Petersfield Museum
Petersfield Museum is a local museum in the small town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. Petersfield Museum Limited is a registered charity. Location. The museum is now located in the Old Police Station on St Peter's Road, Petersfield and encompasses the former 'justice site' including the Old Magistrates Courthouse, police stables and cart house. Historys. The museum was formed by a group of local historians, 'The Petersfield Area Historical Society'. Over the years, objects and archive material were collected, later formally transferred to the Museum, and now form the extensive collections. The Museum has been open since  1999 and holds materials that relates to the town of Petersfield and the surrounding villages. It began moving to Petersfield's old police station in 2016. Between 2017 and 2021 the museum underwent a £4 Million rebuild.  Collections. The Museum holds photographs, archives, oral history and maps relating to the town and surrounding area. A timeline feature takes the visitor through the history of the town alongside some temporary cases which change over annually. Justice. Part of the former police station next door was added to the museum in 2016 to display a Victorian justice heritage exhibit. Bedales. In  2007 the Bedales Historic Costume Collection was donated to the Museum. This collection is made up of about 1000 pieces including ladies, gents and children's clothing and accessories dating from 1720. Flora Twort. Flora Twort died in 1985 leaving her cottage, studio and examples of her work to Hampshire County Council. It was run as a museum and restaurant by HCC until 2008. In 2009 the Flora Twort Gallery and its collections were transferred to the Petersfield Museum Trust. This collection consists of paintings, sketches by Flora and archives relating to her life. Edward Thomas. Edward Thomas, the renowned  poet, writer, essayist and literary critic lived locally to Petersfield in the village of Steep. It was from here he first started writing his poetry in December 1914 at the age of 36 and over the next two-and a-half -years wrote all his 144 poems. Inspired by the landscapes around him, much of his poetry reflected his love of nature and the impact the War was having on life in England. Two of his greatest friends were the English poet and writer Gordon Bottomley and the American poet Robert Frost. Edward Thomas's most well known poem is  probably Adlestrop. Although being over-age he enlisted into the Artists Rifles in July 1915, transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery in October 1916 and was killed on active service at the first Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917. Petersfield Museum, together with the Edward Thomas Fellowship, has created the only Edward Thomas Study Centre in England, which is under-pinned by what is possibly the most important private collection of books by and about Edward Thomas in the country. This collection was the property of the late Tim Wilton-Steer and donated to the Edward Thomas Fellowship by  his family.