Somerset Rural Life Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1975 |
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| Location | Glastonbury, Somerset |
The Somerset Rural Life Museum is a cool place to visit in Glastonbury, Somerset, UK. It's a museum that teaches us about how people lived and farmed in Somerset long ago. The museum is set up in buildings around a really old barn, which was built in the 1300s and once belonged to Glastonbury Abbey.
Contents
The Historic Abbey Barn
What the Barn Was Used For
This amazing barn was used to store crops like wheat and rye from the abbey's own farm. This farm was quite big, about 524 acres (2.1 square kilometers)! People also used the barn for important farm jobs. They would do threshing, which is separating the grain from the plant. Then they would do winnowing, which is cleaning the grain by blowing away the lighter husks.
How the Barn Was Built
The barn was built using local stone that had shells in it, called 'shelly' limestone. It has very thick wooden beams that hold up the stone roof tiles. This barn is so important that English Heritage has given it special protection. It's known as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled monument. This means it's a very important historic site that needs to be preserved.
In 2011, the huge 14-foot (4.3-meter) tall doors of the barn were replaced. Local craftspeople used traditional methods and materials to make the new doors. Their design was inspired by a famous window called The Bishop's Eye in Wells.
The Barn's Journey Through Time
After the monasteries were closed down in 1539, the barn was given to a powerful noble called the Duke of Somerset. By the early 1900s, a family named Mapstone was using it as a farm storage building. In 1974, they generously gave the barn to Somerset County Council. Between 1976 and 1978, the barn was carefully restored to its former glory. You might even recognize it from a movie! The barn was used as a filming location for a pistol duel scene in Stanley Kubrick's movie "Barry Lyndon", which came out in 1975.
Exploring the Museum
Inside the Museum Displays
The barn and its courtyard are filled with cool displays of old farm machines. These machines are from the Victorian era or the early 1900s. You can also see exhibits about local crafts that were important in Somerset. These include:
- Working with willow to make baskets
- Mud horse fishing on the muddy flats of Bridgwater Bay
- Digging peat (a type of soil) on the Somerset Levels
- How people made milk, cheese, and cider
There are also rooms set up to look like homes from the nearby village of Butleigh. In these rooms, you can learn about the life of a farm worker named John Hodges, from when he was born until he passed away.
Outside the Museum
Outside the museum, you'll find a beehive and an orchard with cider apple trees. You can also see some rare breeds of poultry (like chickens) and sheep. The museum often has live demonstrations of old crafts and talks about farming. They also have fun activities especially for children and families.
The museum has a shop where you can buy souvenirs, a tea room for snacks, a car park, and easy access for people with disabilities. The shop is run by a group called the Friends of the Somerset Rural Life Museum.
Images for kids
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Funeral bier
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Mangle
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Three seater toilet
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Apple Press for cider making
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Butter Churn
