‘Chronicles’ The Magazine of the Friends of the Museum
The first copy of ‘Chronicles’ appeared in the autumn of 1994. It was then an eight-page booklet with the pages loose inside a green cover and illustrated by black and white line drawings. Over the years, however, it has taken on a more professional aspect and now appears as a 28-40 page magazine, stapled inside a high quality cover bearing a design by an artist trained at Holborn’s School of Graphic Art.
The magazine, which is free to all members of the Friends, comes out to alternate with the Newsletter, ie. one issue one year in June and two issues the following year. Inside it, you will find a great variety of subjects, some directly concerned with Braintree’s Museum, others about history and crafts, as well as the personal reminiscences of local residents growing up in or around the Braintree district in years gone by. Many of these are illustrated by colour photographs. There is also a photo-quiz and photographs of school groups from the past. In ‘Chronicles’, during a normal year when the Museum is open to the public, you will also find programmes of events, both at the Museum and at the Warner Archive, and of talks and visits organised by the Friends.
As you can imagine, ‘Chronicles’ relies heavily on contributions by local people who are able to supply long-forgotten documents and personal memorabilia. We cannot thank these contributors too highly, for they are the life-blood of our magazine, and we would ask anyone who feels they have such treasures tucked away to search diligently for them and send them to the Editor, Chris Thompson, at ‘Flanders House’, 222 Panfield Lane, Braintree, CM7 5RJ, or to email them to him on mayhurst37@outlook.com. Those who feel that they lack some literary skills need not worry, as contributions can easily be ‘tidied up’. Our message is to ‘keep them rolling in’.
The Autumn 2023 issue of the magazine is now out and contains, amongst other things, articles on the early history of photography, Nissen huts, the siege of Colchester, a family’s wedding dress, and the Hedingham History Group. Plus the magazine’s usual features.
The next issue of the magazine (No.59) is scheduled for the summer of 2024.
For those people not yet members of the Friends, copies of the magazine can be bought from the Editor (see above).
Newsletter
The Newsletter, which reports on past events, contains news on the Museum and Warner Textile Archive and gives details of forthcoming activities, talks and events.
Latest Issue: February 2024 (no. 36)