Meet the ghost of Sir John Slade!

At this year’s Festival of Archaeology, we have a guest… but was he invited?

The ghost of Sir John Slade has let us know he will make himself visible to all over the festival weekend. Former resident of the museum’s building ‘The King’s House,’ Sir John was quite a character in his day. Born in 1762 this society gentlemen rose through the ranks of the British army. Awarded the Army Gold Medal and honoured three times by parliament, Sir John had a chequered past with Lord Paget describing him as ‘that damned stupid fellow’ and Wellington himself writing ‘I have never been more annoyed than by Slade’s affair…’ ‘as a leader of cavalry he was deplorable.’

Laid to rest in 1859 with these words in mind might explain why, having been rudely woken by our restoration builders, Sir John has a word or two to say about the goings on at the historic King’s House.

Actor Tim Lowe will be bringing you this experience to meet the former King’s House resident and hear how he feels about our extensive building restoration work, and some of the people who have shared the history of the museum.

Sir John will be appearing both days of the festival, and you may find him wandering the grounds…