August: Clip clops and rag rugs
Free craft drop ins Wednesdays 10:30 – 12:30 It’s the year of the horse! Make noisy horses from recycled materials inspired by Kaleidoscope the horse and the ‘Read to the Beat’ summer library challenge. 5th, 12th and 19th of August. AND rag rug making with fabric scraps and learn about textiles in the museum collection. […]
Exhibition Archive: TREEN (of a tree)
Last year I met with our volunteer gallery managers Rosalind Barker and Sue Evans (Sevenoaks Visual Arts Forum) to initiate a collaborative exhibition involving museum objects and creative responses from artists. Our intention was to open the dividing wall between the gallery and the museum during this time, inviting visitors from either side to move […]
Draw from History: Still Life Sketching
Last Tuesday of every month 14:00 – 15:30 Enjoy quiet time to get creative and unwind at free, self-guided sessions held in the main exhibition space. The Curator will bring out 3 different objects from the museum stores to study up close. Suitable for both amateurs and professional artists, aged 14 or over. Bring your […]
Wee Ones Wednesdays
10:00 – 12:00 Nature themed unguided sensory play for babies and toddlers. Drop in with your little ones on Wednesday mornings to spend time in a calming and interactive learning environment. Free to attend. Supervision required at all times.
Great Estates
The landed gentry once dominated Sevenoaks. Many people worked in the mansion houses and surrounding grounds. Significant central Sevenoaks estates in the late 18th century were Knole, Montreal, Wildernesse, Kippington, Bradbourne and Greatness. Montreal House was built for Jeffrey Amherst after his return from war in 1764, on an existing family estate. It had 27 […]
William Harold House photograph collection
The museum was recently given a collection of photographs taken by the late William Harold House. There are some 300 monochrome prints and glass plate negatives, predominantly portraits. The pictures display the breadth of Sevenoaks society in the early 1900s, from dusty chimney sweeps and laughing policemen to impeccable court judges and stern aristocratic women. […]
New Acquisition
An interesting item, just three centimetres in length, recently found its way to the museum through the Treasure process. This cast silver hook is engraved with decoration in the Trewhiddle Anglo Saxon style, appearing to show a bird in downward flight. It is inlaid with niello (a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and […]
New Acquisition
Three model trains hand made by local man William George Baigent. ‘Bill’ was born 11 January 1910 at the Mount Cottages, Knockholt near Sevenoaks. He served in the army and later returned to Sevenoaks where he worked in the TV and Radio repair business and had a shop in St Johns, Sevenoaks for several years. […]
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
From the humble envelope to elaborate wax seals, this post will walk you through the art and etiquette of letter sealing, using examples from the Sevenoaks collection. The above is a circular medieval seal found on St Botolph’s Road. A seal matrix is used for making an impression on a wax seal, to authenticate a […]
Recollecting the Collector
Michael de Koningh grew up in the Bat and Ball area of Sevenoaks in the 1960s and 70s, and never moved far from the area after leaving his childhood home and getting married. When Michael sadly passed away in 2016, he left behind a multifaceted legacy and a large collection of stuff to go with […]