Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers will be on tour in the UK in May 2012, with their full concert of powerful taiko rhythms, huge drums, striking choreography and atmospheric percussion, presented in a dramatic & theatrical stage show.

Last year they thrilled the 40,000-strong audience at London’s Proms in the Park, as well as pushing the boundaries with a collaboration with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra at the London Jazz Festival. Their 40-date autumn 2011 concert tour concluded with a standing ovation at the prestigious Edinburgh Usher Halls.

This spring’s tour sees the return of special guest, New York based flautist and shinobue player Nobuko Miyazaki who made such a big impact on the group’s autumn UK tour last year.

The year 2012 is an important one for the group, as the two founders of the group, Neil Mackie & Miyuki Williams celebrate 20 years since first travelling to Japan & starting on their Taiko path. The group will also be performing in Japan in July at the Extasia Festival, and are hugely honoured to be able to represent European Taiko at the foremost Taiko festival.

www.taiko.co.uk

Sunday 20th May 2012

Key Theatre

7.30 pm

01733 207 239

Ticket prices: £18 / £14 / £10 U18′s / £13.50 KEY.IP / £46 Family

www.peterboroughkeytheatre.co.uk

FOR AS LITTLE as £10, you can be a part of history in the making at Flag Fen. But time is ticking on the opportunity for you to be involved with this unique and amazing opportunity: the project funding window closes on 30th May, 2012.

Visit www.digventures.com now for more information on how you can get involved!

DIG IN AT FLAG FEN

Peterborough has one of the most significant prehistoric sites in the world at Flag Fen, but 95 per cent of it remains unexplored. RICHARD GUNN meets Lisa Westcott Wilkins and Raksha Dave, of DigVentures, who aim to change that this summer during Flag Fen Lives

Something big is happening to Flag Fen over July and August. Something big and involving digging. Something big, involving digging AND the people of Peterborough who, for the first time ever, will have the opportunity to get down and dirty alongside professional archaeologists to uncover the unknown at this major Bronze Age site.

This fantastic event is Flag Fen Lives, Europe’s first ever crowd-funded and crowd-sourced archaeological excavation, and the result of a partnership between DigVentures – an organisation dedicated to building audiences for such projects worldwide and making them more accessible to the public – and Vivacity, the charitable trust that runs Peterborough’s culture and leisure services. Running from July 23 to August 12, some of the best wetlands archaeologists around will be on site to guide the dig, including Ben Roberts from the British Museum and Raksha Dave from Time Team. Plus, some of Raksha’s TV colleagues also plan to join her, as Time Team itself will be making a special programme on the dig, although Tony Robinson – who so memorably re-opened Peterborough Museum back at the end of March – has yet to confirm whether he’ll be able to make it. But other well-known faces from Channel 4’s popular practical heritage show will be there.

It’s about inviting the world to come and dig alongside us on this amazing site

…says Lisa Westcott Wilkins, the enthusiastic managing director of DigVentures.

This is the first project we’re working on; it’s an incredible opportunity, a once in a lifetime chance. This site is internationally important in so many different ways and we’re just relishing the opportunity to come here this summer.

Once the opportunity to be one of the members of the public working alongside the professionals on site has closed, any day visitors to Flag Fen will be very welcome to come along and observe, up close, within a metre or so of the trenches.

We will be happy if there’s a line of people waiting to peek over our shoulders when we open the holes

…says Lisa of what will be the first major excavation at the location in over a decade. And it’s an important one too, for Flag Fen – the site of a raised wooden causeway dating back to about 1000BC, surrounded by artefacts from that era – is unlikely to exist in 20 years’ time in its current form. “The site is waterlogged,” explains Raksha. This helps preserve the timbers, but “that is changing because of environmental change and drainage, so what’s happening is that those amazing waterlogged timbers are slowly drying out and desiccating. What we need to do is establish what is actually here; we’re going to assess what the state of the timbers is, where they are and that will then inform us on how we’re going to excavate them over the years to come.”

