Object of the month: “Susan Foster – Weaver” sign
In our final celebration for Women’s History Month in March we installed a recent addition to the collection. We’re proud to display a beautiful local craftwork in our entryway. The beautifully illustrated ceramic sign measures 51x81cm and was a recognizable landmark for many of Kendal’s residents during its many years
Object of the month: Valentine card, Puzzle Purse
For February’s Object of the Month, we have decided to search our collections for love tokens inspired by Valentine’s Day. Let’s look back at one of the more popular traditions. The Valentine Puzzle Purse was a popular method of spreading messages of love and romance. The oldest known printed Valentine
Object of the month: Lost Species.
For November’s object of the month, we have decided to bring to light not just one artifact from our collection, but a whole group. On our social media, we have been posting about some of our extinct species specimens for Remembrance Day for Lost Species day on the 30th of
Object of the Month: Lithophone
Lithophone expert Mike Adcock visited the museum recently and gave these beautiful instruments a tune. About lithophones A lithophone looks like a xylophone but it is made out of stone, rather than wood. ‘Lithos’ meaning stone in Greek, and ‘phone’ being voice or sound. Kendal Museum has two of these
Object of the Month: Knitting Sticks
Our object of the month for the month of September is our collection of Knitting Sticks. These objects were used to speed up the knitting process, allowing for up to three or four needles to be used at once. They also enabled knitting to be done both standing and whilst
Object of the Month: Puff Adder
For this Object of the Month, we have chosen the Puff Adder! Puff Adders can be found in Africa, as well as the southern Arabian Peninsula (countries like Yemen and Oman). Their Latin name is ‘Bitis arietans’. Bitis is the name of the genus of vipers, and arietans means ‘striking
Object of the Month: John Gough
John Gough Bust In the corridor down to the Wildlife Gallery, Kendal museum has an imposing marble bust of the ‘Blind Philosopher’ of Wordsworth’s epic poem The Excursion. This handsome man was a Kendalian famous for his wide range of scientific interests. John Gough was born in 1757, the son
Object of the Month: Chatelaine
A Chatelaine is an ornament which was used by both men and women and usually fastened to a belt or pocket, with chains bearing hooks on which to hang small articles such as watches, keys, seals, writing tablets, scissors, and purses. The word chatelaine is derived from a word meaning the
Object of the Month: European Rabbit
Rabbits in Britain Rabbits live in large groups in underground burrow systems known as ‘warrens’. Female rabbits, called ‘does’ produce one litter of between three and seven babies called ‘kittens’ every month during the breeding season. Rabbits can be popular among predators such as stoats, buzzards, polecats and red foxes,
Object of the Month: Oil painting of James Fawcett
The man depicted in this oil painting was called James Fawcett. He was born in 1785 and became a police constable for Kirkland in 1820. He was a constable in the Kendal Borough Police force. He later became the Governor of the House of Correction in Kendal in 1824 and
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