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News from Yesterday's World, in Battle, East Sussex
 
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Former Lyons Teahouse manager meets our Nippies waitresses Back to top


A former employee of the famous J Lyons & Co teashops of the 1930s celebrated her 97th birthday with a trip down memory lane on Wednesday 14 November.

Mrs Barbara Doe, who managed the Lyons Tea Shops at Hyde Park Corner, Earls Court, Hammersmith Broadway and Richmond in the 1930s enjoyed a guided tour around the museum, followed by afternoon tea in the new ‘Nippys Tearoom’, which is inspired by the famous tea shops and corner houses of the early twentieth century.

In true Lyons tradition, Barbara was served by staff dressed as Nippys waitresses. Commenting on her visit, she said: “It’s wonderful here. The girls are so nice. I’ll be back for my 100th birthday.”

The first Lyons teashop opened in Piccadilly in 1894. By the 1920s, Joseph Lyons & Co had the largest food empire in Britain with 250 teashops and 3 corner houses in Central London, each of which could seat up to 3,000 people. The Lyons waitresses in their distinctive maid-like uniforms and matching hats were nicknamed ‘Nippys’, due to the speed and efficiency of their service and became a national icon, appearing in all manner of advertising in the 1930s.
 
Traffic-stopping party at Yesterday’s World, Battle! Back to top
Yesterday’s World in Battle hosted a spectacular street parade on Battle High Street on Sunday July 1, to commemorate the official opening of the brand new £3million state-of-the-art exhibition centre.

The Grand Pageant Celebrating 100 Years of British History kicked off at 11.30am with the fanfare trumpeters from the Band of the Royal Yeomanry leading off the procession.

The parade included vintage vehicles, the Battle Town Band, the Royal British Legion, Victorian Strollers and local schools and youth groups in fancy dress.
 

  

The highlight of the parade was look-a-likes of Queen Victoria and Princess Alexandra, who arrived in a horse drawn open state landau coach to officially open the new exhibition centre.

VIP guests who attended the event included the High Sheriff of East Sussex, Chairman of Rother District Council, Chairman of East Sussex County Council and the Mayor of Battle, as well as representatives from St Michael's Hospice and Demelza House Children's Hospice.

Celebrations continued all afternoon at the Yesterday’s World museum, where visitors were treated to the swing tunes of The Moonlighters and performances by wartime spiv entertainers in the new landscaped gardens. Half price admission was offered on the day with donations to St Michael’s Hospice and Demelza House Children’s Hospice.

Further pics
 
Europe’s oldest man begins 111th birthday celebrations with a trip down memory lane Back to top


Europe’s oldest man and WW1 veteran, Henry Allingham was invited to start the celebrations of his forthcoming 111th birthday here at award-winning Yesterday’s World, in Battle, Sussex on Wednesday, May 16th.    

Mr Allingham was guided around the new displays of recreated scenes including Edwardian drapers, sweet shops and the royal exhibition, which triggered the early memories of the 110 year old war veteran.    

Commenting on his visit, Henry said: “It’s a really good museum. I’m so surprised to see so many things collected here, I had no idea – it certainly wasn’t here when I came to Battle 40 years ago!

“I’ve had a lovely day. This museum is a real credit to all that work there; I never imagined I’d see all these things again – what a surprise!”

Museum manager, Clive Pardey said: “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to meet Henry – a 111th birthday is a truly remarkable achievement, and we are honoured to be able to offer an historical summary of Henry’s 111 years in the carefully restored items at the museum.”

“There should be an item to mark almost every decade of Henry’s life, so it’s great to reminisce those years with him.”

Yesterday’s World made a presentation after the tour, presenting him with a genuine packet of ‘Wild Woodbine’ cigarettes from the war years, a ration book, replica war-time memorabilia cards, and traditional old fashioned sweets.

Henry Allingham was born on June 6, 1896. He is still very active and has a busy schedule in the run up to his birthday, which he plans to celebrate in Portsmouth aboard the HMS Victory, where the Royal Navy and Marines will host the special occasion.
 
Crown Jewels Saved by Quick-Thinking Builder! (March 27th 2007) Back to top

An audacious attempt to steal the “crown jewels” was thwarted today by a quick-thinking builder.

Alan Wootten clocked on early at Yesterday’s World in Battle just before 6am, and spotted two men trying to break into the new extension at the back of the building.

The would-be burglars dropped their bags and ran off. The bags contained a crowbar and other equipment that could have been used for a break-in. Police were called and spent an hour on site.

Yesterday’s World owner Peter Bull believes the robbers were after his crown jewel replica collection.

Mr Bull said: “The crown jewels look fantastic, and we believe this was what the robbers were after. They don’t have a great value, but to the untrained eye of a burglar, they would look like a good catch.”

He said that Yesterday’s World, opposite Battle Abbey, is fitted with a quality alarm system. CCTV is also fitted internally and externally.

“Yesterday’s World has recently opened after a multi-million pound refurbishment programme. We understand that people are desperate to get into the place, but we do prefer people to enter the building in a more orthodox way through the front door during opening hours.”

 
5,000 Square Foot Expansion Now Open! (March 2007) Back to top

New attractions now open at Yesterday's World. Wander the intriguing backstreets of Victorian and Edwardian England, journey back to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and revisit the psychedelic Seventies! Virtual Victorians, An Audience with Queen Victoria, new visitor facilities, and 1930s Nippys Tea Rooms. Children's play village and gardens reopen.
 

Yesterday's World Call in Ghost Busters ! (March 2006) Back to top


A team of paranormal investigators spent the night at Yesterday's World last week, following reports by staff of ghostly going-ons.

Members paranormal team, Ghost Connections, set up a range of sophisticated equipment including CCTV, data loggers, camcorders, videos, DVD recorders and digital voice recorders as part of their all-night investigation.

