Heritage Volunteers

Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum

Our team of 5 volunteers have now been working at the art gallery for 4 years. During this time they have condition checked, recorded, photographed and repacked the Textile Collection and the Ethnographic Collection.

They are now working their way through the social History Collection which includes many items of local interest.

Hundreds of artefacts have been dealt with and their enthusiasm for the task is undiminished

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Lord Leycester Hospital Warwick

A much neglected collection of weapons housed in the old dormitory of the Lord Leycester Hospital have been given some much needed care and attention by six of our members.

The muskets and swords first needed to be cleaned before they were polished and restored. The group received training and completed the task in six months.

The artefacts are now fully documented and will form a guide for visitors in the future.

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Royal Regiment of Warwickshire Fusiliers Museum St. John's Warwick

Having completed the project at the Lord Leycester Hospital the group moved on to tackle the weapons at the Warwickshire Fusiliers Museum. This collection includes some fine swords as well as more modern guns. They are doing very valuable work in maintaining this collection and when it is finished will be looking to take their skills where ever they are needed.

Three Volunteers, under the guidance of the Museum’s Curator, have recently completed checking approximately 240 uniforms illustrating the history of the Regiment. They were cleaned photographed and rehung in the calico covers also made by RLSDFAS volunteers.

The group are now cleaning Regimental Silver and condition checking the Standards and Banners of the Regiment. When this is completed they will be moving on to catalogue the Art Collection and repack the Medals donated to the museum.

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Chasubles For Harbury Church

A small team of our members have been busy making new Chasubles for Harbury Parish Church. A white one lined in gold with a form of patchwork embellishments together with a matching stole were completed to be worn for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 2009.

Another set is to be made on similar lines in purple and they hope to have it ready for the first Sunday in Lent 2010.

For more information please email: volunteers@rlsdfas.org.uk

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Church Recorders

A Church Record is a detailed inventory of the contents of churches. The work is done in sections - textiles, memorials, metalwork, windows, etc - and recorders usually work in pairs. There is a set formula for describing each item and then transcribing the field notes into the final Record. Training is given to new Recorders. The work of Church Recorders has a high reputation among outside bodies and copies of the finished Record go to the Church, the V&A and the National Monuments Record (English Heritage).

Our Church Recording group which has 28 members is currently completing the Record of St. Nicholas Church Kenilworth. It has taken three years .This is in addition to the records of St.James The Greater Old Milverton, St. Mary the Virgin Stoneleigh and St Barbara’s Earlsdon which the group have already completed.

We have regular meetings, either recording in the church or coffee mornings where we can chat and swap notes. The work is most interesting and sometimes challenging. If you enjoy working with others constantly learning, making unexpected discoveries and producing a worthwhile and lasting piece of work do join us.

After a short break they will be moving on to another church when new recorders will be needed and will be very welcome to join the group.

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Recently burglars broke into St Nicholas church in Kenilworth. In doing so they smashed a stained glass window in the South aisle. This church is being recorded at the moment by the Royal Leamington Spa group of church recorders and luckily this window had already been photographed. The detailed description and photograph were sent immediately to the church wardens. The information will be most useful in the restoration of this lovely window. This is just one example, albeit an unhappy one, of how invaluable church recording can be.

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For more information please contact:
volunteers@rlsdfas.org.uk

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