Museum
The Burton Museum is always exploring its Collections to reveal interesting local stories.
New and upcoming displays include:
Ackland and Edwards: Two Together is a new temporary display in the Burton Museum looking at the lives of Judith Ackland and Mary Stella Edwards. The display focuses on the time they spent together at Bucks Mills Cabin.
Our Stories: Objects on the move is a project and display currently being co-curated alongside the Women First Project and North Devon Against Domestic Abuse. The Women First Project is a partnership between NDADA, Encompass Southwest and Mind, supporting females who are facing homelessness across Northern Devon, offering support, guidance, advocacy and peer support activities.
This intimate and uplifting display has been sponsored by an ASDA Community Grant.
Leather Trade in Bideford: This new display has been co-curated by the Way of the Wharves and the Burton Curatorial team. The display explores East-the-Water and Bideford’s trade ties to the River Torridge, the sea and local individuals working in the leather trade.
Museum Stories
A wedding, a teapot and women in the local glove-making industry
A Bideford wedding and a teapot In January 2023 a beautiful, early 20th-century, silver spirit teapot arrived at The Burton. Having left Bideford in the early 1920s, the teapot travelled on many adventures around the globe, finally arriving back in Bideford nearly 100 years later. Bride, groom and family on their wedding day [...]
Bideford Witch Trial: Prejudice and scapegoating in 17th century Devon
Bideford Witch Trial: Prejudice and scapegoating in 17th century Devon Individuals or groups can often be singled out by their communities and labelled because they don’t fit in. Known as “othering”, this often influences how people look at or treat, those who are seen as different or not behaving as expected. Negative characteristics, perhaps [...]
A Folk Art Tradition
Intro This folk art exhibition explores the theme of ‘Folk’ art found in the Burton Art Gallery and Museum’s ceramic collections. Running alongside “The Folk Archive” in gallery’s 1 & 2 by Turner prize winner Jeremy Deller & Alan Kane. The exhibition focuses on items that are associated with tradition, celebration, humour [...]
The North Devon Ceramics Trade and the American Connection
Replica Elizabethan ships at Jamestown, Virginia Intro The story of pottery production and trade with America is a tale of being in the right place at the right time; hard work; access to resources; skills and entrepreneurship; adventure; travel by ship; new lives in foreign land and profit. Through telling this story we can [...]
