Post by Tamrin on Aug 16, 2008 14:26:32 GMT 10
The history of the Abbey Museum is also the story of its remarkable founder, Rev. John. S. M. Ward (1885-1949). A pioneer of new concepts in museology and education, Ward founded Britain's first social history museum - the Abbey Folk Park at New Barnet, north of London, in 1934.
Born in British Honduras, the son of an Anglican clergyman, Ward was educated at Cambridge and became a school teacher in England and Burma and leading Freemason historian.
During World War 1, he was a member of the intelligence section of the Federation of British Industries. In 1929, as a result of a profound spiritual experience, he formed a mixed monastic community whose philosophy sought to blend the spiritual teachings of both East and West. The community followed a tradition of the medieval Christian abbeys, adopting a programme of education, the preservation of heritage and the dispensing of spiritual values. As a boy, Ward had been an enthusiastic collector of prehistoric flints and Roman pottery. In 1934 he founded Britain's first outdoor museum, the Abbey Folk Park, near Barnet, based on Sweden’s famous folk art museum, Skansen. Rather than display his collection in dusty glass cases, Ward carefully reconstructed a series of prehistoric and medieval dwellings, where a wealth of antiquities, culled from building sites and salesrooms, were displayed.
His aim was to preserve the traditional heritage of England rapidly disappearing in the wake of industrialisation and change. By 1940 he had amassed over 90,000 items and salvaged some thirty significant historical buildings from demolition. A medieval tithe barn, filled with valuable stained glass, paintings and sculpture served as a church for his community. The new museum captured the imagination of thousands of visitors. H.M. Queen Mary gave several items and a number of well known collectors donated valuable antiquities. Ward opened a reconstructed African Village and the Gaumont Film Company made a motion picture of the Folk Park.
The bombing of London in 1940 forced the closure of the Folk Park. A court case sapped Ward's health and in 1945 he emigrated with some of his community to Cyprus. Most of his huge collection was dispersed and the remaining 4500 pieces crated away. In 1949, Ward died at Limassol.
Within a few years, the outbreak of terrorism by EOKA guerrillas demanding union of Cyprus with Greece forced the community to leave the island. They travelled to Australia via Egypt and Sri Lanka, arriving virtually penniless in Sydney in 1956. Ten years later, the community moved to a permanent home at Caboolture in southeast Queensland.
Born in British Honduras, the son of an Anglican clergyman, Ward was educated at Cambridge and became a school teacher in England and Burma and leading Freemason historian.
During World War 1, he was a member of the intelligence section of the Federation of British Industries. In 1929, as a result of a profound spiritual experience, he formed a mixed monastic community whose philosophy sought to blend the spiritual teachings of both East and West. The community followed a tradition of the medieval Christian abbeys, adopting a programme of education, the preservation of heritage and the dispensing of spiritual values. As a boy, Ward had been an enthusiastic collector of prehistoric flints and Roman pottery. In 1934 he founded Britain's first outdoor museum, the Abbey Folk Park, near Barnet, based on Sweden’s famous folk art museum, Skansen. Rather than display his collection in dusty glass cases, Ward carefully reconstructed a series of prehistoric and medieval dwellings, where a wealth of antiquities, culled from building sites and salesrooms, were displayed.
His aim was to preserve the traditional heritage of England rapidly disappearing in the wake of industrialisation and change. By 1940 he had amassed over 90,000 items and salvaged some thirty significant historical buildings from demolition. A medieval tithe barn, filled with valuable stained glass, paintings and sculpture served as a church for his community. The new museum captured the imagination of thousands of visitors. H.M. Queen Mary gave several items and a number of well known collectors donated valuable antiquities. Ward opened a reconstructed African Village and the Gaumont Film Company made a motion picture of the Folk Park.
The bombing of London in 1940 forced the closure of the Folk Park. A court case sapped Ward's health and in 1945 he emigrated with some of his community to Cyprus. Most of his huge collection was dispersed and the remaining 4500 pieces crated away. In 1949, Ward died at Limassol.
Within a few years, the outbreak of terrorism by EOKA guerrillas demanding union of Cyprus with Greece forced the community to leave the island. They travelled to Australia via Egypt and Sri Lanka, arriving virtually penniless in Sydney in 1956. Ten years later, the community moved to a permanent home at Caboolture in southeast Queensland.
Ward was a prolific (albeit, imaginative) masonic author and
an advocate (albeit, reluctant) of admitting women to mainstream Freemasonry,
an advocate (albeit, reluctant) of admitting women to mainstream Freemasonry,
Core Values
- Responsible stewardship of the Abbey Museum collections entrusted to our care.
- To impartially tell the human evolutionary story without bias of politics, religion or gender.
- Commitment to promotion of ethical cultural values and the recognition of multiple world views.
- Respect for cultural diversity and in particular, acknowledgement of Aboriginal Peoples of Australia, and Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
- Commitment to legally and ethically acquired acquisitions.
- Scientific and professional objectivity in our work.
- Excellence in all we do.