Yesterday's World call in paranormal investigators after reporting ghostly goings on at the museum, which is 600 years old this year.Marketing manager for Yesterday's World, Lindsay Atfield, spent some time with the team.

"We split into groups to concentrate on the areas where there has been reported phenomena. Over the years both staff and visitors have reported unusual goings-on, particularly in the chemist and attic areas. I have been in the shop before opening time and have heard  the sound of footsteps on the floor boards upstairs when there's been no-one there.

It was a very interesting evening. There were a lot of strange knocking noises and bangs and the temperature upstairs definitely plummeted. I'm keeping an open mind but looking forward to receiving the full report of the investigation."

The Wealden Hall-House which houses most of the exhibits at Yesterday's World is 600 years old this year. Paranormal groups interested in carrying out an investigation should contact email us, as it may be something we will consider setting up once the building works have been completed.
 
Planning Permission for New State of the Art Exhibition Centre (March 2006) Back to top


We are delighted to announce that planning permission for a new two storey building has been passed by Rother District Council and work can begin on the new exhibition centre and visitor facilities that have been in the pipeline for the last 12 months. The new 'Audience with Queen Victoria' exhibition

The main featurewill be a specially commissioned, fully interactive audio-visual display that will describe the many social changes, inventions and developments that occurred during the long and illustrious reign of Queen Victoria.

Other new attractions will also include a licensed indoor cafe, serving a range of hot and cold refreshments and clotted cream teas, a lunch room for schools and parties and new toilet facilities.

Yesterday's World are offering discounts on admission to the museum while the garden area is closed for renovation. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
 
Items Wanted From '50s - Early '80s (Ongoing Appeal) Back to top


Remember the rubix cube? Or how about the first ever mobile phone? Do you have any items from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s or early 1980s lurking in your attic?

Exciting new plans are now in the pipeline to build a major new exhibition centre at Yesterday's World and we're appealing to the public to help! We are looking for artefacts from household items or pieces of furniture to garments, toys and children's games from the 1950s - the early 1980s to complement the 100,000+ 1850s-1950s exhibits already on display. Lorraine's Cottage

One artefact which touches the heart of many of visitor to the museum is 'Lorraine's Cottage'; a beautifully hand-painted and much-loved 1960s dolls house, which was donated to the museum in August 2004. We are eager to take on more articles like this from the 1960s, as well as the 1970s and early 1980s for our new display.

If you have anything from these eras sitting in your attic that you would like to find a home for, we would love to hear from you.

We are interested in everything from singular items to entire collections and depending on where you live, we may be able to arrange transportation in some cases. Please contact 01424 893938 for more details.
 

Cannon From Nelson's Flagship Finds Home in Play Village (October 2005) Back to top

 

Rebecca and children from Elm Grove Primary School with the new cannon

 A 13ft cannon from London has found a home in the Yesterday's World Bygone Play Village.

Museum bosses purchased the mock canon, which is seated on a mahogany timber base and is a replica of one from Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship, from a display commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

It is the latest addition to the popular children’s play area, which was gutted by fire following an arson attack earlier this year. Another welcome new feature is the blacksmith’s forge, complete with stables and a replica furnace, which is already proving to be very popular among the museum’s younger visitors.
 
Display Wins Royal Approval (September 2005) Back to top

Princess Anne greets Lindsay and Rebecca at the Blitz Exhibition, Guildhall


Some of the Yesterday's World team travelled up to London's Guildhall to attend a Blitz Exhibition held by the Worshipful Company of Firefighters last week.

The special 3 day public event marked the role which firefighters played during the Blitz and included displays from St John's Ambulance and Dr Johnson's house, as well as an ARP station and archive footage from the period.

Our stand on food packaging and rationing from the war brought back fond memories for a lot of visitors who attended the event, many of whom had been evacuated as children during the war. HRH Princess Anne, attended a private viewing of the exhibition on the Monday evening and was particularly interested in our special Aintree edition box of Jacob's cream crackers, which had a drawing of a racehorse on the front.

All the artefacts on the stand, which included articles such as Rinso powder, Oxydol, Sunlight Soap, spray dried egg powder and Welgar Shredded Wheat, are available to view in the 1930s grocers and war cabinet display at Yesterday's World.

Photos of the event

If you have any articles, particularly from the 1960s, '70s & '80s, which you would like to display at Yesterday's World, please contact 01424 893938.
 
Sweet Donation to Museum (August 2005) Back to top

 

Sam Wigley (left) examines some of the 'mint condition' items with Lindsay Atfield from Yesterday's World. The museum received an unusual gift this month after a surprise discovery was made in a storage room.

Whilst clearing out the store room at Folkestone Bus Station, Stagecoach Operations Manager, Sam Wigley and her team discovered more than 100 old-style sweet containers - believed to be at least 45 years old. Many were in good condition and unopened with the historic sweets still inside!


The sweets are thought to be from stock left behind by a former shop at the bus station, which celebrated its 50th year of operations in March. Familiar brands were found including Quality Street, Lucozade, and Cadbury's Roses along with names from a bygone age such as Dulcet Pastille Fruits and Jelly Fish, Pascal Fruit Bon Bons, Lyon's Double Hit and various brands from Bellamys the confectioners. All had price tickets attached showing pounds, shillings and pence.

Keen to ensure the discovery can be appreciated and bring back sweet memories to the public for years to come, Stagecoach staff contacted us at Yesterday's World to give the artefacts a new home, in return for a donation to the Sittingbourne-based charity, Demelza House Hospice for Children. We are hoping to display some of items in our Victorian Sweet Shop and in Mrs Bumble's Chocolate Shop once they've had a bit of a clean-up.

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