Church Farm Museum is Lincolnshire's only open air museum and though just a short distance from the centre of Skegness, it soon spirits you away to a quieter more tranquil age. The original 1760's farmhouse is furnished to the period 1900 - 1910 and the room settings are styled as if the inhabitants have just stepped out for a moment.
The location is about 1/2 mile from Skegness Railway Station.
Blacksmith demonstration
Regular demonstrations of baking on the range add to the 'lived-in' feel, as you explore this lovely building, it has even featured in a series of novels. As you leave the farmhouse, don't forget to peep in the wash-house, for those of you who remember wash-day and tin baths' many memories will be stirred and those of you too young may realise what a blessing hot running water really is. Outside the original farm buildings, cowsheds, threshing barn and workshops, now house displays of farming implements and machinery, reminders of an era when life was lived at a slower pace and the horse, not the car, was king.
Our forge is regularly brought to life by ourvery own blacksmith, who demonstrates the many skills of this once vital craft. .
Exhibition
Havenhouse Barn and Waggon Hovel house the museum's exhibition gallery, which ha exciting exhibitions every season, covering a variety of subjects. Downstairs is the tea-room, which serves drinks and snacks, it is run by volunteers and therefore cannot open everyday, so please contact the museum for details to avoid disappointment.
Incidentally the spelling of "Waggon" with two "g"s is the correct traditional Lincolnshire spelling for "Wagon". Boothby Barn is a large timber framed threshing barn, reconstructed and restored by the museum to house our Steam Engine and Threshing Drum during the winter and provides additional covered display and exhibition space.
Withern Cottage
Withern Cottage is a wonderful example of a Lincolnshire "Mud and Stud" thatched cottage, which was moved from the nearby village of Withern to be re-built at the museum.
It's simple furnishingsgive an insight to the living conditions of an agricultural labourer in the late (1 8th and if you follow the cottage garden down the cinder path, you can even visit the outside privy! As you wander the site look out for the summer house nestled at the bottom of the gardens or study the herb garden for unusual varieties.
Steam Traction Engine
Don't miss "Bob" our Hornsby traction engine, brought all the way from Tasmania, back home to his county of manufacture, to spend his retirement, or simply sit back and drink in the calming atmosphere of a bygone age.
The museum offers a varied schools programme and numerous special events through the season, as well as regular Sunday afternoon craft demonstration. Slide talks and quizzes can also be arranged.
Please contact the museum for further details. Museum is open daily throughout the summer season from 10.00am. to 4.00pm. Admission if free (excluding special events). . Ample free coach and car parking. Disabled access to majority of site.