The plan is for the DigVentures team to return in the future to continue their investigations, so for anybody who has missed out in getting directly involved this year, why not pop along to see how it’s all done and then get your hands dirty next year?

SPECTACULAR FINDS

As to what sort of things are likely to be uncovered, “well, how long is a piece of string?” laughs Raksha. “We’re fairly certain that whatever we find is going to be spectacular,” clarifies Lisa. “Most of the things you can see in the Flag Fen museum here are amazing in their own right, such as the oldest wheel in England and the shears, and everything that you find here is really unique because of how well it is preserved. So, for archaeologists, picking up a Bronze Age sword that still has either a wooden haft or a leather sheath is a pretty major experience.” Raksha is obviously looking forward to any such finds. “It’s very rare, I’ve never found anything like that and I’ve been in archaeology for over 15 years.”

The timespan of items potentially waiting to be discovered also makes Flag Fen stand out, as activity on the site stretches as far back as Neolithic times and the Romans also left their mark on the landscape by building a road through it. “It’s trying to put the jigsaw puzzles together, marry that information up and try and get as much as a human story as we can,” says Raksha. With only about five per cent of the site excavated and real evidence of any community that lived at Flag Fen still to be uncovered, there’s enormous potential for some amazing things to be revealed after thousands of years unseen.

For Peterborough, this is a big deal, It would be a big deal anywhere, but potentially it has the kind of international reach that could rival the Stonehenge landscape and the way that people visit Avebury. What we have here is a landscape on a similar profile. It’s our job to share that with people. This is something for them to be proud of, it a part of Peterborough’s identity, something that only this community has.

…believes Lisa.

Flag Fen’s link with Must Farm just a few miles away, where a flotilla of ten Bronze Age logboats was recently discovered, gives it even greater prominence.

I cannot say enough about how important this site is in understanding this time period.

And if it comes as something of a surprise to any Peterborian about how significant a place Flag Fen actually is, Raksha is keen to put it into perspective.

If you mention Flag Fen to any archaeologist, everybody gets giddy and very excited about it. Why does that not transfer into the wider public?

Alongside the digging, there will be plenty of activities for day visitors to take part in, such as Bronze Age metalworking, flint-knapping and a family tent where children will be able to do their own ‘excavations’. “And we need people from Peterborough to come along and ask us questions,” says Lisa.

We want to be able to tell the stories that mean something to people who live in the area. We might inspire somebody from Peterborough to become an archaeologist.

Plus there will be the chance to meet arguably the most important and essential member of the DigVentures team, Fergus, the world’s finest archaeological dog. He’ll be combining his natural ability to sniff things out and dig things up with his very own webcam broadcasts from site. Now, there’s something that not even Time Team can boast!

To find out more about DigVentures and all its exciting summer plans at Flag Fen, see www.digventures.com or follow @TheDigVenturers on Twitter. Details on Flag Fen can be found at www.vivacity-peterborough.com/museums-and-heritage/flag-fen/

This is part of The Stamford Shakespeare Company’s annual season of plays in June, July and August at the Rutland Open Air Theatre in the grounds of historic Tolethorpe Hall just off the A1, two miles north of Stamford..

A stage set in a truly enchanting glade, a company of fine amateur actors, stunning sets and gorgeous costumes, the magic of Tolethorpe begins the moment you take your seat on a warm summer evening in what is widely recognised as one of Europe’s finest open air theatres.

Don’t worry, you’ll be comfortably seated and protected from occasional summer showers, beneath a permanent all-weather canopy. It’s the perfect setting to enjoy the works of the world’s greatest playwright. Enjoy all the comfort of an indoor theatre with the charm of an open air setting.

Enjoy a picnic on the extensive lawn before hand or opt for a pre-performance meal in one of the two elegant restaurant rooms in the historic hall.

