August 2008: Close encounter with an alien

Science fiction fans are being giving the chance to get up close to props from Hollywood blockbusters in an out-of-thisworld experience.

Forge Mill Museum launched its month-long Alien Encounter exhibition last Saturday (August 2), giving youngsters the rare opportunity to view props from films such as Star Wars, Alien, Predator and the X-Files.

Among the extraterrestrials on display is a fullsize alien host body used in the first X-Files film, an alien egg from Alien vs Predator and full Stormtrooper and Darth Vader costumes. There are also items cast from the original moulds used in the films, including a Yoda figure and Chewbacca head from Star Wars, a Terminator 2 robot head and a full-size Robocop costume.

And for fans of TV’s Dr Who, there is a 'Remembrance' Dalek, which has been recreated based on original BBC visual effects moulds.

Jo-Ann Gloger, keeper of collections at Forge Mill, said: "This is one alien invasion we are really looking forward to. It's a fantastic opportunity for sci-fi fans of all ages to come face to face with legendary Hollywood extraterrestrials."

Alien Encounter runs until August 31, and normal museum entry fees apply.

Redditch Standard, 8 August 2008

August 2008: Exhibition will be out of this world!

Redditch will be invaded by aliens as an exhibition that's out of this world beams down at Forge Mill Needle Museum.

The Alien Encounter exhibition, which opened on Saturday 2 August, will give science fiction fans a rare chance to get up close to props from Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars, Alien, Predator and the X-Files.

Among the extraterrestrials on display will be a full-size alien host body used in the first X-Files film, an alien egg from Alien vs Predator and full Stormtrooper and Darth Vader costumes.

There are also items cast from the original moulds used in the films, including a Yoda figure and Chewbacca head from Star Wars, a Terminator 2 robot head and full-size Robocop costume.

And for fans of TV's Dr Who, there is a 'Remembrance' Dalek, which has been recreated based on original BBC visual effects moulds.

Jo-Ann Gloger, keeper of collections, said: "This is one alien invasion we're really looking forward to. It's a fantastic opportunity for sci-fi fans of all ages to come face to face with legendary Hollywood extraterrestrials."

Redditch Advertiser, 6 August 2008

July 2008: A chance to go flintknapping

The prehistoric art of flintknapping will be brought to life when the Forge Mill Needle Museum celebrates National Archaeology Day this Sunday (July 20).

Flintknapping expert Karl Lee will be demonstrating how tools and weapons such as hand axes and arrow heads were made thousands of years ago at the event to be held in the Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre.

Archaeological activities such as excavating will also be on offer as well as a tour of the site where archaeological backpacks will be available for exploring. Other activities include longbow archery under the expert instruction of the Bowmen of England.

Debbie Lakeman, education officer at the museum, said: "Our Archaeology Day celebrations are always a lot of fun - and this year visitors can step back even further in time by learning about the tools and weapons of the prehistoric era."

Redditch Standard, 18 July 2008

June 2008: Needle museum's coffee bar open

A new coffee bar serving only the best in local produce is up and running at the historic Forge Mill Needle Museum in Redditch.

Visitors will be treated to hot and cold drinks, freshly made sandwiches, homemade cakes and snacks at the listed building that tells the facinating story of how Redditch came to dominate the world needle trade.

The Needle Coffee Bar was given the go ahead after Redditch Borough Council granted Williams Farm Shop the contract to run it.

The shop in Studley was placed in the top ten of local food heroes by satellite TV company UKTV FOOD last year, despite only being in its first year of business.

Dave Wheeler, the borough council's services manager, said: "This is a welcome addition to services offered at the venue and part of our ongoing committment to improve the overall attractiveness of this historic site."

The Needle Coffee Bar is currently open to the public - and not just those visiting the centre - from 11am until 4pm on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. It opens daily from July to September.

Redditch Standard, 20 June 2008

June 2008: Churches will mark Abbey's anniversary

An attraction in Redditch steeped in history will celebrate its 870th anniversary with an open air service next week.

Members of churches throughout the town will converge on Bordesley Abbey on Tuesday night (June 10). The service starts at 7.30pm and will be at the end of a procession from St Stephen's Church in the town centre, which begins half-an-hour earlier.

Reverend Dick Johnson, industrial chaplain and vicar in the Holy Trinity Anglican Parish in Redditch and chair of the Town Centre Ecumenical Covenant of Churches, said: "This event not only commemorates an important chapter in the history of the town but also celebrates the continuing contribution that the churches make. It is humbling to remember the centuries of dedicated worship and service the Abbey represents, and to try to meet the modern challenges we face today."

