Hitch Bricks at Ware Museum

Some Hitch Bricks

Further to my earlier posting about the distinctive bricks made by Caleb Hitch of Ware, Helen has written to say that her grandfather and great grandfather worked with and subsequently bought out Hitch's building firm. In addition Ware Museum has a permanent display on Hitch bricks in the museum with information concerning the Hitch family, as well as the connection between malting and brickmaking. The museum is open from 11am to 4pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and 2-4 on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays. 

WW1 Exhibition at Ware Museum

B.T.W. Ware Museum currently has a WW1 exhibition (until January 14th) and will be open for a Dickensian Evening, which is on the 5th December, from about 7pm until 9.30ish.

The Great Bed of Ware has gone back home ...

Did your ancestor travel from London to Cambridge? If so they may have spent a night in the Great Bed of Ware. It was built in the late 16th century - almost certainly as an advertising gimmick to encourage travelers to break their journey in the town. It soon became famous - even being mentioned in one of Shakespeare's plays! For the last 80 years it has been on display in the Victoria & Albert Museum but a Heritage Fund grant [pdf] means that from April 2012 to March 2013 it will be on display in Ware Museum. If you visit the town there is also a history trail [pdf] which guides you round the inns where the bed is known to have been in the past.