Adventure Travel

There is a common belief that our ancestors were largely stay at home, unadventurous, people with no inclination to travel far beyond their native parish.   The more you undertake family research, however, it becomes frustrating obvious that while some did remain in the place their ancestors originated, others moved further afield.  We have all heard...

A story from one receipt

With fewer people using postal services and our reliance on electronic forms of communication, receiving anything in the mail these days is worthy of note. At Ashburton Museum, however, we recently received something quite interesting by post. Looking at this item – dirty, tatty and at first rather boring (it is after all ‘only’ a...

Museums do many things – and amongst the things they do, collecting is central. Yet it’s not just museums that collect. Many people do. Estimates range from 30-70 percent of us being collectors, yet it’s possible that collecting is an almost universal passion. What makes a collection? While some may think a collection needs to...