Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum
Encyclopedia
The Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum is a visitor attraction at Halland
, East Sussex
, England
. The site has a wildfowl collection a motor museum and the house and formal garden are all open to the public.
The house at Bentley was bought by Gerald and Mary Askew in 1937 and following the Second World War the couple developed the house and garden and started a wildfowl collection. Two large Palladian rooms were added to each end of the original house. Following the death of Gerald Askew in 1970, Mary gave the nucleus of the estate to the people of East Sussex. Mary continues to live in part of the house and the site was developed as a tourist attraction. In 2004 due to increasing running costs the East Sussex Council offered to sell the property back to the Askew family for £1.25m or it would sell the property on the open market. Fortunately the Askews purchased the estate and placed it in the hands of a trust in order to ensure it remains open to the public for the foreseeable future.
huts have been constructed using timber from the surrounding trees and authentic traditional methods. There is a woodsman who maintains the ecosystem and annually a fantastic wood fair is held, where many woodland crafts, such as fire-making, are displayed. Craft days are often held and children's parties can be arranged. In the autumn carthorses are brought in to help with bringing in the timber. The forest is an important habitat for robin
s and many other songbirds, woodpecker
s, common pheasant
s, deer and grey squirrel
s. The surrounding fields are a good habitat for mole
s (who leave behind a lot of hills) and rabbit
s. In order to reach the woods one can walk or take the small trains from the mini railway that links up the park to Glyndebourne Station.
s live in the gardens.
In 1962 influenced by the Sussex artist Philip Rickman and a visit to the Wildfowl Trust at Slimbridge the Askew's started a collection of wildfowl. A pond was dug in a nearby field which was poor agricultural land and the collection was started. The collection now has examples of 125 of the 147 species of wildfowl.
As part of the 1970s development as a tourist attraction the Motor Museum was opened, it is not a collection as most of the vehicles are owned by private individuals and are on loan to the museum.
East Hoathly with Halland
East Hoathly with Halland is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The parish contains the two villages of East Hoathly and Halland, two miles to the west; it sits astride the A22 road, four miles north-west of Hailsham, although the original sharp bend on that road...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, 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...
. The site has a wildfowl collection a motor museum and the house and formal garden are all open to the public.
History
Glyndebourne Wood
The woods in the area a very important part of the park. The pigs live in sties here in the winter and several Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
huts have been constructed using timber from the surrounding trees and authentic traditional methods. There is a woodsman who maintains the ecosystem and annually a fantastic wood fair is held, where many woodland crafts, such as fire-making, are displayed. Craft days are often held and children's parties can be arranged. In the autumn carthorses are brought in to help with bringing in the timber. The forest is an important habitat for robin
European Robin
The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
s and many other songbirds, woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
s, common pheasant
Common Pheasant
The Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Georgia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
s, deer and grey squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
s. The surrounding fields are a good habitat for mole
European Mole
The European Mole, Talpa europaea, is a mammal of the order Soricomorpha. It is also known as the Common Mole and the Northern Mole....
s (who leave behind a lot of hills) and rabbit
European Rabbit
The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...
s. In order to reach the woods one can walk or take the small trains from the mini railway that links up the park to Glyndebourne Station.
Gardens
The quiet, peaceful gardens are quite secretively located behind the house and include well laid ponds and statues of sphinxes. Songbirds and moorhenMoorhen
Moorhens, sometimes called marsh hens, are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Gallinula....
s live in the gardens.
Wildfowl
Motor Museum