Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whisky Distillery has announced it will open to the public on 25 March 2023 in Wooler, Northumberland.
The new museum focuses on the story of the 7th Century Anglo-Saxon Royal court of Northumbria through an immersive visitor experience.
Objects on display include rare Anglo-Saxon treasures, some loaned from the British Museum, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Ford & Etal Estates, and the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Ad Gefrin secures British Museum loans ahead of 2023 opening
A Great Square Headed Brooch and Shield Boss, both loaned from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, as well as objects from the British Museum’s early medieval collections will be displayed on opening.
The main feature of the museum is a recreation of The Great Hall, central to the Summer Palace of the kings and queens of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria, and discovered through aerial photography and later unearthed through archaeology at Yeavering near the museum’s Wooler location.
The museum’s Director Dr Chris Ferguson explained: “Since the very beginning of this project, we strongly believed that the story of Yeavering and of the ‘golden age of Northumbria’ was worth sharing with the world and we look forward to welcoming visitors here at Ad Gefrin.”
Maria Bojanowska, Dorset Foundation Head of National Programmes at the British Museum added: “This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase these rare Anglo Saxon objects in Northumbria, where they originated. The Castle Eden Claw Beaker is a highlight of our early medieval collections and it is hugely exciting to see it return to the North East for the first time in 32 years.”
Originally set for a February opening, Ad Gefrin is one of several this year listed in our feature looking at the year ahead, 2023: What is happening in the sector this year?.
