Come and discover the story of Dereham's Past
Dereham Heritage Trust
Welcome to all our members, volunteers and supporters
MUSEUM We are very sorry to have to report that we are unable to open the Museum to visitors this year. Essential maintenance work by the Town Council has been delayed to July and August, leaving no time for us to mount our displays before September. This is always our final month of opening because of the damp condition of the building once autumn comes along, so we cannot justify all the work involved in mounting displays only to take them down again within a few short weeks and with very few visitors. We hope for a 'normal' year in 2022 - opening at the start of May.
LECTURES Until at least July, we are not meeting together in our usual venue, but we are arranging on line talks for our members and visitors. We are hoping to restart talks under normal arrangements as from August, but please check before attending - see the Talks page for more details.
Updated 11 June 2021
Please see the Museum Opening Times link for details
LECTURES Until at least July, we are not meeting together in our usual venue, but we are arranging on line talks for our members and visitors. We are hoping to restart talks under normal arrangements as from August, but please check before attending - see the Talks page for more details.
Updated 11 June 2021
Please see the Museum Opening Times link for details
Find out more about Bishop Bonner's Cottage Museum of local history - and the group of volunteers who run it from the Dereham Heritage Trust.
At the AGM in February 2019 the Dereham Antiquarian Society decided to change its name to the Dereham Heritage Trust. This was to give the organisation a more up to date image relevant to the world in which we now live, while also acknowledging that the conservation of the town’s heritage, in all its forms, is a key part of our activities.
Would you like to help us keep the museum open?
We urgently need more volunteers to help us preserve and interpret the town's heritage, if you are interested please email
ken-hawkins@tiscali.co.uk .
Please come and join us, membership of the Trust is open to all.
For further information, please choose from the menu on the left-hand side, or above if you are using a mobile phone.
At the AGM in February 2019 the Dereham Antiquarian Society decided to change its name to the Dereham Heritage Trust. This was to give the organisation a more up to date image relevant to the world in which we now live, while also acknowledging that the conservation of the town’s heritage, in all its forms, is a key part of our activities.
Would you like to help us keep the museum open?
We urgently need more volunteers to help us preserve and interpret the town's heritage, if you are interested please email
ken-hawkins@tiscali.co.uk .
Please come and join us, membership of the Trust is open to all.
For further information, please choose from the menu on the left-hand side, or above if you are using a mobile phone.
Our next talk - The small-holding movement - A social and agricultural experiment - given by Susanna Wade Martins -
See the talk at a time of your choosing, then join in with a live discussion on Wednesday 11th August at 7.30pm.
'Back to the land' has long been seen as an answer to all our ills, but for a short time in the early 1900s it was accepted as government policy and small-holdings were seen as a way to provide for 1st World War veterans and the unemployed as well as a first step on the ladder for farm workers to become independent farmers themselves. This lecture will look at the life of the smallholder in the interwar years and consider how far these aims were met.
The talk is free to members of Dereham Heritage Trust. Non members
can view the talk on payment of £3. For details and payment, contact
Ken Hawkins at ken-hawkins@tiscali.co.uk
See the talk at a time of your choosing, then join in with a live discussion on Wednesday 11th August at 7.30pm.
'Back to the land' has long been seen as an answer to all our ills, but for a short time in the early 1900s it was accepted as government policy and small-holdings were seen as a way to provide for 1st World War veterans and the unemployed as well as a first step on the ladder for farm workers to become independent farmers themselves. This lecture will look at the life of the smallholder in the interwar years and consider how far these aims were met.
The talk is free to members of Dereham Heritage Trust. Non members
can view the talk on payment of £3. For details and payment, contact
Ken Hawkins at ken-hawkins@tiscali.co.uk
"Pretty, quiet Dereham, thou pattern of an English town".
Quotation from Lavengro by George Borrow, one of Dereham's famous sons, born in 1803.
Quotation from Lavengro by George Borrow, one of Dereham's famous sons, born in 1803.
