Cat Humphries 27/04/2025 Cat Humphries 27/04/2025

Shrapnel Boys: Life on the Home Front Museum Trail

This May half term, embark on a fun spotter trail at Chiltern Open Air Museum as part of the Shrapnel Boys: Life on the Home Front Museum Trail, organised by Kids in Museums and Usborne. This national family trail is inspired by Shrapnel Boys, a forthcoming novel by award-winning children’s author Jenny Pearson, publishing to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Cat Humphries 13/04/2025 Cat Humphries 13/04/2025

Gorelands Lane Finger Post Sign

Finger post signs, also known as guideposts or directional signs, are freestanding structures with a vertical post and multiple arms, each pointing in a different direction and displaying text or symbols to guide pedestrians and motorists.

The sign that originally pointed out the routes on Gorelands Lane was donated to the Museum and had been in our collections storage until early this year. Now its had a new lease of life.

Cat Humphries 11/04/2025 Cat Humphries 11/04/2025

More to Discover This April: Hops, Bluebells and a New Nature Trail

Learn about heritage hops growing. Discover the new willow sculpture nature trail and explore our woodland as we enter bluebell season.

Cat Humphries 10/04/2025 Cat Humphries 10/04/2025

Chiltern Open Air Museum Awarded Grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to Enhance Accessibility to Heritage

Chiltern Open Air Museum is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a grant of £239,949 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support its Pathways to Heritage project. This four-year initiative is designed to improve accessibility, enhance interpretation, and provide valuable training opportunities in the heritage sector.

Cat Humphries 04/04/2025 Cat Humphries 04/04/2025

The Traditional Skill of Hedge-laying

Discover the traditional skill of hedge-laying with Museum volunteer Paula Lacey.

Cat Humphries 31/03/2025 Cat Humphries 31/03/2025

Women’s History Month: Women’s Work

For many years, women were not allowed into the professions and yet they performed a key role in the running of a household and a family. Their craft skills often provided much needed income for the family and women also worked alongside their husbands in small family businesses.

Cat Humphries 16/03/2025 Cat Humphries 16/03/2025

Women’s History Month: Land Girls - the Women Who Fed the Nation

Every March Women's History Month raises awareness of the contributions women have made to events through history and society. This week two of our volunteers look at the impact the Land Girls had during WW2.

Cat Humphries 08/03/2025 Cat Humphries 08/03/2025

Women’s History Month: Edwardian Public Toilets and Social History

The Museum is rightly proud of its Edwardian public conveniences. The building represents a much greater issue in our social history. Had it been erected a few years earlier, there would have been no need for the ‘WOMEN’ sign because public toilets were generally not provided for women in Victorian Britain.

Cat Humphries 01/03/2025 Cat Humphries 01/03/2025

Women’s History Month: The Legacy of Gertrude Jekyll

Every March Women's History Month raises awareness of the contributions women have made to events through history and society. In the first of a series of articles, we're looking at the legacy of garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.

Astleham Manor Cottage garden, apple orchard and Orchard Garden were inspired by the designs of Gertrude Jekyll, who was influential in shaping garden design during the early 20th Century. The geometric layout of the garden is softened by the planting style reminiscent of old English cottage gardens. Gertrude Jekyll pioneered this approach to garden design and it came to characterise many Arts and Crafts gardens.

Cat Humphries 18/02/2025 Cat Humphries 18/02/2025

Community Stories: The Thatched Roof

We look back on the memories evoked by the thatched heritage buildings at the Museum, recorded as part of the Flourish project in 2017.

Cat Humphries 13/02/2025 Cat Humphries 13/02/2025

Chiltern Towns and Villages : What’s in a Name?

Discover the origins of the names of Chiltern towns and villages that once were home to our historic buildings.

Cat Humphries 09/02/2025 Cat Humphries 09/02/2025

The History of Garston Forge and the Martin Family

In years gone by, every town, village and hamlet would have had a blacksmith’s shop at its heart. Here at the Museum, we saved and re-erected a forge from Garston. Find out about the history of the forge and the family who worked there.

Cat Humphries 06/02/2025 Cat Humphries 06/02/2025

Community Stories: What has the Toll House Got in Common with Hong Kong?

What has our Victorian Toll House got in common with Hong Kong? We revisit the Flourish project and hear how life in the toll house reminds Mai Sim of growing up in Hong Kong.

Cat Humphries 30/01/2025 Cat Humphries 30/01/2025

Brush Cutting in the Hidden Meadow

Last week we welcomed volunteers from the Chiltern Society who brought a large group of nearly 30 volunteers to help with brush cutting and clearance in the Hidden Meadow.

Cat Humphries 27/01/2025 Cat Humphries 27/01/2025

Costume Team Update: January 2025

This week our Estate Manager Rachael joined the talented COAM Costume team for a fitting of the wonderful smock they've been creating. These fabulous volunteers have been working on the smock since September and Rachael was thrilled to try it on. We discovered what else they were working on.

Cat Humphries 23/01/2025 Cat Humphries 23/01/2025

Chiltern Rural Life: How Roads Changed Through the Centuries

Before the 18th century, the people of the Chilterns lived in a largely rural landscape of remote villages, hamlets, farmsteads, and market towns along the main roads. Discover how the development of the roads changed travel in the Chilterns.