Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings
Encyclopedia
Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings is an open-air museum
of rescued buildings which have been relocated to its site in Stoke Heath
, a district of Bromsgrove
, Worcestershire
, England
. Founded in 1963 and opened in 1967, the museum was conceived following the dismantling of a 15th-century timber-framed house in Bromsgrove
in 1962 to provide a location for its reconstruction. It became England
's first open-air museum and the second in the UK. This building is known as the 'Merchant's House' today, though it has been known by other names in the past, including the 'Bromsgrove House' and the 'Tudor House'. It now houses a collection of domestic, industrial, agricultural and other forms of historic building, the majority dismantled and re-erected.
The museum's collection comprises 27 buildings and structures which have been relocated from their original sites under threat of demolition, being rebuilt and restored at the museum. This includes a fully functioning windmill
and a post WW2 prefab house as used in many towns and cities after the Second World War to provide quick affordable replacements for houses destroyed by bombing. The Arcon V prefabricated house was originally constructed on Moat Lane in Yardley
, Birmingham
and was transported to the museum in 1981.
Weddings and receptions are frequently held in The New Guesten Hall, a building at the museum which was built to incorporate the preserved timber roof of Guesten Hall, originally built next to Worcester Cathedral
for entertaining the Prior's guests. The New Guesten Hall is also used by outside parties for concerts, conferences, exhibitions and meetings. The museum's Victorian church, originally built in 1891 at Bringsty Common
, Herefordshire
, was opened and re-dedicated in 1996 and services are held there during the museum's open season. The church is also licensed for wedding blessings.
The other exhibits, which span over 700 years of history, include a perry
mill from Redditch
, a toll house from Little Malvern
, a fibreglass spire from Smethwick
, an earth closet, a cruck-frame barn, a counting house and more.
The buildings include industrial buildings (for example the chain shop), residential / domestic buildings (for example the prefab and toll house), religious buildings (such as the church), agricultural buildings (such as the windmill, barn and stable), buildings for entertainment (such as the cockpit) and others that don't fit these categories (such as the cell block, earth closet and ice house).
Some of the buildings are furnished interally to present a view of life in a particular era in that building. Others are empty, or contain other display materials.
The museum also has a small objects collection which support the large objects collection. Some of these are displayed in the buildings, whilst the rest are kept in the museum store.
The museum also contains the UK
National Collection of telephone kiosks. This is the largest collection of telephone kiosks in the country and is part of BT's Connected Earth
heritage project. There are also three fully working analogue telephone exchanges (one of them a mobile TXE
2), a manual switchboard and early automatic systems. The collection shows the complete history of telephone kiosks in the UK from 1912 to the 1990s together with demonstrations of how telephone calls were routed and connected before the advent of digital technology.
Events often have historical themes and feature re-enactors from various time periods, including Tudor, Victorian, and 1940s.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of rescued buildings which have been relocated to its site in Stoke Heath
Stoke Heath, Worcestershire
Stoke Heath is an area in the south of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England.Originally a small village near Bromsgrove, it has been absorbed into Bromsgrove by new housing developments since the 1980s...
, a district of Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Founded in 1963 and opened in 1967, the museum was conceived following the dismantling of a 15th-century timber-framed house in Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
in 1962 to provide a location for its reconstruction. It became England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's first open-air museum and the second in the UK. This building is known as the 'Merchant's House' today, though it has been known by other names in the past, including the 'Bromsgrove House' and the 'Tudor House'. It now houses a collection of domestic, industrial, agricultural and other forms of historic building, the majority dismantled and re-erected.
The museum's collection comprises 27 buildings and structures which have been relocated from their original sites under threat of demolition, being rebuilt and restored at the museum. This includes a fully functioning windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
and a post WW2 prefab house as used in many towns and cities after the Second World War to provide quick affordable replacements for houses destroyed by bombing. The Arcon V prefabricated house was originally constructed on Moat Lane in Yardley
Yardley, Birmingham
Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee.Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and its Member of Parliament is John Hemming.-Features:...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and was transported to the museum in 1981.
Weddings and receptions are frequently held in The New Guesten Hall, a building at the museum which was built to incorporate the preserved timber roof of Guesten Hall, originally built next to Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester...
for entertaining the Prior's guests. The New Guesten Hall is also used by outside parties for concerts, conferences, exhibitions and meetings. The museum's Victorian church, originally built in 1891 at Bringsty Common
Bringsty Common
Bringsty Common is of common land in Herefordshire spanning the A44 close to the Worcestershire border and within of the town of Bromyard....
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, was opened and re-dedicated in 1996 and services are held there during the museum's open season. The church is also licensed for wedding blessings.
The other exhibits, which span over 700 years of history, include a perry
Perry
Perry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears. Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, particularly in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou.In more recent years, commercial...
mill from Redditch
Redditch
Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...
, a toll house from Little Malvern
Little Malvern
Little Malvern is a small village and a civil parish on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as The Malverns. in Worcestershire, England. It contains a Romanesque church called Little Malvern Priory, after...
, a fibreglass spire from Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
, an earth closet, a cruck-frame barn, a counting house and more.
Exhibits
The 27 buildings and structures at the museum were all moved there to save them from demolition they would have faced in their previous locations, either through wilful destruction or neglect. Together, they represent over 700 years of history from the Midlands and a little further beyond.The buildings include industrial buildings (for example the chain shop), residential / domestic buildings (for example the prefab and toll house), religious buildings (such as the church), agricultural buildings (such as the windmill, barn and stable), buildings for entertainment (such as the cockpit) and others that don't fit these categories (such as the cell block, earth closet and ice house).
Some of the buildings are furnished interally to present a view of life in a particular era in that building. Others are empty, or contain other display materials.
The museum also has a small objects collection which support the large objects collection. Some of these are displayed in the buildings, whilst the rest are kept in the museum store.
The museum also contains the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
National Collection of telephone kiosks. This is the largest collection of telephone kiosks in the country and is part of BT's Connected Earth
Connected Earth
Connected Earth is a UK network of organisations, primarily museums, that preserve the history of telecommunications in the UK. Heritage artefacts are physically dispersed to Connected Earth partners and other institutions as appropriate, and are brought together again online through virtual...
heritage project. There are also three fully working analogue telephone exchanges (one of them a mobile TXE
TXE
TXE, which stands for Telephone eXchange Electronic, was the designation given to a family of telephone exchanges developed by the British General Post Office , now BT, designed to replace the ageing Strowger systems....
2), a manual switchboard and early automatic systems. The collection shows the complete history of telephone kiosks in the UK from 1912 to the 1990s together with demonstrations of how telephone calls were routed and connected before the advent of digital technology.
Events
The museum has a wide and varied events programme that changes every year. Events are largely family-focussed, with some events aimed at an older adult audience. Because of the family-focus, events are largely centred around bank holiday weekends and school holidays.Events often have historical themes and feature re-enactors from various time periods, including Tudor, Victorian, and 1940s.