Twelfth Night is widely regarded as Shakespeare’s finest comedy is a merry tale of unrequited love, shipwrecked twins, mistaken identity and drunken revels. The comical love triangle of Olivia. Orsino and Viola who is disguised as a boy, is further complicated by the arrival of her twin brother Sebastian. In addition, the hilarious antics of the roguish drunkard, Sir Toby Belch, the foppish fool Sir Andrew Aguecheek and the sanctimonious puritan Malvolio, will amuse, delight and entertain.

The full schedule of performance dates for 2012 can be found here.

Tickets:

£12.50 (Monday/Thursday),

£15 (Friday), £18 (Saturday)

£10 (Preview Nights – 4 & 5 June, 12 & 13 June, 3 & 4 July).

Matinée – Adult £12, Child £7

Find out more and book -
www.stamfordshakespeare.co.uk

Stamford Arts Centre box office 01780 763202
www.stamfordartscentre.com

Time(s): 19:45 – 23:00
Location: Tolethorpe Hall Theatre,
Tolethorpe Hall, Little Casterton,
PE9 4BH
Stamford

Kicking off proceedings at 5pm on Saturday 14 July will be Oundle Rocks, a showcase of talented young local bands, followed by fabulous world music act Grupo Lokito. This ground-breaking band, a great hit on the music festival circuit, offers an exciting fusion of Cuban and Congolese music featuring salsa and rumba beats. Listening to them is a fast track to party central; their non-stop beat is guaranteed to get even the most reluctant dancer tapping their toes!

World-famous ABBA act Björn Again will then take to the stage to wow the crowds with their performance of some of the greatest hits of ABBA such as ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Money Money Money’. The legendary ABBA show, founded in Australia in 1988, has now notched up more than 50,000 performances in 70 countries. Prepare to dance the night away as Björn Again rocks Oundle’s Heron Rogers Field (situated between Benefield Road and Glapthorn Road).

Make an evening of it by bringing your own picnic, drinks, chairs and tables or purchase snacks, beer and wine from our range of on-site sellers. Hog roast, locally-brewed ales, traditional ice-cream and much more will make for a mouth-watering selection of refreshments. Free parking is available adjacent to the site and the evening will culminate in a spectacular firework display.

 We’re delighted to have secured Björn Again to headline Picnic in the Park this year

says Susan Lansdale, Director of Oundle Music Trust.

It’s a real coup for Oundle International Festival and indicative of our standing on the festival scene. We may be small but we can punch above our weight and bring in big names with the best of them! Saturday 14 July promises to be a night to remember full of fun, laughter and dancing. We’re expecting the volume of interest to be huge this year, so make sure to book your tickets on 24 March. We look forward to seeing you there!

Tickets for this unmissable event go on sale from 10am on Saturday 24 March via Oundle Box Office, 4 New Street, Oundle.

Tel: 01832 274734 or online at www.oundlefestival.org.uk. A limited number of allocated canopy sites will also be available to purchase from this date. Friends of the Festival have access to advance booking from 10am on Monday 19 March.

For more information regarding becoming a Friend of Oundle Music Trust please visit www.oundlefestival.org.uk

IT PROMISES to be a weekend full of highly-rated and promising upcoming acts for all to enjoy. The festival will run over 3 days, with some 120 bands taking to the stage. Festival promoter Mark Ringer, and a team of enthusiastic helpers, have spent many man-hours with organisation, promotion and everything else that goes into making a festival of this size work.

To complement the festival, a week before it all kicks off, there will be a night of live music showcasing a taste of what’s on offer at the festival. This event has been arranged to whet the appetite of those interested in the bands on offer at the festival itself.
Four bands have been confirmed for this night, which will be held at The Boro Bar, on Oundle Road on Friday 18th May. The bands appearing will include local upbeat indie rock trio ‘The Deuce Coupe’, Peterborough own dance/rap metal pioneers ‘Cameltoe’, indie dancesters ‘From The Sticks’ and local grunge 4 piece ‘Our Glorious Demonic Heist’. The event will be free entry and doors will open at 7:30pm.

