Victorian Christmas at Fort Nelson

Returning by popular demand the Royal Armouries museum at Fort Nelson will be running its Victorian Christmas event. Visitors will be invited to gather round the range in the garrison kitchen at the Royal Armouries museum at Fort Nelson this December for some festive entertainment and to experience the sights, smells and sounds of a traditional Victorian Christmas.

Visitors will step back in time to Christmas 1896 and enjoy a series of performances by costumed characters including head cook Sergeant Dobson as he prepares dishes for a Victorian Christmas feast for the inhabitants of the Fort.

The barrack room will be festively decorated with oranges and cloves and greenery, the original range will be lit and the smell of freshly baked mince pies will fill the air.

From the kitchen area visitors will be taken by a costumed guide to the Officers’ mess, which is not normally open to the public, to see the difference between the Christmas fare for men and officers and to learn more about how they would have lived whilst at the fort.

As part of the experience, warm mulled wine and a non-alcoholic punch will be served to the tour group, along with one of Sergeant Dobson’s delicious mince pies, still warm from the range.

– Sessions: 11am, 12 noon, 2 pm and 3 pm
– £2.50 per adult (includes mince pie and mulled wine prepared in Sergeant Dobson’s kitchen. Under 16’s FREE, includes a mince pie and soft drink.

Numbers are limited to 20 per session. Each session will last approximately 45 minutes.

Tickets can be pre-booked in advance via telephone (01329 233 734) or in person from Fort Nelson’s Visitor Centre or paid for on the day, subject to availability.

For more details about the Royal Armouries and the national collection housed at Fort Nelson, visit www.royalarmouries.org

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Notes to editors

– Royal Armouries has two other sites at HM Tower of London and in Leeds.
– Fort Nelson in Hampshire houses the national collection of big guns and artillery. It underwent a major refurbishment in 2011, with new galleries and a state-of-the-art education centre. The project was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
– In 2014, it was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor.
– The Royal Armouries Museum should not be confused with Royal Armouries International plc, the private sector corporate hospitality business based on the same site in Leeds.
– For further media enquiries and photo opportunities at Fort Nelson, please contact Caroline Chapman, Communications Officer: caroline.chapman@armouries.org.uk