Period gardens, ‘Dig for Victory’ allotment & woodland

Lacemaking

‘I had a little nutting tree and nothing would it bear But little silver nutmegs for Galligolden fair. Twenty pins have I to do, let ways be ever so dirty. Never a penny in my purse, but farthings five and thirty. Betsy Bays and Polly Mays they are two bonny lasses. They build a bower

A History of Garston Forge at Chiltern Open Air Museum

Tags : blacksmith Blacksmith's forge Victorian forge

Chiltern Open Air Museum is what is known as a ‘living’ history museum, where traditional working methods are used in our centuries-old buildings. Nowhere is this vitality clearer than in its Victorian-era blacksmith’s forge, once located in Garston, Hertfordshire, and now found at the heart of the museum: the village green. It sits at the

A history of Easter at Chiltern Open Air Museum

Easter has been celebrated in one form or another for over two thousand years, as a celebration of spring, as a religious festival and as a joyful holiday. Over that time, the emphasis has changed and it’s interesting to think about what Easter would have meant to the people associated with some of the museum’s

Costume Making

We’re running an Arts Council funded project called Houses Inhabited. The project will develop a team of volunteer costumed stewards with the aim of bringing the museum’s buildings to life with a variety of costumed inhabitants. As part of the project we have funding for materials to create a range of costumes for our stewards