The Friends of Braintree District Museum is a
registered charity which supports the work of the Museum
financially, by supplying volunteers to assist when needed and in
any other ways required.
Benefits of Membership are as follows:
- Invitations to private viewings.
- The Friends’ magazine ‘Chronicles’ is published twice yearly
in May and November and contains articles and pictures, either
relating to the Braintree District specifically or to wider topics
of a historical nature that themselves have a relevance to museum
activities (e.g. museums elsewhere). There are also programmes of
forthcoming talks arranged by the Friends, and of events and
exhibitions taking place either at the Museum or at the Warner
Archive premises.
For most of our magazine we rely heavily on contributions from
local people who are able to supply long-forgotten documents and
family reminiscences, some of which have lain for years in dusty
corners. We cannot praise too highly those of our readers who come
up with these gems relating to the District’s history, and we would
urge people who think that they may have such treasures to search
diligently for them and to write about them to our editor, Mr Chris
Thompson, at ‘Flanders House’ 222 Panfield Lane, Braintree CM7 5RJ
or to email him on ceejaythom@yahoo.co.uk
For those not yet members of the Friends, copies of ‘Chronicles’
can be bought from the Museum Shop at a price of 50p.
The November 2011 issue of ‘Chronicles’ contains articles on the
old north-Essex craft of straw plaiting by its editor; ‘The Skyline
of Braintree’ by local historian and writer Mike Bardell; the
long-demolished Straits Mill by Friends’ member Stewart Seymour;
and extracts from the Borough booklet of Braintree published just
before World War One.
- The Friends have their own film unit -"Timeframe" -
which produces films on local topics. Each February there is a film
evening when the latest films are shown. The DVDs are for sale in
the Museum Shop.
- Talks are held on the evenings of the first Thursdays of
March, April, September and October. The subjects of the talks are
generally linked to the local area.
- Visits to places of interest, other museums and
exhibitions are arranged throughout the year.
- Friends enjoy unlimited free entry to the Museum!
Becoming a Member:
To join the Friends, please obtain an Application Form
from the Museum Shop, or request one by Telephone on 01376
328868.
Annual Subscriptions:
Senior Citizens/Students: £7
Adults: £12
Families: £18
The Friends visit many places of historical interest
throughout the year, and play a large role in promoting the Museum
in the local area:
