Ancient House Museum has a jam-packed May planned, with activities for all ages.
Image: ©Norfolk Museums Service
On Friday 8th May 2026, from 2.30pm to 3.30pm, the museum will welcome author and historian Dr Johnny Teague for a free talk and the launch of his book Thomas Paine Returns with Common Sense. The talk will explore what might happen if Thetford-born Thomas Paine could weigh in on today’s headlines. “The answers are clearer than one might expect,” Dr Teague explained. “Their writings remain astonishingly relevant – so much so that, with a few updated details, their words could be mistaken for modern political commentary. Their insights still offer guidance in times of crisis.”
On Tuesday 12th May, Ruth Battersby, Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles at Norfolk Museum Service, will visit to discuss the remarkable embroidered letters of Lorina Bulwer. A resident of the Great Yarmouth workhouse in the early twentieth century, Bulwer created intricate stitched texts expressing her thoughts, memories and emotions in a ‘stream of consciousness’ style on a double-layer patchwork ground. One of her letters is addressed to Maharajah Duleep. The talk costs £5, or is free for Ancient House Friends and Norfolk Museum Pass holders.
Over May half term, two children’s workshops will be available for families. On Saturday 23rd May, visitors can step back in time to Anglo-Saxon Thetford and try their hand at weaving and creating a bracelet to take home. On Friday 29th May, a workshop inspired by Queen Elizabeth I will explore how letters were kept hidden from spies, with the chance to make a quill pen and create a locked letter. Both workshops cost £4 per child, including one accompanying adult and museum admission.
To find out more, visit: ancienthouse.norfolk.gov.uk
