exhibitions & events
Saturday 26th April we welcomed the King John's Morris Day of Dance with guests!
West Tower Platform OPEN!
18th March 2025 saw the grand opening of the new platform inside the tower. The platform is designed so that visitors can now see the ornate fireplaces and windows much, much better - not forgetting those little rooms of necessity -the garderobes! The platform was opened by our Chair, Roy Stainton.
AGM 7.30 10th April 2025 BW Church Hall
Speaker: Don Bryan on The Civil War in Hampshire. All Welcome!
Photos of the Platform opening including the ribbon cutting, the English Heritage and Paye team, by Jim Holden, photographer.
Summer Social for Friends and Volunteers
8th August 2024 7-9pm: A get-together at the museum. Come and meet your fellow museum supporters and volunteers for a chatty evening (with nibbles!).
HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 2024
We have access to the small turret visible in the Crown Car Park (not normally open), as well as our other tours. Booking and more information here: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-event/bishop-s-waltham-palace-and-museum.html
Booking is essential as we usually sell out! Meet at the museum:
Tour 1: The Building Bishops. General tour of the Palace ruins that English Heritage have recently conserved.
Tour 2: Courtiers and Crown Posts. An in-depth tour of the Bishop's Waltham Museum building, part of the original lodgings of the Palace, with its original roof from c. 1440, later converted into a farmhouse.
Tour 3: Turret tour. The north turret on the Palace perimeter wall is not normally open to the public, but it is worth a look to see many unusual features. It is only one room so the tour is approx 30-40 mins.​
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Party at the Palace! This FREE event is back by popular demand following the amazing Coronation Picnic organised by the Parish Council. Fun and games for everyone with live music too! The museum will be open...
SPECIAL OPENING FOR D-DAY BEACON LIGHTING
On 6th June 2024, we will open 8-10pm to accompany the Parish Council beacon lighting at the Palace. Estimated lighting time is 9.15pm.
Do come and support this special event - Admiral Cunningham, First Sea Lord, lived at the Palace during the planning of D-Day...
Museum AGM 2024
25th March 2024 at the Church Hall, Free Street, BW. We will follow the AGM with a talk by Penny Copeland, the Museum's Collection Manager, on Georgian Bishop's Waltham: the Rise of the Merchants. This talk is free and open to all including non-members.
The picture opposite, of unknown origin, shows Barclays's Bank before it was redeveloped. The shop is likely to be a mercers (selling fine fabrics). The site was redeveloped into a house and offices matching the building to the right, possibly by William Stares, a solicitor. Research is ongoing!
Winter social for volunteers
25th January 2024: A get-together for all our volunteers at the Bunch of Grapes. Come and meet your fellow volunteers for a chatty evening (with nibbles!).
Malt Lane Development Site Gallery!
Hoardings have gone up around the Malt Lane development site in the centre of Bishop's Waltham and are going to be up there for a while. BW Museum, Society, Parish Council and Town Team all helped fund a series of posters on the hoarding telling the story of Early Waltham. The posters were written by Tony Kippenberger and illustrated by Chris Beardshaw, with Penny Copeland giving specialist advice. The poster gallery was opened by Alan Lovell, Chair of the Hampshire Cultural Trust, introduced by the Deputy Mayor of Winchester Russel Gordon Smith, with Judy Marsh and Tony Kippenberger.
Click on the poster for the full exhibition...
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Museum talk!
As part of our "Sporting Bishop's Waltham" Exhibition this year, we are very happy to invite Joel Turner to give us a talk on early football. Joel wrote most of our exhibition panels on football, and his longer contributions can be found below. You think you know football? Well perhaps not as well as you thought...
Come and join us - entry is free and all are welcome!
4th October 2023 7.30pm at the Church Hall, Free Street, Bishop's Waltham SO32 1EE (next to the Library).
Great to see so many people at our Summer Social
- see you all at the winter social!
HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 2023
New this year: we've teamed up with St Peter's Church to give you access to the church tower AND we have access to the small turret visible in the Crown Car Park, as well as our other tours. Booking is through Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/winchester-heritage-open-days-17274323708
Here is our schedule (Palace tours meet at the museum, church tours meet at the church):
Tour 1: The Building Bishops. General tour of the Palace ruins that English Heritage have recently conserved.
Max number: 20
Dates: Saturday 9 September 10am
Tour 2: Courtiers and Crown Posts. An in-depth tour of the Bishop's Waltham Museum building, part of the original lodgings of the Palace, with its original roof from c. 1440, later converted into a farmhouse.
Max number: 15
Dates: Tuesday 12 September 11am
Tour 3: Turret tour. The north turret on the Palace perimeter wall is not normally open to the public, but it is worth a look to see many unusual features. It is only one room so the tour is approx 30 mins
Max number: 15
Dates: Saturday 9th September 6pm, Monday 11th September 3pm
Tour 4: Church Tower and clock tour. The bell tower of the church is not normally open to the public, so this is a special opportunity to see the ringing chamber and the pendulum of clock taken from the Palace after its destruction in 1644 (the clock itself is being restored).
Max number: 10
Dates: Saturday 9th September 3pm, Monday 11th September 11am
FUN QUIZ NIGHT!
We are delighted to announce the return of the quiz night with Kevin Ashman from Eggheads. Come and join us on Saturday 25th March - doors open 7pm. Details for reserving tables on the poster.
(We promise it won't be all history!)
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Thinking of Volunteering?
We've an open morning for new and maybe volunteers 10-12pm Saturday 22nd April. Pop in, meet some current volunteers, find out what we do, and what you could join in with. See you soon!
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AGM 2023 24th April Church Hall 7.30pmOpen to all, our AGM will include the normal business then move on to a talk by Paul Cordery on Local History!
