The Avoncroft Museum (or to give it its full name – the Avoncroft Museum of Historical Buildings), claims to be “one of the U.K’s best-known open-air museums”. To be perfectly honest, I have never heard of this place and only came across it by chance when I was going to another destination and I spotted the sign that also implied there was a picnic area there where I decided to stop and have my lunch where I was joined by…
Established in 1964 when the remnants of the first building was erected at the site, Avoncroft was opened to the public in 1967 and it is now the home of over two dozen historical buildings that have been moved brick-by-brick or timber-by-timber to the site! Not only are they there for you to take a look at but you can wander in, around and out of them at your own leisure!
Some of the more notable buildings include: An Inn dating back to 1786 (converted in to a Co-op store in 1912), a Cell Block, a Victorian Ice House, A 1946 prefab house, a Granary, a Mission Church and even a Windmill! Oh, and it is also home to the National Telephone Kiosk Collection!
You can wander around the open-air museum any way you want but there is a recommended route you can follow to ensure that you don’t miss anything. On the recommended route you begin your tour at the old Tudor Merchants Houses that date back to the 1700s.
If you take a look in the Cell Block you can see what life in prison was like including some old wooden stocks! If you click on the video button at the top of the page you can watch some footage taken on my digital camera of the insides of the cells…
There is an old-fashioned Ice House that you can take a look at. Orginally built in 1765, the Ice House came from Tong Castle that was demolished in 1954 to make way for the M54!
They also have a Georgian Earh Closet – you will no doubt recognise this as a toilet! Consisting of three seats (well, holes really), you may not be alone when doing your business! If you look closely you will see a trap door, this was used to allow the pit to be emptied when it’s full…
If you are lucky, just along from the Showman’s Wagon you may even get to see a demonstration of how bricks used to be made! They actually make some miniature bricks which you can purchase at the giftshop – they can be used either as a souvenir of your trip or as a paperweight!
Built in the mid-19th century, the windmill is definately worth a visit – though on a busy day you may have to queue to get in as it only has room for a small number of people at a time!