The Deuce Coupe have been performing together for around 18 months, and in that time have had many a string of successful gigs at clubs and festivals all over the country. Originally called ‘Destroy All Humans’, the band was formed from the remnants of two Peterborough acts, namely ‘Aunt Spiker’ and ‘This Interview’. Deciding to change their name came midway through the bands short lifespan.

With a common interest in Weezer, the bands material is strongly influenced by a host of guitar-based rock and indie bands. Originally jamming some of the old ‘Aunt Spiker’ material the band have now gone on to form their own unique sound, with catchy upbeat songs that are instantly memorable. Strong distorted guitar and fuzzed up bass is a common theme with the bands heavier material, although they also have the ability to chill out and slow down occasionally. The band has a diverse range of songs that make any live appearance a not to missed performance.

Now an accomplished and well-travelled live act these guys come highly recommended. The band has recorded a 2 track demo CD, and is also midway through recording their first album, which is scheduled for release in the summer.

Formed in May 2011, ‘From the Sticks’ have quickly stamped their authority on the local indie scene. How the band came to be: Ricky Butcher (Vocals) was attending an open mic night at his local pub, it was only down to pure circumstance that Adam Mansfield (Drummer) was doing the sound for it, Ricky played some of his songs with good reception and was followed up by Tom Ellingworth (Guitarist) who then did an awesome instrumental set of his own. Adam then asked Ricky if he would like to try jamming some of the songs he had written also inviting Tom along, the music clicked straight away and although Ricky was writing the songs first on acoustic, Tom and Adam really brought something to the table, something that was finally topped off when they brought in Nick Thompson-Bell (Bass) who really did his part too, as he puts it ‘funk it up’. Every member of the band has a VERY varied music taste, they pretty much love all genres, at the end of the day, the boys love their music and they love to play, giving it everything at every show.

Their stage name alone could lull many into a false sense of ridiculous. But in the musical pathway to sublime, Cameltoe mark the fine line between satire and accomplishment. Burlesque to the end, they turn the importance of image quite literally on its black, stocking clad head with style that’ Rage Against The Machine’ would die for. It takes guts and intellect to stand on the outside of anything and then parody all that is within, but such a feat is always more effective when done well. To this end, Cameltoe are superb musicians who create a competent heavy metal core for the opportune interjection of everything from disco through funk to rap. The lyrics fall along the laughter lines of

I don’t want a fucking salad, gimme a kebab!

but then, anything less pastiche would be a total disappointment. ‘A great band’ to quote a local critique.
Lastly but certainly not least, Our Glorious Demonic Heist are a Cambridgeshire-based four-piece collective with a unique mix of light-and-shade, whisper-to-a-roar dynamics. Rather than conform to a particular style or genre, OGDH channel their influences to their own distinctive ends. Harmonising or heavy, the song is always at the fore. Personnel are: Jimmy Doherty (guitar ,vocals), Jacs Harris (bass, vocals), Alan Seeley (guitars), James Pepper (drums, vocals); rocking since 2010.

‘The Willow Festival Warm up’ certainly promises to be a night of sublime entertainment. If you have any intention of showing your face at the festival, make sure you check out the warm up the week before.

Tickets are available here or by calling 01775 768661 and cost £14 for an adult, £6 for a child (5-15) or £35 for a family (2 adults + 2 children).

Find out more

www.peterborougharena.com/events/truckfest

www.truckfest.co.uk

For instance, over-the-ear cans not only warm your lugholes in winter months but can offer a greater ‘live’ experience due to the space between ear and speaker. Quality can be excellent but require quiet listening environments at home. In-ear phones are smaller and sit closer to the ear canal, blocking our ambient noise – great for travelling – but not renowned for top-quality sonics. They can also be prone to ‘leakage’ – a common trigger for commuter rage. So, when respected audio specialists Bowers and Wilkins decided to launch an in-ear set that claimed to be a ‘concert for one’ – our ears pricked up.