The Abbey was founded by the Cistercian order in around 1138 and lasted 400 years before being dissolved by Henry VIII. At the time it was the first Cistercian house in Worcestershire. The Cistercian order ultimately became very wealthy, managing large farms known as granges. These were often some distance from the Abbey itself and in this case the home farm was at Hewell Grange in Tardebigge.

By the early 1800s the Abbey was dilapidated and not fit for worship and with the growth of the needle-making industry in Redditch encouraging more people into the town, a chapel was deemed to be needed. It sparked St Stephen's Chapel, built in 1807, on what has become known as Church Green.

Today Bordesley Abbey and neighbouring Forge Mill Museum are popular visitor attractions hosting fun-filled medieval events for families.

Report by Gary Morgan.

Redditch Standard, 6 June 2008

June 2008: Museum is set to step back in time

Forge Mill Museum is bringing the past back to life this weekend with a festival of medieval merriment.

Company Ecorcheur will be setting up camp, and as well as combat displays, will be demonstrating cooking and crafts from the period, while Discovering Medieval will be interpreting the horrible side to history with a barber's surgeon showing how blood sucking leeches were used.

Residents will also be able to experience punishments of the time and put themselves in the stocks, and Brother William, a Cistercian monk, will be delivering tours of Bordesley Abbey, explaining the harsh reality of a monk's life.

An evening of medieval entertainment will also take place tomorrow (Saturday) between 6pm and 9pm and includes music from Sloe Gin, a fire-breathing jester, a medieval magician and a puppet show. Refreshments will also be available in the form of hog roast and traditional English mead.

The day of activities will run between 11am and 4pm.

Redditch Standard, 6 June 2008

May 2008: Sewing donation

Lucky pupils have been well and truly stitched up after being donated sewing machines as part of a textiles challenge jointly organised by a Redditch firm, Inkberrow Design Centre and Forge Mill Museum.

The challenge is for pupils to produce a piece using the new machines to be displayed at Forge Mill's forthcoming 'Dreamtime' exhibition in July.

To complete the task, participating schools including St Augustine's Catholic High, Ridgeway Middle, St Bede's Catholic Middle and Birchensale Middle, have each been donated a Pfaff Embellisher by Moons Moat company Viking Sewing Machines Ltd.

The pupils and teachers have been taught how to use the machines by Design Centre tutor Laura Young.

Pfaff embellishers are easy to use felting machines that will help youngsters of all abilities produce surface textile effects on fabric without using thread.

Debbie Lakeman, education officer at Forge Mill, said: "I am intrigued to see what the pupils will produce."

Redditch Standard, 30 May 2008

May 2008: Museum offers mayhem at half-term

Children can spend their half-term with Saint George and the Dragon during Forge Mill Museum's Medieval Mayhem activities.

Ahead of its Medieval Festival on June 7 and 8, staff are running two days of fun and creative workshops next week. They include making fearsome, fire breathing dragons and designing their own knight's shield on Tuesday (May 27).

Then on Wednesday (May 28) a 'Storm the Castle' activity will allow youngsters to explore medieval weapons by creating their own model of a catapult.

Debbie Lakeman, education officer at the museum, said: "These are the first activities as part of our medieval season so hopefully it will get people in the medieval mood ready for the celebrations in two weeks time."

Both workshops will take place between 1pm and 3pm and are priced at £4. Booking is essential. All those attending the workshops will receive free entry into the medieval festival.

Redditch Standard, 23 May 2008

May 2008: Pupils delve into Abbey's past

Pupils from Batchley First School have been discovering local history with the help of staff from Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre and the Palace Theatre.

They have been working with the museum on a Learning Links project funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. Pupils in Years three and four have spent the past few weeks discovering the history behind the ruins of Bordesley Abbey.

Activities included meeting a medieval Cistercian monk and learning about his life, writing with quills and making clay tiles like those found by archaeologists on the site.

Following on from their work on the monks of Bordesley, the children brought history to life in a workshop supported by the Palace Theatre Heritage Project. With the help of Jestaminute Theatre Company pupils got into role and prepared their own dramatic interpretation of a monk's life.

The project culminated in a visit to both sites as part of Local and Community History Month.

Redditch Standard, 16 May 2008

May 2008: Mill set to come to life

Forge Mill Museum will fling open its doors on Sunday (May 11) to celebrate National Mills Day.

Visitors will be able to see what life was really like for Victorian needle mill workers as well as discovering more about the hardships they suffered – all in the surroundings of the only water-powered needle scouring mill left in the world.

