Backstage in the Gage - Ruspidge burial society

Last year, our collections review unearthed a box of fascinating documents from the Rising Sun Inn Ruspidge Burial Club that hadn’t been looked at for many years. We contacted Kathryn Berry, a local academic researching late Victorian rural death, who researched the documents and wrote an article for the local history society journal The New Regard 2026. Great opportunity to see the documents up close, chat to Kathryn herself, and find out more about how people dealt with death over 100 years ago.

All of our Backstage in the Gage sessions are at 2 pm, every 3rd Wednesday of the month in the Collections Room—half an hour to an hour informal talk and discussion.

Come to the Collections room to get a glimpse behind the scenes, see objects not on display, and chat with our staff and dedicated volunteers. A great opportunity to get close to history and discover some of the many wonderful stories in our collection.