West Berkshire Museum is continuing its series of exhibitions focusing on each of the parishes in the area by looking at Hungerford, a town with a very interesting history. The Hungerford exhibition will run from 10 November 2021 – 4 September 2022.

One important aspect of these exhibitions is the involvement of the community. The staff welcome any interesting information that may not have been found in the research so far, or any offers of items to loan for the duration of the exhibition.

Although there are many items from Hungerford already in the museum’s collection, staff are always keen to fill any gaps that are not represented well. The period that has the most objects relating to it is the late 1800s, and there are also several more dating from the recent past. The Museum has very few, if any, from after the decline of the Roman Empire until the late 1700s. If anyone has objects with a close connection to Hungerford’s early history that they would be willing to loan for the exhibition, the staff are keen to learn about these before the end of September.

If you would also like to help curate the exhibition or help organise a pop-up exhibition in Hungerford Library please contact West Berkshire Museum Curator Janine Fox on [email protected] or 01635 519532.

Cllr Howard Woollaston, Executive Portfolio Holder for Internal Governance, Leisure and Culture at West Berkshire Council, said: “These exhibitions are such an important link between our community and the heritage of West Berkshire, in this case, specifically Hungerford.

“Both I and James Cole, one of the three Hungerford ward members and Council Heritage champion, were delighted that the Museum could reopen during the easing of restrictions and that the team can now continue with their exciting programme of exhibitions. We look forward to visiting ‘Focus on Hungerford’ later this year.’’

The Museum team will be working over the next few months to finalise the items from the collection that should be included, and these may range from a flint axe to spinning bobbins, or from a Roman tile to a painting of a soldier.

Some of the houses in Hungerford have impressive Georgian facades that hide much older buildings, and it would be fascinating to hear if there are old items inside that could be shared with our visitors.

If you have any items or information that you think might enhance the ‘Focus on Hungerford’ exhibition, please email: [email protected] or call the Museum during opening hours (currently Wednesday-Saturday 10am-4pm) on: 01635 519562.