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Athelstan Museum
@athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
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The Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury, Wiltshire.
Capturing the History of Malmesbury, burial place of St Aldhelm and King Athelstan, birthplace of Thomas Hobbes, and much more...
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Our joint event with #Athelstan1100 and Wessex Week, with the support of Princeton University Press. @princetonupress.bsky.social

Athelstan & the Birth of a Kingdom
David Woodman
Professor of History at Robinson College, Cambridge
Friday 16 January - 7.00pm - Malmesbury Town Hall
#history
David Woodman Talk: 'Athelstan and the Birth of A Kingdom' An insightful talk by acclaimed author and historian Prof David Woodman exploring Athelstan's role in the creation of England. David will also be happy to sign copies of his new book 'The First King of England - Athelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom'. Friday 16th January at 7:00pm Malmesbury Town Hall £10.00 A joint event with Athelstan Museum and Wessex Week
November 21, 2025 at 9:31 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
Event coming up soon-

Lace Making Workshop

23rd October -
2 sessions - 10.30 to 12.30 & 1.30 to 3.30
Rausing Building, Malmesbury.

Tickets not required (£5 donation requested)

ages 5-95
(under 16s to be accompanied by an adult)
#crafts #workshop #localhistory
Lace making cushion and bobbins.
October 9, 2025 at 9:48 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
On This Day, 8th October 1328, Malmesbury Abbey accommodated the boy King Edward III, together with his mother Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, in the abbey guest house (now the Old Bell Hotel). They stayed until the 10th October.
#History #14thC #medievalSky #OTD
Isabella riding to meet her brother, Charles IV, in 1325. 15th-century illustration from Froissart's Chronicles.
October 8, 2025 at 11:41 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
Malmesbury Wessex Week is nearly upon us once again.

Here are the talks and other events for this year between the 18th and 25th of October.

Tickets are still available on the website,
wessex-week.org
or from the Tourist Information Centre in Malmesbury Town Hall.
#events #history
Saturday Bradley Hopper: Coinage and the 18th October Making of England Malmesbury Town Hall - 7pm - £10 Sunday 19th October Campbell Ritchie: Guided Walk: The visible Influence of King Alfred the Great on Malmesbury Malmesbury Town Hall - 10.30am £7 Adult, £3.50 U16 Tuesday 21st October Liam Wilson: Roman Settlement and After in the Malmesbury area: New evidence from excavations by Cotswold Archaeology Malmesbury Town Hall - 7pm - £10 Wednesday 22nd October Tony McAleavy: Malmesbury and Alfred the Great The Old Bell Hotel garden room Talk - 7.30pm - €10 2 Course dinner and talk- 6pm - £40 Friday 24th October Tony McAleavy: Lull: the monk from Malmesbury who converted Germany Rausing Building - 3pm - £10 Saturday 25th October Andrew Ziminski: Church going around Wessex Malmesbury Town Hall - 7pm - £10 Full details of each event and tickets on the website www.wessex-week.org Tickets also available from the Malmesbury Tourist Information Office.
October 3, 2025 at 8:38 AM
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Our latest temporary exhibition is now open, in the Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury, until March 2026.

- Malmesbury and World War Two -

the exhibition features the many aspects of the war which affected everyday life in wartime Malmesbury.

#History #Museumsky #WW2 #20thC #Wiltshire
Photograph of the ‘Wings for Victory’ event on May 15th 1943. Two WW2 fighter planes and a number of soldiers lined up on parade in the Cross Hayes, Malmesbury. Photo: Charles Vernon.
October 1, 2025 at 12:58 PM
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On This Day, 4th September 925, Athelstan was crowned King of the Anglo-Saxons at Kingston upon Thames.
#Athelstan1100
In less than 2 years from that date, in July 927, he would take control of the Viking Kingdom of York and become the first King of all England.
#OTD #History #Skystorians #10thC
Coronation stone in Kingston upon Thames.
September 4, 2025 at 9:55 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
After 927, he even called himself King of all Britain on his coins. That was a stretch, but he certainly exercised direct rule over all the territory we now refer to as England from that time.
August 19, 2025 at 8:14 PM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
Coming up as part of the Malmesbury Carnival programme:

Malmesbury Railway Stories

An illustrated talk by Bill Reed in the Rausing Building.

