The Almonry Museum and Tourist Information Centre is a museum in Evesham in Worcestershire, England. It is also referred to as The Almonry Museum and just The Almonry. It is governed by Evesham Town Council. The focus of the museum is on the history of the town and Vale of Evesham. The museum derives its name from the original use of the building as the

almonry An almonry (Lat. ''eleemosynarium'', Fr. ''aumônerie'', Ger. ''Almosenhaus'') is the place or chamber where alms were distributed to the poor in churches or other ecclesiastical buildings. The person designated to oversee the distribution was call ...

of the 14th-century

Evesham Abbey Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in Worcestershire, England between 700 and 710 following an alleged vision of the Virgin Mary by a swineherd by the name of Eof. According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the Nor ...

The museum opened within this building in 1957.

History

The Almonry Museum is housed in a 14th-century building that was formerly part of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Evesham Abbey, the third largest abbey in England. The building is an almonry, meaning it was the home of the

almoner An almoner (} ' (alms), via the popular Latin '. History Christians have historically been encouraged to donate one-tenth of their income as a tithe to their church and additional offerings as needed for the poor. The first deacons, mentioned ...

, a monk whose role was to provide alms to the poor. Evesham Abbey was closed by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, after which the Almonry became the personal home of the last Abbot, Philip Ballard. Two churches, a bell tower and a

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

arch from Evesham Abbey also survive nearby. The Almonry is a grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and was first listed in 1952. It has a part rubble and part timber-framed structure with a

Cotswold stone The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

roof. Additions to the building were made in the 15th and 17th centuries. Following the closure of the Abbey, The Almonry has served as an ale house, offices, tea rooms and a private home. It was purchased by Evesham Borough Council in 1929 and opened as a heritage centre in 1957.

Collections and exhibitions

The museum has displays in 12 small rooms. There is a focus on the history of Evesham, with topics including Evesham Abbey, the Battle of Evesham in 1265, local agriculture, Anglo-Saxon burial treasure, 18th-century clothing and the impact of war on Evesham. The collections and displays also cover palaeontology, archaeology and history more broadly. There is also a fine art collection.

Operations

The museum is owned and operated by Evesham Town Council. It shares the Almonry building with the Evesham Tourism Office. The museum is awarded Full Accreditation status by Arts Council, England.

Future plans

The Great Big Almonry Project was launched in 2013 to seek funding to achieve three aims: to improve the conservation of the historic building, improve the interpretation of the exhibitions and programmes and to increase the physical accessibility of the museum In 2014 the project passed Round 1 of a

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

funding bid and was awarded £43,400 development funding towards submitting a Round 2 bid for £1,355,100.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.almonryevesham.org/ Museums in Worcestershire Evesham Grade I listed museum buildings