The mill will come to 'life' courtesy of the Redditch Amateur Theatre Society whose members will get in character to tell the stories of life years ago.

Visitors will also be able to see the waterwheel in operation and children can get creative with the themed craft activities on offer. The event runs from 2pm until 5pm and is free of charge.

Redditch Standard, 9 May 2008

May 2008: New kids club

A new Saturday club for children interested in art and history will come to life at Forge Mill Museum this month. It will link in with the museum's exhibition programme and give inquisitive and creative kids the chance to get up close to the many artefacts displayed.

Starting on Saturday, May 10 from 10am until 12noon, the first session will be themed around the museum's Wacky Widgets exhibition, where children can have a go at creating their own crazy Victorian inventions.

The sessions will run once a month on a Saturday and there are five planned for this season. It is aimed at children aged eight to 12 and the annual fee, which includes all five sessions, is £18.

Booking in advance is essential and individual places on the workshops can also be reserved, priced at £4.50. To book, call the museum on 01527 62509, or for more information visit www.forgemill.org.uk.

Redditch Advertiser, 7 May 2008

April 2008: Wacky widgets

Visitors to Forge Mill Needle Museum over the next couple of weeks can see some pretty unusual Victorian knick-knacks in their Wacky Widgets exhibition.

The exhibition, on at the Riverside venue until Sunday, May 11, comes from a private collector, Maurice Collins, who is a world authority on Victorian and Edwardian antique gadgets.

Strange items such a Victorian nose shaper to supposedly make the user's nose more beautiful, a clockwork teasmaid and an electric hair restorer from the 1890s will all be on display.

Jo-Ann Gloger, keeper of collections at Forge Mill Needle Museum, said: "This exhibition is a wonderful insight into the ingenuity of the Victorian age."

Redditch Standard, 25 April 2008

April 2008: Making money out of history

A medieval moneyer will be the star attraction at Forge Mill Museum's Open Day next weekend.

The free family event takes place between 11am and 4pm next Sunday (April 13) and will give visitors a sneak preview of what is in store at the site throughout the year.

With the much anticipated medieval festival on the bill in June, Grunal Moneta will be on site during the open day talking to guests about his life and demonstrating how coins were minted hundreds of years ago. There will also be a themed balloon artist creating beings from outer space as a warm up for August's alien invasion event, while guests can also see how preparations are going for a variety of productions taking place later in the year.

Alongside all the entertainment visitors can explore improvements to the museum site which have been put in place over winter. Interpretive signs around the venue, audio features and a large amount of landscaping are just a few of the new additions. More information about the venue's forthcoming events can be found at the museum's new website, www.forgemill.org.uk.

Redditch Standard, 4 April 2008

March 2008: History a click away

The past is being brought right up to date as Forge Mill Needle Museum and Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre launch its swanky new website, www.forgemill.org.uk.

It provides background information about the two historical sites of Forge Mill and Bordesley Abbey as well as details about the facilities available and services provided. The website, which went 'live' on Monday (March 24), was designed by Tony Jay of Arrowscape, a website design company based in Redditch.

He said: "As a local man I was delighted to work on this project and I have learnt so much more about the history on our doorstep and all the museum has to offer with their fantastic events programme."

Debbie Lakeman, education officer at the museum, said the whole team were excited with the launch of their first specific website, having previously been a part of the Redditch Borough Council page. She said: "It's very easy to use and very colourful and it will be kept up to date giving people lots of information about what's on and what's coming up. It will also enable people from outside of Redditch to find out more about us really easily just by tapping the address into their computers."

As part of the launch and to encourage people to log on, Forge Mill is offering family tickets to the day and evening events of its Medieval Festival in June for two people selected at random who can find the answers to two questions on the website. They are; what 'out of this world' exhibition runs from August 2 to 31? and where did the Cistercian monks who founded Bordesley Abbey in 1140 come from originally? Answers should be e-mailed to info@forgemill.org.uk, which can be done through the site’s 'contacts' page.

Redditch Standard, 28 March 2008

March 2008: Antique Gadgets form Exhibition

A cracking new Victorian exhibition will hatch the start of Easter fun at Forge Mill Needle Museum and Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre next week.

The Wacky Widgets display comes from the private collection of Maurice Collins, a world authority on antique gadgets.

He will showcase a variety of Victorian and Edwardian labour saving devices that never quite made it on to the shelves, including the aptly named 'Staminator' designed to make you fit.

Jo-Ann Gloger, keeper of collections at the Needle Mill Lane museum, said: "The collection is very unusual and gives a marvellous insight into the inventive Victorian mind."

