Archaeology Centre
This used to be the police
station (the original one having been Peel House)
until it was decided that Bagshot no longer needed its own station.
As well as police offices and cells, the building also provided living accommodation for two constables and a sergeant.
Mark tells me that in the latter years of its use as a Police Station it had limited opening hours and some wag posted a sign on the door saying "It is an offence to commit a crime between the hours of 3:00pm and 9:30am".
It now has a new lease of life as the home of the Surrey Heath Archaeology and Heritage Trust.
The trust took over a semi-derelict building and have converted it, not to a museum, but to a working, volunteer-run archaeology unit. The building provides storage and workshop facilities for processing the finds from the various excavations that they have been involved with, research facilities, educational facilities, and some galleries in which they mount displays about their current work. The local museum is the Surrey Heath museum in the council buildings in Knoll Road, Camberley, and artefacts from the trust's collection are frequently featured in exhibits there.
There have been archaeological finds in Bagshot that are of national significance, including a 5th century Romano-Christian jet finger ring and the largest hoard of early 17th century English made Venetian glass ever found. Such valuable finds are not kept at the centre.
The former police cells have been put to excellent use as stores - they just wish that more of the original wooden beds had been left to provide shelves!
The trust members have developed an expertise in geophysical surveys which is a modern approach to archaeological work that does not disturb the ancient artefacts.
The centre is used regularly on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (7:30 to 9:30
pm) when volunteers get together to work on various aspects of post excavation
processing. Anybody who would like to come and join in is welcome or
just pop in and see what they are doing. There are also occasional
"open days". The centre hosts the Young Archaeologists' Club for 9-16 year
olds.
Surrey Heath Archaeology and Heritage Trust
The Archaeology Centre,
4-10 London Road,
Bagshot, Surrey, GU19 5HN
Tel: 07870447810
More information about the trust is available here.
Advert is here
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