Exhibition 'Nursery Days: Life in the Victorian Nursery' in Scolton Manor Museum
Nursery Days: Life in the Victorian Nursery
“Children should be seen and not heard”.
The famous Victorian phrase used to describe their attitude to childrearing.
“You seem to be (both of you) from the mournful, dismal strain of your recent epistles to have made up your mind that you are not much longer for this world, and that the sooner you attain the desirable object of leaving it the better – in these views I in common with your other children of course coincide.” Jack Higgon in a letter to his mother!
“Nursery Days” is an exhibition which will overturn the lazy clichés about the average Victorian family and show through the use of original letters and diaries, as well as visual imagery that the “average Victorian Family” was no more “average” than the “average 21st century family”. They were as loving and fun-filled as any modern family. And our Higgon family at Scolton were as close and friendly a family circle as we would all wish to be.
And, oh yes, they teased each other unmercifully!
Alongside the main exhibition there are trails around the house and grounds, Victorian craft activities and hands-on games and toys in the original nursery. And in August a whole weekend of Victorian fun.
The exhibition will be open daily 11 am to 5 pm from Saturday 1st July to Sunday 3rd September. It is included in the normal admission price for entry to the house, as are the activities based in the house. There is a small charge for the outdoor trails, which includes a prize!