Voices from Malmesbury railway station and the amazing model built by Chris Burch. Plus the locomotive Malmesbury Abbey and its designer GJ Churchward.
Train at Malmesbury Station platform. Malmesbury Abbey is visible below the station platform canopy. Part of the Malmesbury station model showing a model train emerging from the Malmesbury railway tunnel.
August 14, 2025 at 12:48 PM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
Your first sentence merits some discussion.
August 7, 2025 at 5:48 PM
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1101 years ago, on 17th July 924, King Edward the Elder died at Farndon in Northern Mercia.
Athelstan was acknowledged as king in Mercia, the first step towards his becoming the first King of all England.
#OTD #History #10thC #AngloSaxon
King Athelstan as represented at Ripon Cathedral.
July 17, 2025 at 8:33 AM
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Here is the Athelstan silver penny from our collection. Do any other museums on BlueSky have coins from the reign of King Athelstan? #findsFriday
Obverse and Reverse of the Athelstan silver penny on display in the Athelstan museum in Malmesbury. Very few coins feature both Athelstan’s portrait and the extended title (Æthelstan rex to Brit, ‘King of All Britons’) as this coin does.
July 11, 2025 at 8:43 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
We see your clock workings and propose the Henry Weight Frame Clock. Made in 1859 and operated in the Malmesbury bell tower for many years.
This clock was in the Malmesbury bell tower for many years. It was made by Henry Weight in 1859 or rather we suspect he assembled it. The weights were substantial; the weights are not recorded but we suspect the largest would have been at least 150 kg. The clock was wound weekly and at the same time an adjustment made by physically turning the hands with a special key. The clock has a dial facing inwards so the winder could see what time the clock told. As it is directly connected it tells the time in reverse and rotates counter-clockwise. So the winder had to be mentally adept as well as physically strong.
July 4, 2025 at 1:36 PM
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Detail from the Cole Park Quilt, currently on temporary display at the Athelstan Museum.
The quilt was made in the early 19th Century and was donated to the museum from the Cole Park estate near Malmesbury.
#textiles #19thC
Detail from the Cole Park quilt. The quilt is pieced in hexagons from a variety of cotton fabrics, a pattern known as Grandmother’s Garden.
July 3, 2025 at 1:54 PM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
On This Day, 25th June 1016, a few miles west of Malmesbury, the Battle of Sherston began (lasting into 26th June). Edmund Ironside defeated a combined force of Danish and Saxon supporters of Cnut.
#OTD #11thC #saxons #danes
Image of Edmund Ironside from a medieval Royal Genealogical manuscript.
June 25, 2025 at 9:37 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
On This Day, 19th June 936, Louis IV, nephew of King Athelstan, is crowned king of West Francia at Laon by Archbishop Artald of Reims. He had been in exile from infancy until his early teens in the royal court of Edward the Elder and then Athelstan.
#History #OTD #10thC #medieval
A denier (obverse) from the reign of Louis IV minted at Chinon. The king's head is seen in profile looking right. The inscription around the border reads LUDOVICUS REX.
June 19, 2025 at 10:14 AM
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On This Day, 16th June 1644, Colonel Nicholas Devereux was appointed Governor of Malmesbury, where the Devereux regiment was garrisoning the town. Devereux and his wife Bridget occupied Abbey House in Malmesbury.
#History #17thC #CivilWar #Wiltshire
The 'Birds Eye View' map of Malmesbury showing the town walls before they were slighted at the end of the Civil War. The flags of the Devereux Regiment are shown at various points around the town perimeter. Image courtesy of the Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury.
June 16, 2025 at 9:37 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
On This Day 15th June 1215, King John sealed Magna Carta at Runnymead.
His conflict with the barons drained his funds, forcing him to sell Malmesbury Castle to the Abbey a year later.
The Abbey demolished the castle and built a guest house on the site (which is now the Old Bell Hotel).
#History #OTD
Portrait of King John. The Old Bell Hotel in Malmesbury, believed to be built on the site of Malmesbury Castle.
June 15, 2025 at 9:19 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
On This Day, 12th June 918, Æthelflæd, the Lady of the Mercians, died.
As the aunt of Athelstan, she had raised him in Mercia after his father remarried.
Following her death, Edward the Elder assumed control in Mercia, with Athelstan retaining military control in the North-West.
#OTD #History #10thC
Illustration of Æthelflæd as depicted in the cartulary of Abingdon Abbey.
June 12, 2025 at 10:36 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
We have an extensive collection of images from Malmesbury available to view in the Athelstan Museum. Some of them can be found on our website, like this one of Malmesbury Abbey porch from an 1806 print.
#history #19thC #architecture

