Wareham Town Museum facts for kids
Wareham Town Museum is a special place in Wareham, a town in southern England. It tells the amazing story of the Wareham area, from ancient times to today. The museum also has a special part about Lawrence of Arabia, a famous person who lived nearby. You can find the museum right in the middle of Wareham, inside the Wareham Town Hall. Volunteers run the museum, and the Wareham Town Council helps support it.
Discover Wareham's History
The museum is located in the Wareham Town Hall. It focuses on the local area and the people who have lived in Wareham for hundreds of years. You can learn about many things here.
- Archaeology: This is about finding and studying old objects.
- Geology: This is about rocks and how the Earth was formed.
- Local History: This covers the stories of Wareham and its people.
The museum is run by helpful volunteers. It relies on donations to keep sharing these stories.
Lawrence of Arabia's Story
The museum has a special section all about Lawrence of Arabia. His real name was T. E. Lawrence. He was a famous British soldier and writer. He lived very close to Wareham, at a place called Clouds Hill. The National Trust now looks after his home.
You can learn about Lawrence's adventures at the museum. They even have a bullet! It was supposedly fired from a Colt pistol by Lawrence himself. This happened during a train ambush in 1917. The museum also made a DVD about his life. It's called T. E. Lawrence — His Final Years in Dorset. The DVD even shows how his motorcycle accident might have happened. He was riding his favorite Brough Superior motorcycle when he crashed in May 1935.
The Amazing Wareham Sword
The museum also shows off some very old Saxon items. One of the most exciting is the Wareham Sword. It is currently on loan from the Dorset Museum in Dorchester. This sword is from the late 900s. Workers found its remains in 1927. They were building a new bridge over the River Frome in Wareham. The sword was found in the river's mud.
The Wareham Sword is made of iron. It has a beautifully decorated handle, called a pommel. The guard, which protects the hand, was once decorated with thin pieces of copper and silver. The grip of the sword has an Old English message. It says "Æþe... owns me." This means the sword belonged to someone named Æthel. This name suggests the sword belonged to a member of the Saxon royal family. This is very special! Even though the sword looks a bit like a Viking sword, it belonged to a Saxon royal. The Wareham Sword is the only Saxon sword found in England with a royal owner’s name on it.