The C5’s look like superbly crafted industrial bullets. They’re ‘noise-isolating’, meaning that they plug into the ear-canal, drastically reducing outside noise and meaning you don’t need the music cranked up to 11 to hear it. A regular complaint about in-ears are how they can fall out easily, so B&W has integrated a plastic loop that curls around – and fits into – the inner rim of your ear. It sounds like medieval torture but actually works well and feels comfortable. A clever design.

Of course, headphones live or die by sound quality and the C5’s are hugely impressive – as you’d expect from a company with near fifty years hi-fi experience. Providing your source is decent (high bit-rate MP3s, CDs, etc), the sound reproduction is exceptional. Clear detailing, distinct separation of layers, punchy bass and vivd range across all music types. If you’re an iPhone/iPad user then the in-line microphone and remote will allow you to take calls, pause and skip tracks without taking the device out of your pocket.

The £150 price tag is a sizeable amount to pay for a set of in-ears but if you really want to squeeze the last little bit of audio goodness from your portable media player, the C5’s will do it with aplomb.

Price: £150 www.bowers-wilkins.com

The multi-million pound regeneration scheme, which includes Cathedral Square and St. John’s Square, scooped first place in the exterior lighting category at the 2012 Lighting Design Awards

The project fought off stiff competition from five other shortlisted schemes and was praised by the judges for being dramatic, considered and socially responsible.

In their review of the project the judges described Cathedral Square’s lighting design as

an elegant, considered lighting solution that encourages public use but doesn’t overpower the space.

Michael Grubb, director at Sutton Vane Associates, the lighting consultancy which designed the scheme, said:

The Cathedral Square scheme integrates the lighting of public and private buildings to create an inviting space that includes a water feature lit by colour-changing LEDs, and warm, even, white light reflected from the facades of heritage buildings.

Michael, who was named Lighting Designer of the Year at the ceremony, continues:

We’re thrilled to have collected this prestigious award. We worked hard to ensure the lighting enhanced the project’s design and complimented the surrounding space – and it really paid off.

Steve Bowyer, head of economic development at Opportunity Peterborough, the company that initiated the regeneration of Cathedral Square, said:

This is a fantastic accolade and well deserved. Cathedral Square has been a great success for Peterborough, attracting new investment to the heart of the city. The Square is enjoyed by residents and visitors of all ages and, particularly when lit at night, is stunning.

Cllr Janet Goodwin, cabinet adviser to the Leader at Peterborough City Council, said:

This award is testament to all the hard work that went into creating such a spectacular space for Peterborough residents. We’re very proud of our city centre and delighted to receive this award.

Photography:

Lighting Design by Sutton Vane Associates, London.

Photograph by James Newton

Vivacity has joined forces with Dig Ventures to embark on an ambitious project – ‘Flag Fen Lives’ – at Flag Fen this summer.

This July, for the first time in a decade, Flag Fen’s archaeological trenches will be open to the general public. And, for the first time ever, members of the public will be able to dig alongside the archaeologists as part of Flag Fen’s Summer Field School, which will run from 23 July to 12 August 2012. The Field School will be run by some of the best wetlands archaeologists and specialists in the world including Raksha Dave (Time Team) and Ben Roberts of the British Museum. There will also be an evening lecture programme featuring some of the UK’s most prominent archaeologists as key note speakers.

To make the project happen, Dig Ventures will deliver the world’s first ever crowd-funded and crowd-sourced archaeological excavation. From as little as £10, anyone can help fund the excavations, either via exclusive access online, or by signing up for a weekend dig. More information on how to sign up to this unique opportunity can be found at www.digventures.com

To open this project up to the archaeologists of tomorrow, Vivacity are offering four bursaries to students on University Centre Peterborough’s Archaeology and Landscape History BA undergraduate course to allow them to dig alongside the expert archaeologists.

