Evaluating at Mrs Smith's Cottage Navenby Lincolnshire

 


In the small village of Navenby in Lincolnshire sits Mrs Smith’s cottage. Mrs Smith’s cottage is a step back in time, it dates to the 1830s with some later additions. Mrs Smith’s cottage was first opened as a museum in 1999 but had to be closed in 2012 due to structural needs. Renovation completed in 2020 means that Mrs Smith’s Cottage has been brought back into use as a popular heritage attraction.




The cottage is funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund and North Kevsteven District Council and run by a small team who have a programme of events that run through out the year. Culture Syndicates recently have been assisting with evaluation at some of these events.

Who is Mrs Smith?

Hilda Craven was born in Navenby on 28th October 1892.

In 1922, for £75 Hilda bought the Cottage using money from a legacy.  1926 she sold the house to her employer Tom Smith, for £95. In 1937 Hilda bought the Cottage for the second time, paying just £95. It was not until 1956 when Hilda was 64 years old, she and Joseph Smith 73 married and she became Mrs Smith. After only four years Joseph died leaving Hilda on her own again. She was an important part of the local community for the next 30 years. She lived in the Cottage until just after her 102 birthday and died in 1995.

The cottage is full of familiar objects from the twentieth century and is a nostalgic trip back for some and what must seem like a whole new world for the young.









The cottage is open to the public 12 until 4pm every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (excluding Christmas day, Boxing Day and New Year’s day).

Find out more on their website: https://www.mrssmithscottage.com/visit/

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing: Yanqiu Autumn Dai, Strategic Advisor to the Culture Syndicates Board

Image
  Autumn is a highly qualified and experienced heritage researcher, practitioner, and consultant based in China. Educated at the University of California, she graduated with a BA in Art History and International Relations Global Business (IRGB) before completing her MSc in Visual Material and Museum Anthropology at the University of Oxford before embarking on a successful career in heritage and the arts around the world. She has worked in Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong as well as the U.K. for art market consultancies and diverse museums and galleries around the world. A particular highlight is her recent. work to help establish the new Grand Canal Museum in Hangzhou. Autumn is very well connected to the international art market and Chinese cultural investors and her expertise lies in applying anthropological research tools and qualitative methodologies to improve marketplace studies in the arts and cultural sectors, and to provide market solutions and strategies for organisation...
Read more

April Reading List

Image
This month we are musing on the theme of wellbeing, taking inspiration from Stress Awareness Month and World Health Day. It is a little shorter this month as we try to catch up with the start of Spring and find new directions. Meditations Marcus Aurelius  "Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with thee the same reason which now thou usest for present things." on worry & anxiety This collection of writings from Aurelius, once Emperor of Rome, the book is more accurately titled "To Himself" and is a random collection of short Stoic reflections on things like life, friendship, and enduring hardship. It's quite a small book and is ideal to pick during your commute, lunch break, or bedtime. On Solitude Michel de Montaigne "When I dance, I dance; when I sleep, I sleep; yes, and when I walk alone in a beautiful orchard, if my thoughts drift to far-off matters for some part of the time for some other p...
Read more

Welcome Jane Seaman, Projects and Evaluation Officer

Image
We finally manage to catch up with the recently-joined Jane Seaman as part of our Routes Into Heritage series, who has been busy ensuring we have a fruitful and exciting 2022 ahead of us.  Image credit: Jane, on a visit to St Peter's church Jane joined Culture Syndicates in December 2021 as Projects and Evaluation Officer. She has had a varied career including running her own business producing life-size realistic models and props for museums, Professional Development Manager for the Museums Association and, in more recent years, working on audience development and evaluation. Over the last fifteen years Jane has concentrated on working with clients to deliver their National Lottery Heritage Fund projects through evaluation and detailed analysis, enabling them to monitor project progress and reach a successful outcome.  Jane is now working with the Culture Syndicates team to deliver their current projects and bid for new contracts. We have really enjoyed having her on the team...
Read more