Patricia Palmer, Visitor Experience Volunteer Each object and artefact in Ipswich Museum and Christchurch Mansion holds its own history and value, and it is hard to select a favourite. I have a soft spot for the bear; his eyes catch the light making them twinkle and...

Hello, my name is Laura Jones and I have been volunteering with Ipswich Museums for over two years now. During my time here I have taken part in a number of different projects, volunteering alongside professional staff who have taught me so much in return. I have...

Gillian Barnett, Christchurch Mansion Volunteer Guide It was 1990 when I first discovered Christchurch Mansion. Having moved to Suffolk from a Garden City in Hertfordshire I found the medieval buildings in Ipswich and their associated history fascinating. The Mansion...

Karen Banton, Assistant Collections and Learning Curator Ipswich Museum is home to some fossils that are unique to Suffolk and North-East Essex: the Suffolk Boxstones. Thanks to the John Ellerman Foundation, I got to spend five months learning about these unusual...

Liz Tregenza, Collections and Learning Curator The 8th May 2020 marks 75 years since ‘Victory in Europe’ or VE Day. This important anniversary commemorates the end of World War Two in Europe and the Allied nations formal acceptance of Nazi Germany’s surrender. This...

Karen Banton, Assistant Collections and Learning Curator The first project I worked on, as part of a John Ellerman Foundation grant, involved researching and collating the documentation of the Ogilvie bird collection and updating its digital records. By going through...

Elaine West, Museum Assistant for Ipswich Museums On 5th November 1816 a whale was found by Jobson and Baker near Harwich and then towed up the Orwell to Downham Reach. The pencil sketch The Whale at Downham Reach, River Orwell by George Frost (1745-1821) depicts the...

Audrey Woodhouse, Social History Volunteer at Ipswich Museums It’s the seventeenth century and superstition is rife. The Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins is causing an enormous stir in East Anglia, creating an intense paranoia amongst the people. Aside from...

Guest blog by Jill Holmen, Collections Manager at Epping Forest Museum Epping Forest District Museum has built up quite a collection of medieval rings over the last few years, mostly thanks to the Treasure Act (1996). I was especially pleased when Colchester Museums...

Nicola Hearn, Adorn Volunteer Hi, my name is Nicola and over the summer I frequently volunteered for the exhibition Adorn, Jewellery; the Human Story. In today’s blog post I will be talking about my favourite case in the exhibition, Materials and Making, and my...