Friends of Chippenham Museum

02/11/2026

Should anyone be interested in Christmas events in the local area...

01/11/2026

Join textile artist Janice Botterill for an afternoon of festive creative stitching. Using simple embroidery and darning techniques, transform re-purposed fabrics and threads into folk-art inspired decorations and gift tags. All materials are included. You may also wish to bring personal fabrics to include in your patches.

📅 Saturday 12 December
🕒 2pm - 4pm
🎟️ £22, booking essential

Book your tickets here 👉 bit.ly/FabricDecorationsWorkshop

No prior experience is required, so everyone is welcome to get creative and try something new. Suitable for ages 16 and over.

Please note that bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable.

28/10/2026

Discover the tactile joy of traditional printing in a relaxed setting and create a bespoke tote bag and zip-up pouch with local artist Dani Creed. Dani will provide step-by-step guidance on professional techniques, from mixing inks to hand-printing and creating repeat patterns. A chance to learn something new while making a handmade Christmas gift or simply enjoying some creative time.

📅 Thursday 26 November
🕒 7pm - 9pm
🎟️ £30, booking essential

Book your tickets here 👉 bit.ly/FabricPrintmakingWorkshop

All materials are included. No prior experience is required, so everyone is welcome to get creative and try something new. Suitable for ages 16 and over.

Please note that bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable.

19/10/2026

The Chair of the Friends of Chippenham Museum, Ray Alder, was delighted to share plans for an exciting new public sculpture with Chippenham MP Sarah Gibson at the recent Chippenham Chamber and Town Team Business Breakfast, hosted by Wiltshire College & University Centre.

The project, being developed in partnership with the Chippenham Civic Society, aims to create a distinctive new piece of public art for the town. It was a valuable opportunity to discuss the vision for the sculpture and the positive contribution it will make to Chippenham's public spaces and cultural heritage.

To find out more about the project, visit: https://www.chippenhamcivicsociety.co.uk/public-art-for-chippenham/

16/10/2026

In our final Collection Conversation of 2026, we will be joined by Ellie Thompson and Sam Heath.

Ellie Thompson is an artist practising in the South West. Thompson’s interest in schadenfreude, anatomy and a cartoonish sense of humour informs each of her soft sculptures. Her puppet-like characters are at once extinct and alive, forever stuck in a sticky situation. Though motionless, Thompson’s skeletons are animated by their all-seeing yet unknowing eyes.

Sam Heath studied at Camberwell College of Arts and Cardiff School of Art and Design. Following a three-year residency at Leighton Park School in Reading, he has continued to teach drawing and printmaking in schools and colleges, alongside exhibiting and curating shows in London and the South West. Regular drawing from life is an essential activity that informs Heath’s practice. He repeatedly depicts the same familiar subjects, particularly his immediate family and friends.

📅 Saturday 14 November
🕒 2.00pm - 3.30pm
🎟️ Free, booking essential

Book your tickets here 👉 bit.ly/NovemberTalkTickets

Left image: My Finest Hour, 2024, Ellie Thompson, felt fabric and wire
Right image: Sophie at The Three Crowns, 2017, Sam Heath, monotype

11/10/2026

Make a visit to this interesting exhibition and see what new items have been donated into the collection. What have you got in the cupboards that would strengthen the museum’s archives of local social history?

What can a camera, a ration book and a prize certificate tell us about one Chippenham family?

This display in our new exhibition features recently gifted items belonging to photographer Sydney Porter and his family. Alongside photographs documenting local events, such as Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations in Chippenham, are personal objects that offer a glimpse into everyday life.

Together, these photographs and personal belongings reveal the lives of the Porter family across more than a century. From Sydney's career as a photographer to his son Arthur's work behind the camera, and from Elsie's wartime identity card to her First Prize certificate for strawberry jam in 1949, the objects on display tell a remarkable story of work, family life and photography in Chippenham.

Visit the museum to explore the exhibition and discover more about the people behind the photographs.

👉 What's in Store
📅 Closes Saturday 21 November
🕒 Monday-Saturday, 10am-4pm
🎟️ Free entry

08/10/2026

EXHIBITION NEWS - Sponsor a Print 🖼️

You can help support the work of Chippenham Museum by sponsoring a print in our upcoming exhibition, 'Jack Shirreff and the 107 Workshop', running from Saturday 6 March to Saturday 5 June 2027.

This exciting exhibition will celebrate the work of Master Printer Jack Shirreff, whose print studio, 107 Workshop, worked with some of the biggest names in modern post-war British art, including Howard Hodgkin, Gillian Ayres and Joe Tilson.

The exhibition will be an opportunity for Chippenham Museum to display several works produced at 107 Workshop, which were recently donated to the collection.

Your contribution will go towards supporting the exhibition, including the specialist conservation framing of these large-scale prints, allowing them to be displayed for the very first time.

In recognition of your support, sponsors will be acknowledged in the exhibition’s acknowledgement panel and receive an invitation to a special private view event.

Sponsorship starts from as little as £25. We also welcome support for the wider exhibition, or you can sponsor one of a number of prints.

For more information or to make an online donation, follow the link 🔗 bit.ly/PrintSponsorship

Donations can also be made in person at Chippenham Museum by cash, cheque or card.

🎨 Lobster, 1982, Michael Heindorff, etching with carborundum

07/10/2026

EVENT UPDATE - This event is now sold out. Please note that we are not running a waiting list for this event.

---------------------------

Design, carve and hand-print your very own collection of linocut Christmas cards with printmaker Claire Selman. All materials are included. As printing can be a messy process, we advise you to bring an apron or wear suitable clothes.

📅 Thursday 12 November
🕒 7pm - 9pm
🎟️ £22, booking essential

Book your tickets here 👉 bit.ly/LinocutCardWorkshop

No prior experience is required, so everyone is welcome to get creative and try something new. Suitable for ages 16 and over.

Please note that bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable.

03/10/2026

As is custom, the Friends gathered for the Annual General Meeting this week and happily had a quorum of our membership to hear about the year past and look ahead to the future. Committee members agreed for the 2026/2027 year, including welcoming new applicants to the committee.
The meeting then transferred into our regular Heritage Cafe with Dave Maloney giving an update on the progress of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust works at Pewsham Locks.
Lovely to see so many faces keen to support us and Chippenham Museum.