Re-evolution

Star rating: 4/5 stars.

Swindon Museum and Art Gallery
Until 10 October

One poignant message emerges from this small but significant exhibition – that “being homeless is bottom of the pile”, in medieval times and the present day, writes Lisa Bernard.

This conclusion was reached by a group of 25 residents of Swindon Foyer, an enterprise aiming to support young adults at risk from homelessness and financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the South West Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, when they compared the lives of young people now with those of their peer-group in medieval times.

But this unusual exhibition was far from depressing and had obviously fired the imagination of its collators.

It is packed with interesting exhibits which effectively portray life as it was lived in previous centuries in an unstuffy manner, ably assisted by that modern invention the video camera. It is free and well worth a look.

Lisa Bernard is a hospital socialworker in Swindon.