Hyde900 teamed up with the Hampshire Cultural Trust to put on an exhibition of finds from Hyde Abbey, and hands-on tile making at last weekend’s event at Winchester’s City Museum.
Representatives from Hyde900 were delighted to explain the activities of this community group and to help visitors of all ages make their own reproductions of medieval tiles found on the site.
Visitors also had the opportunity to learn more about the forthcoming Community Dig which will take place in Hyde from August 18-21.
At the festival, experts were present to discuss specialist areas of pottery, ceramics, geophysical surveying, medieval glass, stonemasonry, and monastic architecture. There was also the first opportunity to see some of the 5kg of medieval glass found at the 2021 dig.
Winchester Excavations Committee joined in the event, and Professor Martin Biddle was in attendance. Children were also catered for, with the ever-popular medieval tile making where 25 children of all ages were able to make their own tiles.
Following previous years’ highly successful events, this year’s dig returns to what was the Inner Precinct of Hyde Abbey, and once again they were exploring the remains of the abbey’s medieval cloisters and adjacent buildings, located in gardens in the area.
The dig follows on from the discovery earlier in the year of the north wall of the Abbey Church with its intact stonework. The dig also found a 12th Century Beakhead ornament, previously part of the arch of the west door of the great church. It is likely that there are more, similar pieces buried in local gardens.
The dig will be taking place in the area of the Abbey cloisters where the 12th Century stonework of the original cloister arches was found, and which is now on display in the Winchester City Museum.
Dr David Stewart, Hyde900’s geologist and cartographer, said: “We have wondrous possibilities ahead. We will be hunting for the Abbey lockburn, a passage that delivered much needed water to the monks, and we will investigate a feature identified by geophysical methods, possibly part of a large building where the Abbot lived.”
Local resident Maureen Dryden said: “I have always wondered about the story that there was a cellar in the garden. I am so glad that Hyde900 will now have the opportunity to solve the mystery. I can’t wait to discover what is below the lawn.”
Booking for the dig is now open and early application is recommended via the Hyde900 website as places are limited.
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