Portable Antiquities Scheme

26th September, 28th November 2018, 30th January, 27th March 2019

1pm – 3pm

Digging in the garden? Metal detecting? Found something old and interesting? Thousands of archaeological objects are found every year by members of the public. Enjoy this opportunity to bring in any archaeological discoveries and find out more about them. Finds Liaison Officer, Matt Fittock will be on hand to record and ID all of your archaeological objects. 

Every find is important and will help to improve our knowledge of history and archaeology. Here are some fascinating archaeological objects from our own collection. Brooches are of particular interest as they are usually well preserved and can tell us much about the past. 

BEDFM 2005.17

A Medieval silver-gilt annular brooch found at Lidlington.

The inscription in Lombardic lettering reads,” I am the flower of good love”.

Brooches similar to this were fairly common personal ornaments in the medieval period. Often the inscriptions were designed to keep the owner safe from harm.

BEDFM 2014.91. 

Medieval silver annular brooch found near Wharley End , Bedford.

This brooch is in very good condition and must have been a sad loss to its last owner.

Find out more about the Scheme here: https://bit.ly/HigginsPAS

The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a nationwide service run by the British Museum. To find out more about the service look on the website: www.finds.org.uk

Saturday Stress Busting

22nd September 2018
1pm - 4pm
Free

Take part in variety of relaxing and engaging activities to help reduce stress and improve feelings of wellbeing. Enjoy creative art activities, traditional table-top games and meditative yoga.

Meditative Yoga (2pm - 3pm)

Junk Journaling Drop-In: Create your own junk journals to record your thoughts, memories or an event that has touched you.

Tea Party Poetry (2.30pm - 4pm): A therapeutic session where you can give a voice to your emotions and feelings through creating your own poetry.

This is an ongoing event with sessions running until March 2019. The programme is being shaped by it's visitors so feel free to make suggestions on creative activities.

Please visit The Higgins Bedford social media pages for more information about the developing programme.

Find out about other Wellbeing activities here.

The Young Turner: Ambitions in Architecture and the Art of Perspective

22nd September - 16th December 2018 

Free Entry

JMW Turner’s unrivalled painting of The High Street, Oxford is touring the region. Celebrating a successful campaign by the Ashmolean Museum to acquire this masterful view of Oxford, the painting is accompanied by an exhibition exploring the young Turner’s interest in architecture and the development of his skills in the art of perspective.

Please visit The Higgins Bedford website for more information about the exhibition. 

Celebrating Women of Bedfordshire

Ends on 23rd September 2018

Free Entry

There is still a few weeks left to enjoy the Celebrating Women of Bedfordshire exhibition at The Higgins Bedford. It first launched on 10th March and will close on 23rd September 2018.

Don't miss this opportunity to explore the stories of women who have achieved in various fields including Suffrage & Politics, Education, Sport, Community Power, STEM, Wartime, Business, and the Arts. 

Also featured is one of Bedford's most famous artists, Dora Carrington, who moved to the town in 1903 and was educated at Bedford High School. The Higgins Bedford has been collecting works by Carrington for a number of years and now has one of the finest collections in the world.

For more information about the exhibition visit: https://bit.ly/HigginsCWOB 

Image: University of Bedfordshire students visiting CWOB exhibition.