Tours for 2022!
We are joining the Heritage Open Day scheme by offering tours for the first time. All free, but places going fast...
Charles V may have gone home but our exhibition on his visit continues until the end of October. Visit us and find out more about this amazing time!
You can also see our photo gallery of the event HERE
It is now 500 years since Henry VIII and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, signed the Treaty of Waltham, here at Bishop's Waltham Palace! We are celebrating it with a Tudor weekend, 2nd and 3rd July 2022.
There is fun for all the family - click here for more information on what's happening!
(some timings and events may change out of our control)
Thinking of Volunteering? We've an open morning for new and maybe volunteers 10-1pm Saturday 26th February. Pop in, meet some current volunteers, find out what we do. Perhaps combine it with seeing the Henry VIII Tableau in the High Street (10.30-12pm)? We are part of the Tudor celebrations this year. See you soon!
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FUN QUIZ NIGHT!
We are delighted to announce a quiz night with Kevin Ashman from Eggheads. Come and join us on Saturday 26th March - doors open 7pm. Details for reserving tables on the poster.
(We promise it won't be all history!)
NOW SOLD OUT, sorry!
Film afternoon at the HRO!
16th February 2022
Wessex Film and Sound Archive will be showing us some films of the local area.
Email us for details and booking
Archaeologists are in the Palace!
Now the interior of the West Tower is visible again, English Heritage are thinking how best to let our visitors see it. Context One archaeologists have excavated some test pits in the Tower and in the antechamber to see what is under the current surface.
It seems that the archaeology undertaken in the 1950s and 60s was very thorough - however, the dig did find some things of interest and we'll report more shortly. In the meantime, here is a photo of the cross wall in the basement of the West Tower - which you couldn't see before the ivy came off. Its purpose is unknown but it sits under a corbel to support a floor beam so it wasn't built there originally.
AGM 2022 9th March Parish Hall 7.30pm
Talk: Henry VIII in Bishop's Waltham. Tony Kippenberger
Open to all, our AGM will include the normal business then move on to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of Henry VIII's visit to the Palace in 1522. This is part of a town wide celebration throughout 2022!
Bishop's Waltham events for Henry VIII visit 500 years ago | Hampshire Chronicle
Conservation in Action Day
Friday 6th August 2021, 11-4pm
English Heritage are bringing their new Conservation Roadshow to BW Palace! There will be hands-on activities for everyone, stone masonry demonstrations, and people can learn about what goes into conserving their incredible sites.
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English Heritage are also leading tours of the Palace ruins if you want more information on the site if you've been enjoying it through lockdown. Sign up in the museum for the tours.
The museum will be open as normal but with extra activities outside for the whole family, including our mini-dig and "what is that?" table.
Bishop's Waltham Society will be there with information on our Henry VIII Day next year, and the North Pond Group will be there to tell you what they've been doing around the North Pond (formerly part of the Palace).
All accompanied by some strolling players and dancers - what could be nicer? ...Oh yes, its all FREE! Just come along. See you there!
We are delighted to say that over 400 people came to our Conservation in Action Day with English Heritage! (Photos by Geoff Hallett)
Tours with Sam Stones of English Heritage
Music by Myal Pyper with BW medieval dancers
The English Heritage Conservation Camper in action - lots of wall building going on!
Paye doing demonstrations of their work on the walls
Conservation work by English Heritage is restarting!
The fencing and scaffolding is going up and will be up until the end of September. The Palace will not be looking its best, and unfortunately, many areas will be out of bounds. Apologies for any inconvenience, but the work will ensure the survival and safety of the Palace ruins for many years to come. The information panels look great!
2020Vision virtual exhibition now OPEN!
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The 2020Vision team are proud to present their virtual exhibition of the photos of Bishop's Waltham collected in 2020. As well as nearly 100 featured images, many more superb photos can be accessed from the website under 'All Photos'. They are well worth viewing to give a picture of everyday life in Bishop's Waltham in an extraordinary year. The images have now been passed on to Bishop's Waltham Museum Trust for future preservation.
Talk: 20th May 2021
For our next event of the year we are having a Zoom talk by Penny Copeland on Timber Framed Buildings - with lots of examples from Bishop's Waltham and around. So, if you have exposed timbers in your house and you want to know more, this is for you! All members and volunteers are invited.
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If you would like to come but are not a member then please contact us to join the talk on a try out basis. If you know anyone who would like to join, but doesn't know how to use Zoom, please contact us and we will help. Please note, we are teaming up with Bishop's Waltham Society again for this one.
AGM:
Our AGM is set for 31st March 2021. It will take place over Zoom. If you are not yet a member and would like an invite, please email us. *NEWS* Minor changes to the Constitution adopted at the AGM.
Malt Lane Development Site
The report on the archaeologists findings is now out! For the full report, go to the Winchester City Council Planning portal and search for 21/00359/FUL. Otherwise, we have a summary for you... Click on the picture here....
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Talk: 18th January 2021
For our first event of the year we are having a Zoom talk by Don Bryan on the marriage of Mary Tudor and Philip of Spain at Winchester. All members and volunteers are invited so see you there!
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If you know anyone who would like to join, but doesn't know how, please contact us and we will help.
Southampton Archaeology Unit digging in the Palace outer court! More info soon.
English Heritage works at the Palace
English Heritage have been busy at Bishop's Waltham Palace in 2020! The beginning of lockdown also saw the start of the big conservation works on the perimeter walls and ivy removal on the towers. The whole place is looking really good and ready for the big push in 2021. See the November newsletter for more information. The museum was not forgotten and we have now got new heating!
Dave Godley and Andy Cunningham from BCS
