Spring is on the horizon and with it we hope will come some sunnier days. Whatever the weather though, we have a few events coming up this week and next that we you might like – so check out and see what’s happening at Bruce Castle….

Our monthly Reminiscence Café @ The Castle, a Curator’s pick gallery talk for Women’s History Month and our Munch & Listen for March (there’s still time to book your place) … click here for exhibitions, and scroll on for news and other events update at the end…

Reminiscence @ The Castle – Fancy a Cuppa?

• Tuesday 19 March, 2-4pm
• Free, all welcome. Refreshments included.

The British cuppa has always been an essential part of our lives, with Winston Churchill reputedly calling it ‘more important than ammunition’ during WW2. Had a shock? Cup of tea (with plenty of sugar). Having a break? Cup of tea (with plenty of biscuits). Family teatime? Pot of tea and sandwiches (cucumber or jam butty?). Tea for children, hard working parents and the old – always a comfort. And then there was the old doctor’s advice to conquer a virus – plenty of hot drinks. What better than tea? Do you remember an occasion where a nice cup of tea came to the rescue, or its importance when meeting up with friends or neighbours? Was there always a pot on the go in your family? When did teabags start to take over from tealeaves for you, and what do you prefer? Come for tea and biscuits and tell us your stories about tea. Coffee drinkers also welcome of course!

For any queries, please email [email protected]. For more of our reminiscence listings, check out our website here.

Curator’s Pick with Al Johnson: ‘Land of Laundries’

• Thursday 21 March, 2.30-3.30pm

Free, all welcome. Tickets available via Eventbrite.

Join sculptor Al Johnson as she discusses the inspiration for and making of ‘Land of Laundries’, which will be on display in Bruce Castle Museum’s Compton Gallery for the duration of Women’s History Month.

Al Johnson will talk you through the reminiscence workshops with older women at the Museum of the Home in London, and at Maerdy Women’s Guild in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales, that helped inform her work. The cleanliness of laundry was once seen as evidence of proficiency as a wife and mother for working-class women. ‘Land of Laundries’ suggests that, despite over a century of feminism, washing continues to be women’s work.

Please book your free ticket for this in-person talk via Eventbrite.

 

For any queries, please email [email protected]

 

Al Johnson: Home (aljohnsonsculptor.com)

 

The Two Williams Plus (a Munch & Listen Exhibition supplement)

• Monday 25 March, 12.15-1.30pm (doors open 12pm)

Free, all welcome. Booking required.

Accompanying our current exhibition ‘The Two Williams’, two Atkinson descendants – Ron Atkinson and Andy Thomas – will talk about these immensely talented men who lived and worked in Church Road, Tottenham, at the turn of the 20th Century.

Ron will provide further fascinating insights into the life and work of the world-renowned luthier, William Atkinson Senior, while Andy will look, in detail, at William Atkinson Junior’s young life and his immense contribution to local history through the medium of his many magnificent images of Edwardian Tottenham and surrounding area.

Doors open at 12pm for a 12.15pm start.

Please book your free ticket for this in-person talk at the Museum via Eventbrite.

For any queries, please email [email protected]. If tickets are sold out, then please email us and we can add you to our waiting list and advise you further on places available.

NB there will be no evening talk in March or April

Works @ The Castle

For those of you who have visited Bruce Castle recently, you will have seen that we have been very busy with all sorts of things including moving offices from the east wing to the west wing, amongst other works going on. These are the preparations for the exciting project that has been planned over the last couple of years to help us restore Bruce Castle’s East Wing and provide a new exhibition gallery. The works will start from early May until 2025 (Bruce Castle was awarded the MEND grant in March 2022).

Some areas of the building will not be open to the public during the works. You can keep up-to-date with the project once works have started by checking a special project page on our website as well as our regular mailings or by following us on social media.

Events and our services will still be happening but necessarily scaled down, with fewer exhibitions and events to accommodate the works.

Future date for your diary

On Sunday 5 May we are teaming up with other heritage buildings in this extraordinary historic area in and around Bruce Castle. Those confirmed as opening their doors and gates in the Bruce Castle Heritage Quarter Day include All Hallows Church, The Priory (gardens only), Tottenham Cemetery Chapels (with the Friends of Tottenham Cemetery), the Antwerp Arms and tours of Bruce Castle. Details of the programme will be added to our website soon.

LBoC comes to Haringey …

For those who haven’t heard the great news last week, Haringey is going to be the London Borough of Culture for 2027! Congratulations to all who helped us win – we look forward to being part of the journey for 2027. You can find out more here about how you can get involved.

Bruce Grove Station exhibits ..

If you haven’t been to Bruce Grove Station recently, you hopefully will be in for a little surprise …. not only has there been restoration works in The Waiting Room and accompanying Community Room, but the space has now been enhanced even more with the lovely artwork now on display. This work has been created by Year 4 from Mulberry Primary School as part of the Hi Culture project. Inspired by the historical collections and images from Bruce Castle Museum & Archive, the pupils enjoyed sessions back in January led by the Bruce Castle’s Education and Learning team, discovering more about the heritage of the High Road and Bruce Grove Station, dressing up and getting hands-on with their observational drawing and working with colour. The pupils did a lot of art and the school will get their own display set soon. Who knows? Maybe Mulberry Primary School as the first artists on display at the Station might inspire more of the same?

Thank you to Bruce Grove Station and Arriva for helping make this happen. And thanks to the Hi Culture Programme for supporting this opportunity.

And lastly, our Easter hours: