Bitterne Local History Society will be opening its Peartree Avenue doors on September 15 for a Heritage Open Day, with a team of volunteers in period costume, a children’s quiz, and displays including recreated shop fronts from days gone by – writes Carol Masters.

Bitterne Local History Society will be opening its doors as part of Heritage Open Days – which celebrate England’s history and culture – on Saturday September 15, from 10am–4pm.

The museum has permanent displays and artefacts from bygone Bitterne, as well as recreated shop fronts based on real shops from the past. There is a temporary exhibition which changes regularly.

As part of the Heritage Open Day there will be a team of volunteers dressed in period costume on hand to provide information and guidance to visitors. There will also be a quiz open to children who would like to have fun and enjoy learning about the past.


Bitterne before the bypass

Bitterne Local History Society was formed in 1981, when the construction of the Bitterne Bypass meant that much of the area’s heritage was going to be lost under the bulldozers. The society's objective is to promote an interest in local history, and to preserve and protect features and items of historic interest. It does this in a number of ways. As well as running the museum the Society holds monthly talks on a range of subjects with a historical theme and publishes a magazine four times a year.

The Society also loans Educational Resource Boxes, packed with fascinating artefacts, documents, toys and memorabilia from bygone days to schools. The boxes have been developed for curriculum support and reflect the topics covered in the National Curriculum. They enable children to learn by handling real objects.

Part of the funding for the Society and the museum comes from the shop on Peartree Avenue. The shop stocks an extensive range of local history books, wool, haberdashery and buttons, music and good quality bric-a-brac. It is well worth a short diversion from the precinct to have a browse.

The Society is always looking for more support. If you would like to join the society, have any items to donate to either the museum or shop or are able to spare a few hours a week to help in the museum or shop, we would love to hear from you. Further details on all of the above are available on our website.

Carol Masters

Bitterne Local History Society
231 Peartree Avenue, Southampton, Hampshire, SO19 7RD

For other local Heritage Open Days, click here.