VICTORIAN style Christmas decorations, a festive tree and treats for children all await visitors to Westbury Museum.
The museum, on the first floor of the town library is celebrating a Victorian style Christmas complete with handmade tree decorations, lots of greenery and a festive look at traditions and treats from Christmases past.
Children visiting the museum will be able to sit at Victorian desks and colour in festive pictures and take a look at the cabinets full of toys and games – a reminder of what would have been on children’s Christmas lists in times past.
Visitors can also see the traditional handmade decorations – just like the Victorians had. These include gold painted walnuts, wooden toys and baked orange and lemon slices along with paper chains and stars. And every child can take away a satsuma or chocolate as a mini festive treat.
The tree is a real reminder of a part of Westbury history as one of the earliest mentions of a decorated Christmas tree in the town comes from James Wilson, who was Westbury MP and the founder of the Economist. He celebrated a family Christmas in Westbury in 1850 at his home at Fontainville – the mansion that used to stand opposite Westbury House.
His daughters, Julia and Eliza, had picked up the idea of a Christmas tree when in Germany and wanted to recreate the tradition at home in Westbury. Mr Wilson took a tree from Wellhead which was then set up between two pillars in the foyer of the house and decorated with everything from coloured tapers to toys and bonbons.
In a biography about the life of James Wilson “The Servant of All”, it recounts how visitors flocked to see the tree with the family holding dinner parties and children’s parties when the tree was lit and toys handed out. Commenting on the tree the book says, “such a thing had never before been seen or heard of in Wiltshire”.
Christmas trees were first made popular by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1846, the couple were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree.
