This week we’ve been celebrating National Afternoon Tea Week. We’re already two weeks into the Great British Bake Off, and never was there a better excuse to indulge in a cake, biscuit or cup of tea. In celebration of…

WHAT IS HERALDRY? There is more to heraldry than people think. It’s not just to do with coats of arms, though that is an important part of it. Heraldry, broadly speaking, covers the activities of the heralds. Historically, the heralds…

In the medieval part of King John’s House there is medieval graffiti scratched in to a number of places on the walls. Some of the most interesting graffiti are a number of coats of arms, a profile drawing of a…

In 1907 Romsey held a pageant to celebrate the Abbey’s 1000th birthday since it was founded by King Edward the Elder in 907CE. The celebrations also focused on the 300th anniversary of the Incorporation of the Borough of Romsey by…

  A letter from Charles Moody to his son, Thomas, written on 13 July 1916 The Battle of the Somme began on 1 July 1916 and ended in November 1916. After four months of fighting and immense losses to both sides,…

PALEOLITHIC HAND AXE One of the hand axes in our collection incorporates an impression of a fossilised sea urchin in the center of the tool. The axe had been dated to the Paleolithic period (c. 500,000 – 10,000 BCE) when…