Waterway Exhibition at the Museum opens on 24 July

Staff and volunteers at the West Berkshire Museum in Newbury are busy preparing for their next special exhibition about the district's waterways, which opens on Saturday 24th July and runs until Thursday 30th September. The Museum will then close for further behind the scenes work on the collections.

The exhibition is timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Kennet & Avon Canal, and will also look at the earlier Kennet Navigation and the River Thames.

The displays will include items from the museum's own collections, material from the John Gould Archive, as well as some on loan from the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust Museum. It is also hoped to feature objects from the National Waterways Museum. Topics covered will include building the canal, life on the boats, wildlife and the canals today.

The exhibition will be held in part of the Corn Stores that were built as a warehouse to serve the Wharf that opened with the Kennet Navigation in 1723.

The Museum will open from 10.00am to 5.00pm on Sunday 25 July to coincide with the Newbury Waterways Festival opening times.

The Museum is normally open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10.30am to 5.00pm and on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from 11.00am to 4.00pm.