We did it, we’ve been nominated for ‘Object of The Year’ for our entry of the story of ‘Message in a Bottle’!

Each year the Cornwall Museum Partnerships run the Heritage Awards to celebrate and share the achievements of the heritage community of Cornwall. This year they are turning the spotlight on the climate crisis by drawing public attention to objects in our museum collections that tell climate stories. Museums and heritage organisations hold collections that tell stories of human interaction with our planet over generations.

The Object of the Year is decided by public vote, this year we have been nominated with our “Message in a Bottle” story, how the seemingly innocent throwaway actions of two teenagers in Canada made an impact on a beach in North Cornwall, read more and vote by visiting their website https://www.cornwallmuseumspartnership.org.uk/heritage-awards/ (voting closes on 9th January and you can vote as many times as you wish, you may need to use a different device each time).

This Monday sees the much anticipated launch of the wAVE Project (AVE = Augmented and Virtual Experiences) a virtual reality immersive experience ‘Captaining the Ceres’ right here at The Castle!

The project brings together Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s coastal communities, heritage centres and academic experts to develop new and engaging virtual, augmented and immersive reality experiences within the five participating communities of Bude, Looe, St Agnes, Porthcurno and the Isles of Scilly.

wAVE has been developed by Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, Cornwall Museums Partnership, and Falmouth University. It aims to use Cornwall’s distinctive heritage to support digital innovation and economic diversification in five coastal communities by maximising Cornwall’s digital infrastructure, skills, and heritage for the benefit of the local economy.

The county’s distinct history coupled with its growing immersive-tech sector, presents a unique opportunity to position Cornwall at the forefront of the transformative potential of such technology.

Bude has long had a reputation for being a very difficult port to navigate, so the experience provided an opportunity to tell this story. By wearing the virtual reality headset, users are transported onto the deck of the Ceres, one of Bude’s most well-known ketches and a regular visitor throughout the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Great skill is then needed to navigate the ketch past the breakwater and along the narrow channel of water leading to the lock gates, with a real ships wheel adding further authenticity.  Users will also discover more about Bude as a working port during the experience.  The setting for the experience has been especially designed to look and feel like the deck of ship, with enhanced displays to create a fully immersive experience.

Booking is now available via Eventbrite or on our website.

A collaborative blog between Janine King (Heritage Development Officer, The Castle Bude) and Lizzie Meek (Programme Manager-Artefacts, Antarctic Heritage Trust).

www.nzaht.org   Twitter @InspireExplore   Instagram @antarcticheritage   FB @Antarctic.Heritage.Trust

On a gently sloping beach on Ross Island, with the slopes of the active volcano Mt Erebus towering behind, a simple wooden structure has weathered the storms of Antarctica for over 100 years. Built by Captain Robert Falcon Scott to shelter his British Antarctic Expedition team of 1910-13 whilst they carried out sledging journeys of science and exploration, the 50ft long building often known as ‘Scott’s hut’ housed 25 men, with an adjoining stables for the ponies and mules. With winter temperatures ranging down as low as -45C, an insulated and heated hut was essential for survival. The building had three stoves – a galley cooking stove in the ‘messdeck’, a small heating stove in the stables, and a Gurney stove (radiator) in the officer’s wardroom area.

Nikolai Tolstoy, author, historian and former parliamentary candidate, visited The Castle this week and met with Mark Berridge, the Castle & Communities Manager. Nikolai, who is 85, and his wife, Georgina, had made a special trip to share photographs, documents and letters pertaining to members of his family who lived at The Castle during the 1930’s. His great-aunt, father and two uncles lived with Lady Nicholson and her husband, Admiral Nicholson, who owned The Castle at that time.

Mark explains, ‘We knew a Countess Tolstoy lived at The Castle and had set up a school with Lady Nicholson for children who were Russian emigres. We also knew of Nikolai and that he might have photos from that time but we weren’t sure of the relationship between the two. At the beginning of lockdown whilst working from home, I reached out to him, initially through his daughter, Alexandra, and a few hours later I had a response from him. Over the next few months, we conversed over email, swapping facts, but Nikolai had a lot more to give from that period than we had at The Castle from that time.’

Countess Maria Tolstoy, who helped set up the school and an emigre herself, was, in fact, his great aunt. His father, Dimitri, did live in the Castle during school holidays but was schooled elsewhere. His uncles, Paul and Ivan, did live at The Castle and attended the school. Other Russian children, included Prince Serge Obolensky and his half-sister, Alexandra, also attended the school. Some English children, whose parents worked abroad, were also schooled by the Countess.

The photos, which have not been seen before in Bude, were numerous and show the children performing plays and ballet within The Castle and out on the lawn. Some of the photos show either The Castle, Breakwater Road or The Grenville Hotel behind the children. In addition to the photos were some written accounts from former pupils of the ‘school’, one from a Lorna Glanville, painted a vivid picture of her time as a pupil. There were also letters, to and from the Countess to various family members around the world and to friends such as the Grand Duchess Xenia. Unfortunately, these were mostly in Russian and French so no further facts could be taken from these. They did, however, help build a timeline of her whereabouts from the addressed envelopes and either the dates of the letters or the post frank marks. There were even formal invites to royal events which showed the close friendship with the Grand Duchess.

Nikolai gave permission for these artefacts to be scanned, archived and used by The Castle and in return, he asked if he could have digital copies so he could share with his family. Nikolai’s scanner is broken and he could not share these rare items over email and so saw the opportunity, and an excuse, for a trip to Cornwall. Morwenstowe is one of his favourite places and has visited friends there for many years. His connection to the West Country goes back many years, not only did his father stay at The Castle, his mother is from Appledore in North Devon.

Mark expressed, ‘I was so grateful for Nikolai and Georgina to make this trip and it was an honour to meet them. What they have shared with us is amazing and really adds to the rich history of The Castle. To us, these photos are priceless and it is great to add these to our archive collection. Nikolai had mused how if he hadn’t shared these now and named those in the pictures, that information would be lost forever once he is no longer around. I can’t express my appreciation enough and if it wasn’t for his daughter who passed on my email, this would not have happened and I am so thankful to her that she did.’

Mark is in the process of writing a book on the history of The Castle and the information and the photos will help depict the history of that time.

Photo credit to Nikolai Tolstoy

It is with great pleasure that we can announce The Castle has won the “Contribution to the Environment and Circular Economy” Award at the Cornwall Heritage Awards Ceremony on Wednesday the 21^st October 2020.

This was for how The Castle actively promotes environmental practices, spreading the word through public programmes with events such as Bude Earth Day and through conferences and talks.

The awards ceremony was due to have taken place on 26 March 2020, at the Royal Cornwall Showground Pavilion Centre, in what has been in recent years a fantastic event celebrating the achievements of the 70 plus museums in Cornwall.

This year due to the Coronavirus outbreak the event, unfortunately, had to be held online. Nevertheless, the event was a real success, Janine King, The Castles’ Heritage Officer attended the ceremony online and received the award.

This award will be added to the collection of awards The Castle has won over the years, showcasing the fantastic contribution The Castle and the team offers, firmly placing Bude on the map!

If you haven’t been in to visit The Castle recently all exhibitions are open and free of charge to the public, they will remain open throughout the coming winter months for all to enjoy. This half term there is an extra special Where’s Wally? event taking place for the whole family to participate in, free entry and prizes to be won!