www.athelstanmuseum.org.uk/our-collecti...
Print from 1806 of Malmesbury Abbey porch. The porch consists of an elaborate romanesque arch with concentric layers of carved stonework displaying biblical scenes. A figure is shown sitting on the bench inside the porch.
June 11, 2025 at 1:45 PM
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Coming soon from the Athelstan Museum, a chance for the children to come along and learn about one of our most famous Malmesbury celebrities.
#Eilmer #FlyingMonk #childrensclub #workshop #Wiltshire
Athelstan Museum Malmesbury. Children's History Club presents Elmer the Flying Monk. How far did Elmer fly? Well, that depends on you! Come and make your own Elmer the Flying Monk and see how far he will fly down our zip wire. Saturday 28th June 10.30 - 12.30. Rausing Building. 6 - 10 year olds. (All children must be accompanied by an adult).
June 11, 2025 at 8:43 AM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
Copies of the 17th century Ogilby map of the route from Oxford to Bristol are now on sale in the Museum Shop.
#MuseumShops #17thC #KingCharlesII

To learn more about the significance of this map to Malmesbury have a look at the Roads page of our website.
www.athelstanmuseum.org.uk/malmesbury-h...
Copy of the Ogilby map on display in the Athelstan Museum shop. It is an example of a strip route map where the complete route from Oxford to Bristol is shown as a series of 6 strips, where Oxford is at the bottom of the first strip and Bristol is at the top of the 6th strip. In 1675, John Ogilby was instructed by King Charles II to map the main strategic routes in the country. The Oxford to Bristol route was number 79 of these maps. However, today, the ancient route of the North Wessex Way is mostly forgotten as it passes through North Wiltshire and still exists as minor country lanes. Echoes of the old route can be seen in the wide verges all along the way.
May 23, 2025 at 12:34 PM
athelstanmuseum.bsky.social
On This Day, 22nd May 337, Emperor Constantine the Great died.
The Malmesbury Coin Hoard contains 1,266 Roman Nummi struck between 286 and 317AD, over 1,000 of which bear the portrait of Constantine.
#OTD #History #Coins #Numismatics #Roman #RomanBritain
Obverse of one of the coins in the Malmesbury Coin Hoard showing the bust portrait of Constantine. The legend says CONSTANTINUS PF AUG. The Malmesbury Coin Hoard on display in the Athelstan Museum in Malmesbury. All 1266 coins are on display, some mounted on a sloping display card with annotations, the remainder arranged as though spilling from the pot in which they were discovered. Five coins are mounted on vertical rods for viewing from either side.
May 22, 2025 at 8:48 AM
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In celebration of 1,350 years since Aldhelm became Abbot of Malmesbury, a talk by acclaimed local historian Tony McAleavy.
This Saturday in Malmesbury Abbey.
#History #Events #7thCentury
May 19, 2025 at 9:34 PM
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We would try to keep up on our local tricycle. You pedal this one with your hands and steer with your feet!
#raceacrossthemusrums
May 15, 2025 at 2:57 PM
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The Athelstan Museum is delighted to host an exhibition that tells the story of the Warden and Freemen and their unique, continuing contribution to Malmesbury. Exhibits on display have been loaned to us by the Warden and Freemen, many have not been seen before outside their own archives.
#History
The Twig and Turf ceremony was relocated to the Court House in 1940. It is held annually on King Athelstan’s Feast Day. A Twig, coin and “turf” are on display in the museum as shown here. A section of rolled up turf, a coin and a length of twig, as used in the Turf and Twig ceremony, in the museum display case.
May 7, 2025 at 10:21 AM