Take Pride in Your Heritage
June is Pride month - celebrating the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer culture and communities. COAM champions inclusivity through our Heritage Stories project, collecting stories from members of the Chilterns community; often a reminiscence sparked by one of our rescued buildings or an object from the Museum's collection.
COAM Highly Commended at Museums + Heritage Awards
Chiltern Open Air Museum scooped second place in the Visitor Accessibility Award category and were awarded Highly Commended at the Museums + Heritage Awards.
What was it like living in a 1940s Prefab?
Visiting the 1940s prefab at Chiltern Open Air Museum is like stepping back in time. Why were the prefabs built, what was it like to live in them, and why were their gardens cherished by those who moved into a prefab in the 1940s?
Commemorating VE Day 80
As we mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe the Museum remembers World War 2 and the impact on the people of the Chilterns with a series of events and exhibitions throughout the year.
Buildings in Storage: Watford High Street 177-9 & 193-5
Explore the remarkable rescue of 177–179 and 193–195 High Street, Watford — two fifteenth-century timber-framed commercial buildings saved from demolition in the 1970s. Now preserved in store at Chiltern Open Air Museum, these medieval structures reveal layers of urban life, from warehouses and wagon ways to bakeries and twentieth-century shops.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Traditional Skill of Hedge-laying
Discover the traditional skill of hedge-laying with Museum volunteer Paula Lacey.
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.
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.
Buildings in Storage: Aylesbury Saddler’s Workshop
Built around 1773 and hidden behind a shop in Kingsbury Square, Aylesbury, this timber-framed saddlery served local farmers for nearly two centuries. Saved from demolition and now in store at Chiltern Open Air Museum, it represents the skilled craftsmanship and rural trades that shaped Buckinghamshire’s market towns.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Finding Us
Newland Park, Gorelands Lane
Chalfont St Peter HP8 4AB