THE historic Almonry Museum will feature in a BBC Four documentary tonight.
TV historian Lucy Worsley, known for her lively history documentaries, visited the museum back in August to film the Evesham Bible, a first edition, dating back to 1537.
It will feature in Dr Worsley’s new documentary, ‘Elizabeth 1’s Battle for God’s Music,’ which is due to air on BBC Four at 9pm.
In the documentary, Dr Worsley uses the Evesham Bible to help tell the story of how choral evensong emerged from the Reformation era.
The bible is full of handwritten notes and music sitting alongside the printed text. It also contains a handwritten account of the dissolution of Evesham Abbey in 1539 when King Henry VIII’s came to close it.
At its height, Evesham Abbey had been the third most powerful abbey in the country, but that wasn’t enough to protect it from the sweeping religious reforms implemented by King Henry VIII.
The dissolution of Evesham Abbey eventually saw the destruction of the majority of the complex with the ownership of the land and buildings initially passing to the crown before being granted to Sir Philip Hoby in 1542.
Speaking after Dr Worsley’s visit to the museum, Almonry Manager, Ashleigh Jayes, said: “The bible is one of the museum’s highlights.
“The filming has given us a great opportunity to show this rare gem to a wider audience. It was great to welcome Lucy and the film crew to the Almonry and we are really looking forward to seeing the finished programme.”
The programme airs on BBC Four at 9pm.
Visit www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0992l4j for more information.