Students at the University will receive funding for a week of archaeology training and hands-on digging at Flag Fen.

Abi Hunt, Course Leader and Lecturer, Archaeology and Landscape History, commented:

Our students will benefit hugely from this opportunity. Flag Fen is not only one of Peterborough’s most important assets – it is incredibly important world-wide. It is vital for our local students to gain in-depth knowledge of the site. We’re thrilled to be working with Dig Ventures and Vivacity.

Student Alex Fisher second year archaeologist says:

The main reason I am doing an archaeology degree is Flag Fen. Visiting in the 1980s was such an inspiring event, they had the big tent up still and I spent a small fortune on various books/reports. What made it so special was the fact that here on my doorstep was an internationally important prehistoric site; I didn’t need to go to Wiltshire! In a list of sites I would like to dig Flag Fen is at the top, so I think it is brilliant that we have been offered the opportunity to take part in the summer dig.

Together, Vivacity and Dig Ventures are working to ensure Flag Fen has a vibrant future and is highlighted as a site of international importance. ‘Flag Fen Lives’ will take stock of what is happening to the preservation environment at Flag Fen and with the public’s help, will unearth the fascinating stories of this ancient and significant site. The aim of the project is to build a community with archaeology at its heart, giving student archaeologists, enthusiasts and the public a chance to come and dig with a professional team and learn about archaeology from the best in the business.

For more information about Vivacity visit www.vivacity-peterborough.com

My first question upon meeting up with Stuart Orme and Gemma Morris, the heritage interpretation manager and sales, marketing and communications officer respectively for Vivacity Culture and Leisure Trust is, perhaps, a strange one. “Um, has that lintel always been there?” I ask, pointing up at the elegant sculptured slab of Georgian masonry that now graces the inner entrance to Peterborough Museum, which Stuart and Gemma are about to give me a sneak preview tour of. “Oh yes,” replies Stuart, with rather a satisfied smile. “It was always there. Just covered up with hardboard!”

By the time you read this, Peterborough Museum will have re-opened fully after its £3.2-million revamp that had seen it closed for 15 months. I urge you to go and see that freshly uncovered lintel, for in a way, it is symbolic of what has happened here – a building that, maybe, didn’t reveal all it had to offer quite as effectively as it could have done, but now showcases its treasures and secrets in a whole new different and exciting way. Then walk under the lintel and go and explore the rest of the museum, all three floors of it. And be absolutely amazed, exquisitely educated and incredibly intrigued. For whether you’ve never been before or if, like me, you used to be a regular visitor, you’re in for a totally new experience. As some of those who have already seen it have testified, Peterborough now has a museum worthy of a much bigger city. Even if that city happens to be London.

“It’s gob-smacking that it has finally become real,” says Stuart, who has been an integral part of the team behind the reincarnation (which is effectively what has happened) of the Priestgate site since its genesis six years ago. Gemma is newer on the scene – she took on the role of sales, marketing and communications manager at the beginning of 2012. “On day one, it was like “Here’s the kettle, here’s your desk…oh, and the museum is reopening soon by the way, off you go,”” she laughs. But she is no less delighted about how things have turned out. “It’s a fantastic thing to have as your first project, and it is going to have such an impact. We really want this to be the people’s museum, a flagship space for the city.” And that impact started right from the museum’s re-opening day, with Gemma securing Tony Robinson from TV’s Time Team to perform the ceremonial duties.

With something as important as this, I felt we needed somebody like Tony to put his stamp on things. And he has such a connection to the local community with so many Time Team digs here. He was really happy to do it.

For Stuart, the transformation has exceeded many of his expectations. “You don’t quite realise what it is going to look like when you see the design plans and schematics and artists’ impressions. And then suddenly it is reality and you just go “wow” because it’s far better than expected.” He cites the Norman Cross gallery, which he has been quite heavily involved with, as a special favourite. Before, it used to be a fairly standard (if informative) display of artefacts from the world’s first purpose-built prisoner of war camp, situated near Yaxley during the Napoleonic Wars. Those items are still there. But they’ve now been joined by a full-size partial recreation of the barracks where the inmates slept, an escape tunnel for children to explore and a marketplace displaying the sort of things that the captives made and sold to earn themselves a little extra cash.

