John Piper in the South Country is now open at Wiltshire Museum @wiltshiremuseum.bsky.social until 6 June 2026.
Guest curator: Andrew Lambirth
This Wessex Museums exhibition has been made possible with support from @artscouncilengland.bsky.social.
wessexmuseums.org.uk/our-work/exh...
Three women wearing dark sunglasses stood in a wheat field
Three women arms around one another sat at the edge of a wheat field
Six women on deck chairs posing for the camera with mugs of hot drinks
Two women, one with her arm around the other leant up against a carriage smiling for the camera
To celebrate International Women's Day, we thought we would share some photos that came into our collection last year of The Women's Land Army. During the Second World War, Joan Miles and her friends worked at Arches Farm, in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, in an effort to help the Home Front.
Celebrating International Women's Day!
Meet Millicent Fawcett (1847-1929), local suffragist and leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, who fought tirelessly for women's right to vote. Millicent was also a passionate advocate for women's health and human rights.
🎨 Calling all Landscape Artists!
Entries are now open for The Landscape Open 2026.
This is your chance to:
🏛️ Show your work at Salisbury Museum
🏆 Win a fully funded solo show
👀 Get your art seen by collectors and art lovers
Find out more and submit your work here:
artopps.co.uk/opportunitie...
Oval macehead of multiple angles. Brown in colour with hole in centre
Green discolouration to show bronze presence on circular brown masehead
This #findsfriday we have polished oval macehead of limestone containing the fossil stromatoporoid (A shallow marine sponge). Containing traces of bronze, it found with a primary male inhumation in Bowl Barrow Wilsford G5, excavated by William Cunnington in 1808.
🎉 Salisbury Museum has renewed its Full UK Museum Accreditation from Arts Council England!
This national quality standard recognises our commitment to professional collections care, transparent governance, quality visitor experiences, and community engagement.
Yesterday, Mrs Barnes, along with her Bourne View companions, visited us to see her great-grandmother Harriet Dowdell's patchwork quilt.
The quilt is made from everyday fabrics dating back to the 1830’s. Now it's a treasured part of our social history collection, kindly donated by Mrs Barnes. 🧵
Rare print of Wiltshire Thatcher image that was on the cover of Led Zep IV sells for £16,000.
ledzepnews.com/2026/02/25/a...
Join us for an evening of folk music and traditional storytelling
🗓 26 March 2026, 6:30pm
🎻 Folk music from Maerefolk and Charles Allison, with storytelling by Paul Butler.
🤝 In association with Salisbury Folk Club.
🎟 Tickets: Members £12, Non-members £15
🔗 Book & details: Salisbury Museum website
side and front profile of golden coloured ring with centre green stones
This #findsfriday we have a Roman green gem-set gold finger-ring, dating to the 3rd century AD, found in Clyffe Pypard, Wiltshire, 2013.
search more of our collections here at: www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/search-the-c...
Brian is big in Japan!
Exciting news! 🎨
For the first time in 200 years, John Constable’s 'A View of Salisbury from Harnham' will go on public display at The Salisbury Museum.
It is on long term loan from a private collection and will be displayed from June 2026, marking the artist’s 250th anniversary.
Two brown bird shaped buckles with holes through centre
This #findsfriday we have 2 delicate bronze bird-shaped ornaments, perhaps shoe buckles, locality unknown.
search more of our collections here at: www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/search-the-c...
Card with church in centre and dried flowers and lace envelope with red stamp
In celebration of Valentines day, here is one of our valentine cards from #outofthearchive. This card was sent Thomas Kemm at Manor House, Avebury, Wiltshire in 1866.
The front of the card reads "Affections Offering. ... I feel for thee alone. By then wilt thou be my own."
We were thrilled to attend the preview day of Youthquake:1960s today at @blandford_fashion 'Youthquake:1960s'
The exhibition is part of the Fashioning Our Future project with The Salisbury Museum. Thanks to funding received from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Fashioning Our Future project, students from Arts University Bournemouth and local Sixth Forms have been working with the museum team to bring to life this dynamic exhibition.
