Heritage Crafts: See Traditional Skills in Action

Explore traditional ironwork skills in our Victorian Forge with expert blacksmith Mark Harding.

29 March, 25 & 26 April, 23 May, 20 June, 6 Sept, 12 & 13 Sept and 18 Oct

Learn how cooking has changed through time as we demonstrate traditional cooking in our heritage homes.

8 March

Watch multi-skilled heritage master craftsman, Alan Paulus, in action as he demonstrates traditional bucket making.

11 April

Visit our candle making shop and make a beeswax candle to take home.

Open at weekends

Archaeologist and Amber artist Vanessa Bunton demonstrates how amber jewellery has been made through time.

2 May, 29 Aug and 3 Oct

Known as Bodgers, skilled craftsmen would set up camp in woodlands and utilise natural resources to create chairs.

22 March, 12 April, 10 May, 17 May, 31 May, 7 June, 20 Sept and 25 Oct

Watch local bushcraft expert, David Willis, spoon carving and find out about the history of this ancient craft.

7 March, 21 March, 6 June and 4 July

Wheelwrights were essential craftsmen, designing and repairing wooden wheels for carts, wagons, and carriages. They would use a Tyring Platform to put the iron rims onto wooden wheels.

30 May

One of the traditional cottage industries - spinning using wool or flax has been part of Chilterns heritage for centuries.

14 & 15 March, 16 & 17 May and 18 to 30 June

Coaches and carts were painted with decorative features. Multi-talented craftsman Alan Paulus continues this tradition, showing us pinstriping the wheels and body of a costermongers cart he has made.

11 July

The Outside demonstrate the practice of natural dyeing using plant materials alongside traditional weaving techniques.

24 & 25 Oct

The tradition of working leather to make decorative items has been around for centuries. Alan Paulus will be demonstrating leatherworking techniques and visitors can have a go at making a leather pendant or key ring.

12 July

Rag rugs were made using worn or surplus textiles—such as old clothing, sacks, and fabric scraps.

Lacemaking is a delicate and highly skilled traditional craft with a long history in the Chilterns.

Flint knapping is one of the oldest crafts in the Chilterns, where flint is naturally found in the chalk hills.

Charcoal burning was an important industry in the Chilterns for many years, supplying the essential fuel for Iron­working in the area.

Agricultural workers would often make traditional fence panels called hurdles by carving branches and slotting them together.

Peg loom weaving is an ancient, simple, and portable method of creating textiles by weaving yarn or fibre through warp threads held by pegs on a wooden frame.

Watch multi-skilled heritage master craftsman, Alan Paulus, in action as he demonstrates traditional ropework.

Hedge-laying is a traditional skill which has been carried out in Britain for hundreds of years. Today, hedge-laying is valued not only for its agricultural function but also for its role in preserving rural heritage and supporting wildlife habitats.

Many of the buildings at the Museum have thatched roofs. Our volunteers can sometimes be found replacing the thatch on some of our smaller structures. Thatching is valued today for its sustainability, insulation properties, and distinctive historic character.

Wet and dry felting are traditional textile techniques with roots stretching back thousands of years. Together, these techniques have evolved from practical craft traditions into widely practiced forms of contemporary textile art.

Straw plaiting dates back to the late 16th century in parts of England and Italy, where rural communities braided dried wheat or rye straw into decorative and practical items—most notably hats—forming the foundation of a thriving cottage industry in later centuries.

Making buttons from scraps of material became especially common in the 18th and 19th centuries, when families across Europe and North America reused leftover fabric to create tightly wrapped or stitched cloth buttons—an economical and creative practice linked to the rise of home dressmaking during the Industrial Revolution.