A medieval love story takes centre stage from St Valentine's Day
as the wonderful Winwick ring brooch goes on public view in Warrington for the first time for over six centuries. Thanks to a grant from the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and The Headley Trust the Museum has been able to bring this long-lost object back to its home town.
This was love token to lie close to a lady's heart and it's actual size is no larger than a finger ring despite the intricate decoration. It's not hard to imagine how easily should an item could have been lost ( unless of course it was thrown away in a fit of jealousy!)
How do experts describe it?
This superbly crafted and evocative artefact is a medieval annular brooch of the 15th century and is described as a fede-ring because of the two clasped hands. These brooches trace their origin back to the Roman period when this motif was more common on finger rings. Fede-rings became very popular in the medieval period but surviving complete examples are rare.
Ring brooches were a popular form of medieval jewellery which also had a functional use; to fasten the high neck of a lady’s gown.
They were often exchanged as a token of love, with a private message worn close to the lady’s heart.
The inscription on this brooch reads “pensez de moy” which means "think of me."
The rear of the brooch is embellished with five petalled flowers, most probably forget-me-nots to symbolise a lovers gift.
The Winwick connections
The brooch was found in an area which lies on an ancient trackway close to prehistoric sites; the raised platform-site of Winwick church and the Royal hunting forest of Burtonwood. The Winwick area is rich in sites of the pre-medieval period, from the holy well of Saint Oswald, to the potential battle of Maserfeld, where King Oswald of Northumbria was slain.
The area is steeped in history. Romans have marched through it. Other armies heading off to battle marched along Winwick Road. In the 1800s the road saw more than 60 coaches every day pass by.
Like other rural places around Warrington Winwick, survived almost unchanged
from the seventeenth until the late nineteenth centuries. Winwick is now a major road junction, but has a remarkable and vividly colourful history.
How was the brooch was lost?
Did it's owner throw away in a fit of pique on discovering that her lover had been unfaithful or was it a secret love and the brooch hidden? Sadly we'll probably never know the true story of these star-crossed lovers.
But why not come along to the Museum and let your imagination run riot!
Has the Museum’s Cursed Head claimed another victim?
A wooden carving depicting a head is on display at the Museum but no one really knows the full story of how it came to be there or why it’s cursed...
The story goes that a ship’s captain wanted to donate the head to the Museum as he thought it kept bringing him bad luck. It had had four previous owners and all had been dogged with road accidents, punctures and trouble with the police. But on the day he was bringing it in he fell and broke both his legs; a similar thing happened to the person whom he asked to bring it to the Museum on his behalf.
Mr Rimmer, the Director of the Museum at the time, experienced three punctures and narrowly escaped injury in a car smash, within two weeks of taking the head. No one would touch it after that - it was moved wrapped in towels to avoid actually touching it. Two other members of staff poured scorn on the story of the curse and decided to move the head - both were involved in a car crash! A few years later an expert visiting the Museum discovered a paper scroll hidden in a panel on the back of the head, but didn’t tell us what it said. She did say that the figure was a Buddhist monk and as she was also a Buddhist, she wouldn’t be harmed (and as far as we know that’s true.)
Derek Dick, the Museum’s Audience Services Officer takes up the story
I started work here at the museum at the end of April and was told about the head and its supposed curse. About six week ago I was photographing objects within the collection for a promotional leaflet and thought this head would look good as one of the images. So the case was opened and I carried the head to be photographed. No other member of staff would touch it - they came close but wouldn’t touch it.
About three weeks ago while travelling to work I stopped at some traffic lights behind a truck which for no apparent reason started moving backwards. I’d left a big gap behind him so thought “he’ll stop soon,” but he kept coming and smashed into the front of my car. The driver said the brakes had failed.
So that’s the story so far, some true, some we’re not sure about - but will I touch the head again??
Do you think the head really is so sinister? Why not come and look him in the face and see for yourself?
Warrington For Ever!
Warrington Places, Warrington People
Alan Crosby & Janice Hayes
Published in association with Warrington Museum
Warrington For Ever! examines the changing face of Warrington and the factors which have shaped its growth, zooming in on fifteen distinct areas ranging from the historic town centre to picturesque outlying rural districts and workaday housing estates. Memories of historic halls are contrasted with the fondly remembered corner shop, and one of Shakespeare's characters shares the stage with the town's unsung heroes.
Running parallel to the portraits of local places are the stories of local people, the 'Warringtonians' - famous, infamous and 'ordinary' - who have helped to shape Warrington's past. The book features many previously unpublished photographs and oral testimonies, and it blends together official records with family archives and community memories to create a vivid living history of the town.
Warrington For Ever! reveals what makes Warrington unique as a town and celebrates the distinctive character of its many districts. The text combines archive research with memories and photographs gathered from community groups who have recorded their own histories. Much of the material for the book was collected during the Gateway Through Time Project, Warrington Museum's Heritage Lottery Fund local history initiative.
Warrington For Ever! should serve as an inspiration for those who have still to explore the fascinating history of their own area or to document the life of another Warringtonian whose personal story is a missing piece of the jigsaw of Warrington's past.
Warrington For Ever! is available at the Museum Shop and at all good book retailers.
Download "Your History Issue 7", the local heritage newsletter of Warrington Library, Museum and Archives service (PDF 954 KB)
ewsletters
Your History 