Choosing objects from the museum’s extensive fashion collection, the students explored 1960s boutique fashion alongside homemade garments encapsulating the free-spirited energy of the 1960s. Many of the garments featured in the exhibition represent innovative sartorial statements expressed during the 1960s era through bold garments made at home. This adventurous attitude to style is a theme that resonated with the students, aligning with their concerns around sustainability and making conscious fashion choices. The exhibition opens on Monday 16 February at Blandford Fashion Museum. Visit and be inspired in your fashion journey!
Pictured Left-Right: Katy England Fashioning Our Future Project Manager, Katie Godman-Sinclair Collections Manager at Blandford Fashion Museum, Jenny Mearns Fashioning Our Future Assistant.
We loved attending the preview of Youthquake:1960s at @blandford_fashion on Friday!
Part of the Fashioning Our Future project, the exhibition showcases 1960s boutique style and homemade garments selected and interpreted by students from Arts University Bournemouth & local Sixth Forms.
Opens today!
NEW EXHIBITION: John Piper in the South Country
Saturday March 7th - Saturday 6th June 2026
Join us for the first ever exhibition devoted to how Piper responded to the landscape and architecture of Wiltshire and Dorset, including Devizes- his favourite market town.
Two days to go! 🎉
Our new exhibition Un/Common People – Folk Culture in Wessex opens Saturday 7 Feb 2026.
Discover over 100 fascinating objects, plus film and photography celebrating Wessex’s living folk traditions.
Garfield weston foundation logo
Wiltshire Museum is delighted to announce that Garfield Weston Foundation has awarded us £300,000 towards creating a new home for the museum in the Devizes Assize Court.
Do you think that Devizes should be the Town of Culture? We are listed in this Guardian article. Thanks to Pam Thomas for the nomination.
www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...
Multiple angles of a gold disc with brown/amber centre
This #findsfriday we have a gold mounted amber pendant. It consists of a flat central disc of amber framed by a wide round border of thin gold.
Found with a primary cremation in Bell Barrow Wilsford G8 and excavated by William Cunnington.
Fun fact - the amber disc was polished on a lathe / wheel. Is there earlier evidence of the knowledge of rotary motion in England?
As an NPO, this funding commitment provides some stability for our partner museums and means that we can continue to focus on supporting our museums to connect, inspire and add value to people’s lives.
📸 Ash Mills.
Members of the Nepali Ladies Craft Group in Tidworth, working on a weaving project with Wiltshire Museum.
Wessex Museums welcomes the recent Department for Culture, Media and Sport announcement of £1.5 billion funding over five years for the cultural sector, including museums. The funding incorporates a 5% uplift to Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funding for 2026/7.
✨ Opening in just 4 days…
Step into the world of Un/Common People: Folk Culture in Wessex.
From historic folk art to contemporary voices, discover 100+ objects, stories, songs and films that reimagine what it means to be a “commoner” — and how folk culture continues to shape Wessex today.
Multiple angles view of Roman figurine head.Green in colour, faded face
This weeks on #findsfriday we have an incomplete Roman figurine, depicting the head and neck of a man, possibly Apollo, c. 43-410 AD. Found near Etchilhampton, Wiltshire.
See more of our collections here at: www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/search-the-c...
✨ Behind the Scenes Tour ✨
🗓 7 February 2026
⏰ 2:30pm
📍 The Salisbury Museum
Join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour and uncover hidden treasures, untold stories, and fascinating artefacts not normally on public display.
Members £15 | Non-Members £18
Find out more on the museum website!
Her majesty queen camilla holding a bouquet of blue and white flowers. Wearing a white coat with white hair
Last week we had the honour of HM The Queen visiting Wiltshire Museum to celebrate the success of the Assizes for Devizes Project. The exciting project has been made possible by the award of an £8.5m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
See if you can guess which one we are buying for our collections!
Some favourite things from our collections
