Thatching Workshop At The Weald And Downland Open Air Museum

Yesterday we spent a lovely day at The Weald And Downland Open Air Museum . We have been a few times before, but this time Hannah was able to do a thatching workshop as well. It was really interesting, Hannah was so happy to be able to learn such a traditional and historically important skill.

As well as taking part in the workshop we also had plenty of time to explore the museum.  Hannah's favourite part was the old mill. She was fascinated by the water wheel and the mechanics of it all. She had a try at hand grinding and we bought some flour to bake into bread at home.

We also visited cottages, farmhouses, a schoolhouse and farm buildings aged from the 13th Century right up to the 19th Century,

A 19th Century Stable

Victorian Schoolroom

  Hannah made friends with working horses,

  climbed trees,

 
visited pigs, chickens and sheep,

and watched some television filming on site.The BBC historian Ruth Goodman  and Archaeologist  Peter Ginn were there recording some scenes of life on a Tudor Farm. We have watched a lot of historical documentaries that they have been a part of including Victorian Farm, Wartime Farm, Edwardian Farm and Victorian Pharmacy so were really interested to see a new one being made!

Weald and Downland is an amazing place to visit, we had a really good day and learnt a lot.