Vikings! Half Term Activities
In 991 AD a Viking army in 93 longships landed at Folkestone, before sailing north to what would become the Battle of Maldon! Join us for a week of Viking-themed children's activities for half term.
Find out about Viking life and enjoy some quiet, Viking themed, colouring in.
Craft activities are suitable for 4-11 year old's, younger visitors can also take part but they will need help.
There are two sessions, 11am-12.45pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm, held in the Museum's learning space on the lower ground floor. The workshops are free (modest donation for materials welcome) and no booking is necessary, but we may restrict numbers, if busy, for everyone's comfort and safety.
For further details email museum@folkestone-tc.gov.uk, ask at the Town Hall Information Desk or call 01303 257946 during normal office hours.
Vikings! Half Term Activities
In 991 AD a Viking army in 93 longships landed at Folkestone, before sailing north to what would become the Battle of Maldon! Join us for a week of Viking-themed children's activities for half term.
Find out about Viking life, make a Viking helmet and shield, design a longship or create a Thor’s hammer pendant out of clay.
Craft activities are suitable for 4-11 year old's, younger visitors can also take part but they will need help.
There are two sessions, 11am-12.45pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm, held in the Museum's learning space on the lower ground floor. The workshops are free (modest donation for materials welcome) and no booking is necessary, but we may restrict numbers, if busy, for everyone's comfort and safety.
For further details email museum@folkestone-tc.gov.uk, ask at the Town Hall Information Desk or call 01303 257946 during normal office hours.
Eanswythe and the Anglo-Saxons
Folkestone Museum and St Mary’s & St Eanswythe’s Church jointly present ‘Eanswythe and the Anglo-Saxons’ on the 11th & 12th September.
This weekend, which we hope to become an annual event, is a celebration of Folkestone’s Anglo-Saxon (410-1066AD) heritage, including its patron Saint St Eanswythe. The event is timed to coincide with St Eanswythe’s feast day, which falls on the 12th September every year. St Eanswythe is one of England’s earliest indigenous saints, a member of the Kentish Royal Dynasty, who helped introduce Christianity into the country by welcoming the Augustinian mission in the 5th Century. Eanswythe herself, born some forty years later was to figure in the establishment of Folkestone’ Anglo-Saxon minster and her remains, exceptionally, have stayed in the church dedicated to her, surviving Henry VIII’s Reformation and the break from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s.
Saturday 12th September
This is the focus for the historical aspects of the event, which will take place in both the Museum and St Mary’s & St Eanswythe’s Church. The locations and times are as follows (subject to availability):
11.00 (Church) Welcome by Father John Walker
From 11.00 (Museum) Anglo-Saxon storytelling and craft activities
11.15 (Church) Coffee and cake
11.30 (Church) Father John Walker – ‘St Eanswythe’s meditation practices’
12.15 (Church) Craft stalls
Re-enactment by local groups taking place through the day in and around the Museum and Church
15.00 (Museum) Dr Andrew Richardson - ‘St Eanswythe and Kentish Royal Burials’*
19:00 (Church) Lunatraktors (click to follow link) ‘broken folk’ concert**
*This is a pay to enter lecture with tickets a £5.00 per person, please go to the Folkestone Museum Billetto webpage (click to follow link)
**The Lunatrakors concert is free but donations will be gratefully accepted
Sunday 12th September – St Eanswythe’s Day
A solemn Eucharist for St Eanswythe Day followed by coffee, wine and cake, given by Father John Walker in St Mary’s & St Eanswythe’s Church at 10.30am
This webpage will be kept up-to-date with any changes to the programme. For any other details please enquire at Folkestone Town Hall, St Mary’s & St Eanswythe’s Church or call 01303 257946.
Exhibition - Reverend David Railton M.C.
The Friends of St Mary’s and St Eanswythe’s and Folkestone Museum are proud to present ‘Reverend David Railton M.C.’ This moving exhibition is available to visit at Folkestone Museum from the 17th October 2020 and reflects on Railton's experiences of the First World War which lead to his idea for the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
The iconic image of the Tomb has been recreated, with the permission of Westminster Abbey and will be on display at Folkestone Museum, along with a recording of some of his private letters, courtesy of his family and a film on loan from the Imperial War Museum.
Please note:
The Museum is running reduced opening hours, the current opening hours are:
Thursday - Saturday
10.00 - 16.00 (last entry 15.00)
In busy periods we may ask you to book a time slot to ensure we can maintain social
distancing throughout the museum.
Please wear a face mask or face covering, there will be hand sanitisers for the maintenance of hygiene. To aid social distancing and to ensure people will feel safe visiting us, we have implemented a one-way system around the museum.
FotoFolkes
FotoFolkes is a community project aimed at celebrating local diversity and raising awareness of South Kent Mind’s presence in the area. The local community has been invited to send in their photos, which have been published on Instagram and now are proudly on display at Folkestone Museum. The project, funded by Live Well Kent, began before the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown but has since become more significant, giving an insight into people’s experiences of social isolation and what has since become the new ‘normal’. These images provoke a real sense of community in the current loneliness epidemic the UK is currently facing. Around 1.2 million older people are believed to be struggling with severe loneliness and chronic isolation, so it is hoped that this project can benefit individuals mental state as they are more likely to reach out and feel less alone.
Fintastic Fish Crafting
Our crafting sessions are back! Take the plunge and join our 'fintastic' fishy crafting sessions here at the Museum. You will be schooled on how to make a 'sofishticated' fish mobile, a simple craft suitable for all ages. All materials will be provided, and children can take home what they make.
This is a free crafting event, each table can seat up to 6 members of the same bubble, only 1 ticket needs to be reserved to book a table and we ask that you arrive promptly for your start time as we may not be able to guarantee your place if you turn up late. We ask that children are accompanied by an adult at all times and that adults and children aged 12+ please wear a face mask or face covering, there will be hand sanitisers available for the maintenance of hygiene. To aid social distancing and to ensure people will feel safe visiting us, we have implemented a one-way system around the museum and 15-minute intervals between craft bookings. The NHS Track and Trace system is in place on entry to the Town Hall.
To reserve your ticket please click here
Talk: Eanswythe Found
Eanswyth Found? Is a talk by Dr Andrew Richardson FSA of Canterbury Archaeological Trust - a specialist in the archaeology of the kingdom of Kent. Andrew wrote the method statement that helped secure the Faculty and is project managing the analysis of the relics for the Finding Eanswythe project.
Andrew is a specialist on metal small finds of all periods, he has considerable experience and a passion for community archaeology and in engaging people with the past and was a key figure in the excavations on the Roman villa at East Wear Bay ‘A Town Unearthed’.
Tickets are £5 per person, please click here to book