Wacky Widgets will be on show until May 11.

The school holidays will also see the birth of a range of egg-citing Easter activities and workshops which are sure to put a spring into the children's step. From today (March 21) until April 6 there will be a fun Easter egg trail around the museum with a tasty treat given to young egg-splorers who complete the challenge. The trail is free but usual museum entry applies, including free admission to Redditch residents on Wednesdays.

Then on Wednesday (March 26) children can get creative with a needle and fabric to make some fluffy Easter bunnies, under the watchful eye of textiles tutor Jane Cobbett. Kids also have a chance to make their own yummy Easter tummy filler and put them in an Easter basket with sessions on Thursday (March 27) and Monday (March 31). If that was not enough the museum is also hosting a Spring time fun workshop on April 1 where youngsters can design and decorate a plant pot and plant some seeds ready for Summer.

Debbie Lakeman, education officer at Forge Mill, said: "We are hoping lots of people will come and join in the egg-citement here at the museum over the holidays." All workshops run from 1pm until 3pm and need to be booked in advance on 01527 62509.

Redditch Standard, 21 March 2008

September 2007: Come and Sample Victorian Life

Visitors to Forge Mill Museum can experience life over a hundred years ago as the Victorians descend on the attraction's National Heritage Day celebrations.

A Victorian history of the needle trade, which will be presented by the Redditch Amateur Theatre Society, will be one of the highlights as the museum marks the day on Sunday 9 September.

The actors will be giving an insight into working conditions endured during the period. Also included in the afternoon will be a performance by the Indigo Arts Theatre group who will be presenting extracts from 'Eye of a Needle' which was a sell-out show at the Palace Theatre earlier this year.

Visitors can also have a go at making their own scorers hat and needle themed magnet at the free event, which runs from 2pm until 5pm.

National Heritage Day is the country's biggest heritage celebration and attracted millions of visitors last year to the 3,500 places of historical importance which took part.

Gary Morgan, 7 September 2007

August 2007: Solving Medieval Mystery at Abbey

Children travelled back in time to solve a murder mystery at Bordesley Abbey after a workshop in crime cracking and clue solving techniques.

The workshop let the youngsters examine clues from a crime scene so they could hone their detective skills. They took and examined fingerprints, and used plaster to make casts of footprints. They also learned how to analyse handwriting. This left them fully equipped to handle the drama of a medieval whodunit, and the children took on new identities to investigate who killed Abbot John.

Working without modern technology, they put their skills to the test, solving clues with the help of Brother Julius from the Abbey.

Julie Ashfield, who plays Brother Julius, said: "It will be fun for the children to take a look at medieval crime by bringing to life Bordesley Abbey and some of the characters who may have lived there."

The workshop was the first of eight sessions running over the last two weeks of the summer holidays for eight to 12-year-olds.

Redditch Advertiser, 22 August 2007

July 2007: Digging into History

A 'medieval' monk will be helping Bordesley Abbey celebrate National Archaeology Day this weekend.

Brother Oswald, a historical interpreter from Nottingham, will be at the Abbey on Sunday (July 22) between 11am and 4pm, when children will get the chance to dress as novice monks and hear all about the site of Bordesley Abbey.

Visitors will also be able to try their hand at longbow archery under expert instruction from the Bowmen of England.

Archaeology activities will also be on offer, such as excavating and sorting and recording in the archaeology hut, while special backpacks will be available to genuine enthusiasts wishing to explore the site.

Children can also get creative with medieval-themed crafts or snack on medieval food.

Debbie Lakeman, education officer at Forge Mill Needle Museum and Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre, said: "We are looking forward to Archaeology Day and in particular the visit from Brother Oswald.

"He is going to interpret the site of Bordesley Abbey in his own unique way and we would like everyone to take the opportunity to come and meet him."

Redditch Standard, 20 July 2007

July 2007: A Monk's Life

A medieval monk will help Bordesley Abbey celebrate National Archaeology Day on Sunday.

Cistercian monk Brother Oswald will talk about the site of Bordesley Abbey, the Cistercian order and the life of a monk.

Children will have the chance to dress as novice monks, try their hand at longbow archery and get creative with medieval-themed arts and crafts.

Education officer Debbie Lakeman said: "Brother Oswald is going to interpret the site in his own unique way and we would like everyone to take the opportunity to come and meet him."

Archaeology activities will also be on offer, such as excavating, sorting and recording as well as a guided tour of the Abbey and its archaeology.

The event, which is free to enter, takes place from 11am-4pm.

Redditch Advertiser, 18 July 2007