Rescue and Restoration

Yesterday we spent a few hours wandering around the Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings which is situated just on the outskirts of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire.  There are nearly thirty buildings that, since the museum opened in 1967, have been rescued from various locations and rebuilt on the site.

One of my favourites was the Merchant's House from Bromsgrove which was the first  exhibit at the museum and one of  the reasons that it was founded.  After an unsuccessful attempt to stop the merchant's house being demolished the timbers were rescued and stored and eventually reconstructed on the 15 acre site provided by the Fircroft Trust.

The Merchant's House was built in 1558 by the Lylley family.  The entrance leads through the screens passage and into the central hall there are steps up to a second story or solar wing.  Below are a few photos taken around the house.

In complete contrast to the Merchant's House one of my other favourites was the mid 1940s Prefab rescued from Yardley in Birmingham dismantled and moved to the museum in 1980 complete with its period furnishings.

Let's have a look inside!   Everything I saw in here seemed familiar from my childhood in the 1950s.   The sitting room reminded me of many homes I visited as a child as did the kitchen.  My Mum had a green dressing table set similar to the one on display for many years, I remember they were always sitting on crocheted mats and I still have a complete set of the blue encyclopedias and dictionaries that you can see on the bookcase.  My father bought them one by one and my Mum kept them for years and eventually I had them.  They are in a box and I just can't bear to throw them away or give them to a second hand book shop but I'd love them to go into a period room at a museum just like the ones here.  

I loved this little house below.  It is a toll-house built in 1822 by the Upton-on-Severn Turnpike Trust and brought to the museum in 1985.

Once again I've made a collage of some of the features of the building otherwise there would be far too many photos in this post.

There were many wonderful buildings at the Museum, here are just a few......

The corrugated iron clad Mission Church from Bringsty Common in Herefordshire

The 16th century cruck-frame barn from  Cholstrey court Farm near Leominster, Herefordshire

The Victorian windmill from Danzey Green in Warwickshire

The chain making workshop from Cradley Heath in the Black Country and the small Georgian building below.........

Now what could be in here?   You've probably guessed!

It's a three-seater earth closet from Townsed House, Leominster, Herefordshire.

 

Last but not least here are two Tudor merchant's houses which became and inn called the 'String of Horses' in 1786.  In 1912 the lower floor became the retail premises of the Shrewsbury Co-operative Society.  Inside we spotted the Mad Hatter - he disappeared whilst we ordered tea and cake.  We didn't see him again or Alice or any white rabbits and there certainly wasn't a dormouse in the teapot!  I thought I may have been dreaming but a visit to the Museum's website explains all.

Well a Museum visit of this nature wouldn't be complete with tea and cake would it?

Very tasty it was too! 

Back Home

We've had a wondeful week away mooching around Somerset and Dorset and I've lots of photos to sort through and share with you but I thought I'd start, rather strangely, with the end of our holiday and our journey home.We spent the morning in Stratford-upon-Avon - I'll tell you more about this in a later post - then we moved on to Evesham.

As it is the 'Heritage Open Days' weekend we were lucky to be able to look around The Almonry Museum  and Heritage Centre in the town for free.  It was such a wonderful place - beautiful from the outside and fascinating within.

The Almonry is one of the last remaining buildings associated with Evesham Abbey and has many artifacts relating to the history of the abbey itself.  The inside is a quirky, warren of small rooms with displays relating to the history of the town and its people.

It has old fashioned cases of fossils and ancient tools alongside modern audio visual displays about The Battle of Evesham, memories of the town during the two world wars, Victorian room settings and costume and tools from the industries which made the town prosper.

Round the back is a lovely, tranquil garden in which to sit and enjoy looking at the building.

After walking around the town and discovering the Abbey gardens with its two churches and bell tower - also buildings remaing after the Dissolution of the Abbey -  we bought some damsons from the market - now as well as catching up with laundry after the holiday I have to make jam as well!

Here is a link to The Almonry Museum's Website - if you click on gallery you can see inside the building. I'll be looking in to catch up with what you have all been doing whilst I've been away later on!