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".
The building is locally listed as one of historic importance. National listing was declined, I am told because the frontage is not entirly symetrical - look closely and you will see that the right hand door, which was the entrance to the police station, is bigger than the door to the sergeant's living quarters on the left.It gained a new lease of life as the home of the Surrey Heath Archaeology and Heritage Trust.
The trust took over a semi-derelict building, restored it and converted it, not to a museum, but to a working, volunteer-run archaeology unit. The building providing 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 Square" in Camberley, and artefacts from the trust's collection are 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 were put to excellent use as stores - they just wish that more of the original wooden beds had been left to provide shelves!
The centre has been regularly used with volunteers getting together to work on various aspects of post excavation processing. There have been occasional "open days" and the centre hosts the Young Archaeologists' Club for 9-16 year olds.
The trust members developed an expertise in geophysical surveys which is a modern approach to archaeological work that does not disturb the ancient artefacts.
The end of the Centre is now in sight as the owners, Surrey County Council, have given notice that the lease will not be renewed, though it is not known what alternative use they have for the building or when it needs to be vacated.
The current primary activity of the Trust's volunteers, and others who have offered to help, is sorting and cataloging the contents of hundreds of boxes of finds and deciding what needs to be retained. Arrangements are in hand, in conjunction with the local museum, to relocate the finds, but as yet the Trust have been unable to secure the use of alternative meeting and workshop facilities.
Surrey Heath Archaeology and Heritage Trust
The Archaeology Centre,
4-10 London Road,
Bagshot, Surrey, GU19 5HN
location
More information about the trust is available here and the Young Archaeologists' Club here.
Advert is here
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