London as a leading Royal Goldsmith, and he was in Bruton in 1678. His business was probably in the High Street and he died here in 1714. The tankard has signs of an earlier crest behind the wheatsheaf engraving. This was a fairly common 19th-century motif, but the tankard’s earlier ownership is not known. Felling is probably best known for the Aeneas Dish in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Other pieces are in the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, Longleat House and in several local parishes. He is known for fine tankards with distinctive engraving, sugar casters, spoons and communion plate, examples of which are owned by St Mary’s, Bruton.

  The German artist, Ernst Blensdorf (1896–1976) spent the last 36 years of his life working and living quietly with his family mainly in an old farmhouse next to the railway line just beyond the outskirts of Bruton. Much of our important Blensdorf collection is on display, including sketches, ceramics, and fine sculptures carved in Somerset elm.

  One of America’s greatest and most prolific writers of the 20th century, John Ernst Steinbeck (1902–1968) lived in Bruton for most of 1959 while researching and writing his version of Thomas Malory’s late medieval chivalric romance, printed as Le Morte d’Arthur by William Caxton in 1485. Material on display include a first edition copy of Steinbeck’s book, published posthumously in 1976 as The Acts and Deeds of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. Soon after his arrival in Bruton, he ordered a ‘table-top architect’s board that tilts’ because of the pain he felt in his back and neck when leaning over a desk to write. It was made by Admel Drafting Equipment and supplied by Lawes Rabjohns Ltd of Westminster. A few years ago, the same tilting board, kept ever since in store at Discove Manor, was recognised as that commissioned by Steinbeck, and, in 2006, presented to Bruton Museum. This is one of the highlights in the museum’s collection.

  Other significant objects in the collection and on display include a fine toll board from Batcombe Gate, various items linked to Bruton’s railway history, a large collection of signage from commercial premises, the town bier, materials detailing aspects of industry and manufacture in the vicinity, and a range of household goods. We also have numerous documentary records in store and a large collection of relevant images (mostly photographs and old postcards).

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date:

  Licence: CC BY-NC