It’s going to blow you away walking in there and seeing what they’ve done. We have much more of the collection of artefacts on display now, and there’s the chance to tell the human side of the story much more effectively now too. And it’s all done in a very family-friendly kind of way. It’s designed – as with everything else in the museum – to bring the past to life for people.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY

Catering to a family audience – “people of all varying ages and interests,” cites Stuart – is paramount. “One of the things we wanted to do is develop the galleries so that there are, both literally and metaphorically, things on different levels for people. So there are hands-on activities that are sometimes quite low down for children to do, with more information further up for adults to appreciate as well. It’s all about families coming in together, learning together and having fun together.” This is in contrast to museums of the past – in general, not just Peterborough – where areas for kids were often kept off to one side, creating almost a children’s ghetto. “At the end of the day, the best way that families can have a nice day out together is if they can explore the museum together.” One thing that children should keep an eye out for is Peter Burrow, the small cartoon hare to be found throughout many of the museum’s rooms, giving various activities to try or bits of information that they might find particularly fun. Peter will be just one of the trails, for both young and older visitors, that can be followed throughout the building. For the first time, there will also be an audio tour too, using hand-held devices. “This is great for people with visual impairments, lower literacy levels and obviously, a lot of people in Peterborough who have other languages, and find more difficulty reading English material than understanding it when spoken,” says Stuart. “It will also tell more about the stories throughout the building, for people who just want to find out a little extra. And there’s also a children’s version as well, of course.”

Disabled entry has also been greatly improved – the only area of the museum now that isn’t accessible is the operating theatre. “What we’ve done with that is a digital version of the theatre, so for any disabled visitors, they can at least see it in that form,” clarifies Stuart.

Another aspect of the new museum that wasn’t much explored in the old is the museum itself – or rather the building it’s housed in, which has one of the most fascinating histories of perhaps any structure in the city centre aside from the cathedral itself. Priestgate itself was laid out by Peterborough Abbey monks in around 1150. The first building known about on the museum site appeared about 1536, a home for the Orme family, who were local MPs and also constructed the Guildhall in Cathedral Square. And were (probably) no relation to Stuart, although he does rather appreciate that his surname features prominently in the history of where he now works. Some of its original fabric still survives as the Tudor era cellars under the current building. In 1815, the house was sold to the Cooke family headed by local magistrate Thomas Cooke. He rebuilt the core of the building into the grand Georgian house it still largely is today. It was converted into Peterborough’s first proper hospital in 1857 and became the city museum in 1931. Peterborough City Council took over the running of it in 1968. “They still own the building and the collections, but when Vivacity was formed two years ago, it assumed responsibility for its management.” Vivacity’s status as a charitable trust means that it can apply for grant funding to help with future projects. The current refurbishment has been funded partly by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), match funding against substantial support from Peterborough City Council, with other money coming from Vivacity itself as well as private and commercial sources, all of who will be recognised on a acknowledgements plaque close to the entrance. “We are immensely grateful to them all,” stresses Stuart. “Without them, this could not have been achieved. There have also been a huge amount of people who have given very freely of their time, their expertise and their good will as part of this project.”

“A lot of the money has gone on restoring this beautiful building back to its period grandeur,” says Stuart.

Sadly, over the years, it was treated a little bit like an office; we had the old 1970s’ carpets and wallpaper. So much of it has been about taking it back and opening up features that weren’t previously accessible to the public, things like the operating theatre and Victorian kitchen, and restoring them, but also telling much more of the stories around the building.

