It’s Volunteers Week! As Whitehall’s reopening draws ever nearer we’re looking to expand our community of volunteers! Now is the perfect time to get involved at this beautiful historic building and join our brilliant team of volunteers. Our volunteers have a vital role to play by providing a warm welcome, delivering memorable, enjoyable tours and offering excellent… Continue reading Share, Learn, Volunteer!
LDSCL: T.00229 Mitcham and Cheam Brewery Ltd beer bottle, between 1898-1912 In Whitehall’s opening month, our June object focuses on a Mitcham and Cheam Brewery Ltd. glass beer bottle, an item from the final chapter of the brewing industry’s important history in Cheam. Cheam’s brewery was an active part of village life for over two… Continue reading Object of the Month: June
LDSCL : 1994.15.1 & 1994.15.2 Christening robe and satin coatee, 1935 There are historical records which suggest that christening gowns have been used since the earliest years of the Christian church. The gown has gone through many forms and fashions, from a basic swaddling cloth, a bearing cloth (a large square of decorated silk) through… Continue reading Object of the month: May
LDSCL: X. 397 Decorative wallpaper found at Whitehall Historic House, c. 1740 In 1975 two fragments of 18th-century wallpaper were found at Whitehall Historic House during the restoration of the house a few years before it was opened to the public. This piece is decorated with an elaborate green leaf pattern, which was hand-crafted. It… Continue reading Object of the Month: March
February’s Object of the Month is an early 20th-century black grosgrain handbag. The bag belonged to Rose Ellen Johnson (nee Rogers) 1861 – 1928, of Carshalton. Rose Johnson married Percy Harcourt Johnson, a coal merchant, at St Andrews Church, Bethnal Green on 1 December 1884. She had four children Samuel Herbert (b. 17.1.1885), Edith… Continue reading Object of the Month: February
Our inspiration this month is ways to keep warm during the cold season. Before inventions such as central heating and double glazing we had to find alternative ways to keep warm and, with this in mind, our January display focuses on two practical items in our collection: a wool cape dating from the 1920s and… Continue reading January Object(s) of the Month: winter warmers
Our object of the month for Christmas is a December edition of Woman magazine which was published in 1939, only a few months after the outbreak of the 2nd World War. The Christmas of 1939 was unlike others that had gone before and with people unsure how to respond to the festive period during wartime,… Continue reading December Object of the Month
