AHA Visit to the Curtis Museum & Allen Gallery, Alton

Despite the miserable weather that we have all been facing, ten brave souls braced themselves for a visit to Alton.  We assembled for coffee before making our first stop at the Curtis Museum. 
 
The museum was crammed with information using every available space.  As we travelled through history of time starting with the Romans, we learnt about the Hampshire countryside, soil and how it has influenced industry, lifestyle through the ages.  

They have a number of permanent exhibits including a rare Roman enamel cup, ancient Saxon burials, hop picking and brewing, the 1643 Battle of Alton - with a Civil War era helmet, breastplate and sword.  Plus the notorious tale of Sweet Fanny Adams – many of us would have heard of the saying “sweet Fanny Adams”, but not knowing it originated from the very sad story of a young girl named Fanny, brutally murdered for no known reason.  The museum is also the home of a very rare piece of Anglo Saxon artefact, known as the Alton Buckle, this was exquisite in detail.  It consists of a silver gilt body with filigree wires and set with AD Cloisonné garnets and glass. Its centre panel design is gold filigree on a gold base.  Archaeologists have dated the buckle to 6 / 7th centuries and it is one of the very finest examples of Anglo Saxon craftsmanship ever found
 
The group all felt that this was most certainly one of the better museums visited and I believe we all learnt something new.

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​After two very informative hours we all deserved lunch.  Once again braving the wind and rain, we strolled down Alton High Street to the Swan for a pie and a pint as the saying goes.  I consider it is worth saying that Alton is a vibrant town, with a mixture of old and new from shops to architecture, steeped in history.

Now all fully refreshed, we moved onto the Allen Gallery.  This is home to one of the best collections in the south of England of ceramics, porcelain, pottery and tiles dating from 1250.  In addition, they hold an excellent collection of perfume bottles, medals, shoe buckles and much more. They have a cabinet 
holding a wide range of Wedgwood and porcelain figurines, some from the great British producers: Bow, Chelsea, Derby and Worcester.

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​After our tour of the above we found ourselves in the café / exhibition area, and to the delight of some we enjoyed a small exhibition of art by William Herbert Allen.  Most of his life he worked as an artist which spanned more than fifty years, from the late 1880s to the early 1940s. He became Art Master and later director at Farnham School of Art, whilst also painting thousands of pictures of the countryside around the south of England and the continent. 

Both venues were managed by a group of volunteers, who were most helpful and very informative. Well done Alton!

Our excursion ended about 4pm and hopefully everyone felt that they had a great day out, costing very little.

​Any U3A Member is very welcome to join us on any of our monthly outings.  I suggest keep checking the webpage for up-to-date information of places that may be of interest to you. 

Rosemary Crumplin-Clark
AHA - Excursion Co-ordinator