On the first floor, a lovely old room with high ceilings and a bay window opening onto a balcony overlooking Priestgate has been turned into a gallery devoted to this. What looks like a grand Georgian table sits in the middle of it – but it’s actually a touchscreen table. “You can scroll along the timeline – a bit like an iPhone – and then just select different stories.” As a whole, the museum is now more hi-tech than it was, with several more screens and interactive displays situated throughout. “It’s much more hands-on than it once was,” concludes Stuart.

CENTRE OF OPERATIONS

The operating theatre is particularly fascinating, if a little gruesomely thought-provoking. “It’s one of our big selling points,” says Stuart. “We’ve got one of only three genuine historic operating theatres in the country and it’s also one of only six in Europe. But it’s the only one of its time, from the turn of the 20th century; the beginnings of modern scientific surgery, the era of carbolic and chloroform.”

Elsewhere, the changes for the better are just as easy to find. For the first time, there’s a café (with a genteel Georgian tea-room feel), catering just as much for people who simply pop in – for a quick lunchtime coffee and cake, and to make use of its free wi-fi – as those wanting somewhere to rest and recharge their batteries after hours spent immersing themselves in local history. “It will be a very different vibe to Costa Coffee,” reckons Gemma. Especially as there are plans to hold lunchtime talks there as well. The shop next to it has been expanded considerably with gifts. Upstairs are the new look geology and wildlife galleries, part of which is designed to give the impression of being underwater with some of the huge prehistoric monsters that inhabited this region before man arrived. And there’s the Changing Lives gallery too, which tells the story of the city over the last 200 years, with recreations of typical period kitchens, a station platform and a small cinema, with old seats rescued from the Key Theatre during its refurbishment. It’s Gemma’s personal favourite spot.

It has the ability to literally take me back in time when I step in there; it has been done so well. I want to get involved. I feel like I should be a 1950s housewife as soon as I go in there!

Although the museum has now re-launched, it won’t be standing still. As well as plans to frequently refresh the displays as well as stage weekend events, temporary and special exhibitions – later this year, there will be one on the Vikings and Peterborough – there are further plans to continue the revolution already started. ”We’re billing this really as just phase one,” reveals Gemma. The next stage will be opening up the infamous cellars under the house for guided tours – the spookiest part of the ghost-inhabited museum as anybody who saw the episode of Most Haunted filmed there a few years ago will agree. That stage, pencilled in for this time next year, will be followed by further work on the archaeology gallery as well as inside the operating theatre. “The archaeology gallery is the one area we haven’t done significant work with this time around,” says Stuart. The purpose of that will be to tell the story of Peterborough from the very first arrival of people 15,000 years ago, up to and including the civil war back in the 17th century. There have been some small nips and tucks of course, but a much more significant change is planned for two to three years’ time. So watch that space!

And, best of all, there’s still no charge to visit. “We’re really happy about that,” says Gemma. “In fact, we’re shouting from the rooftops about it; we didn’t want to put up any barriers. There are select charges to special exhibitions, as you’d expect, but general admission is still going to be free and will remain free. We’ve also got a special ‘heritage pass’, which is £10 for individuals, £35 for a family, which gives unlimited entry to any of the chargeable museum activities as well as unlimited entry to our fee-paying heritage sites at Flag Fen and Longthorpe Tower throughout the year, which we think is great value.”

“At the end of the day, we think we’ve got something stunning here,” sums up Stuart. “We’re very proud of it, and we hope lots of other people will come in, enjoy it and also be very proud of it too.” Gemma agrees completely.

I am proud to have been involved in such a landmark project. I hope that our visitors will be as impressed as I am with the improvements and continue to support the on-going development of the museum as it continues to grow and thrive in the coming years. This is just the beginning!

Peterborough Museum and the attached City Art Gallery – currently showcasing Chris Porsz’s compelling exhibition of photographs spanning 30 years of city life – can be found in Priestgate, Peterborough, PE1 1LF.

Telephone 01733 864663 or email: museum@vivacity-peterborough.com for details.

Vivacity’s website is at www.vivacity-peterborough.com