COAM

COAM farm buildings

The Museum’s farm buildings form the centre of the museum’s farming operation. They are laid out and used as a classic Chilterns farmstead that might have formed the heart of a local farm from any time between about 1800 and 1950.

Astleham Manor Cottage

Medieval hall house

● Astleham Manor Cottage was first built in the 1500s in Shepperton, Middlesex, as a three-bayed timber-framed hall house. Henry VIII is alleged to have used it as a hunting lodge.

● The building was expanded in the late 17th or early 18th century, and most of the wall timber framing replaced with brick.

● It has been moved twice. In 1913 it was dismantled and moved a quarter of a mile to make way for a new reservoir. Then in 1990s it was threatened again. It had been empty for several years, vandalised and a local quarry was about to start extracting gravel outside. This was the point where it was moved to the Museum.

● Astleham garden was used for filming Boomers, a 2014 comedy starring June Whitfield, Alison Steadman, Stephanie Beecham, Paula Wilcox and Russ Abbott.

Blythe Road Pavilion

● The Pavilion came from the grounds of the Post Office Savings Bank, Blythe Road, Hammersmith – immediately behind Olympia Exhibition Centre.

● We don’t know much about this building’s history, but it was known to have been used as a sports pavilion and changing rooms between the two World Wars.

● It was moved to the Museum because the Department of the Environment had taken over the buildings in the grounds of the bank, to use for storage for the Victoria & Albert Museum: the Pavilion was not listed, was not suitable for their purposes, and would therefore have been demolished.

● It dates from the early 20th century.

● It is now used as the Museum’s ticket office and shop.

● Comedy series Boomers starring June Whitfield, Alison Steadman, Stephanie Beecham, Paula Wilcox and Russ Abbott filmed an episode in the Museum’s ticket office.

Arborfield Barn

• This barn dates from around 1500, although this type of construction was used from as early as the 13th century.
• The barn is from Carters Hill Farm, near Arborfield, Reading.
• It was dismantled in 1977 and rebuilt at the Museum in 1980.
• The roof has medieval-style thatching.
• The barn was probably originally used to store produce, and may have been used for livestock.
• Fun Fact: The joints of the Cruck frame are held together by pegs with square spurs, in round holes – this is where we get the phrase.
• The barn was used for filming Mary Queen of Scots (the scene where the two queens meet), a wedding in the comedy television series Man Down and a witch trial in dark comedy Inside Number 9.

Garston Forge

Working historic forge used by our volunteer blacksmiths

• The forge was originally built in the back garden of a house in Garston, Hertfordshire in the 1850s. Many of the bricks are marked ‘JC’ showing they were made at John Chapman’s brickworks in Garston.
• From the 1860s until 1926, the forge was worked by members of the Martin family. Descendants are still in contact with the Museum.
• The forge fell into bad disrepair, and permission had been given for its demolition, when it was donated and moved to the Museum in 1982.
• Outside Garston Forge, there is a circular cast-iron platform used for putting the metal tyres on wooden wagon and cart wheels.
• The hearth is from Naphill and matches the original foundations and date.
• The bellows are from Leavesden Hospital.
• The forge was used in 2014 for the filming of an episode of television drama The Suspicions of Mr Whicher.

A wooden prefabricated building

• The building was originally located behind St. James’ Church, Oxford Road, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.
• It currently is used to store the museum’s artefacts collection and because of this it is not currently open to the public except for on pre-booked tours.
• Planning permission for a new building was dependent on this building being removed. The church authorities wanted the building to be saved, and preserved on another site.
• The building was dismantled by volunteers in 2006. The re-erection of the building at the Museum was completed in 2008.
• The Gerrards Cross hut is a wooden pre-fabricated building. Little is known of its early history, though it is believed to date from the First World War. It was re-erected next to the church in 1936 for use as a Sunday school, a function that had continued until the time of dismantling. The original Sunday school sign continues to hang above the entrance. The building was also used as a Scout hut. When the gable over the door was stripped the word “MISSION” could be seen very faintly.

Haddenham Cottage

• The cottage was originally built in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, in the 1830s. The walls are made of a special type of local earth called wychert.
• The cottage was at risk of demolition in the 1970s because it didn’t comply with modern building regulations. It was saved and brought to the Museum, but was in store for many years as we didn’t have sufficient funding to put it back up. Rebuilding started thirty years later in 2007.

Henton Mission Room

• This building is a prefabricated church. It was referred to as the ‘little tin church’, although it is made from wood and clad in iron.
• The building was located in the small hamlet of Henton in the parish of Chinnor, Oxfordshire.
• The Mission Room was constructed in Norwich and transported to Henton by train.
• It was erected in 1886 and held services up until the 1970s.
• It was dismantled in October 1993 and was gradually reconstructed at the Museum between 1994 – 1997.
• The chapel was used in 2011 for the filming of an episode of Midsomer Murders the episode also starred Joey one of the Museum’s pigmy goats.
• The chapel is now licenced for civil wedding ceremonies.
• The Mission Room was built in 1886, on ground let to the Rector and Church wardens of Chinnor by Magdalen College, Oxford, “for the purpose of a mission room to be erected thereon” (Tenancy Agreement, Magdalen College 1886) at an annual rent of one shilling.
• The prefabricated building, which is in timber-framed sections bolted together with an external cladding of corrugated iron, was supplied by Boulton and Paul of Norwich. Two delivery labels were found on the building during dismantling and the company archivist searched through copies of contemporary catalogues, though no exact match was found.

Victorian Toll House

• The toll house was originally built in 1826 for the Collector of Tolls on the London to Oxford road at High Wycombe.
• It’s a tiny house, but was home to a family of five in the 1840s.
• It had been hoped to restore the building at its original location, but in 1974 a car accident destroyed the front room. The building was going to be demolished following the accident, at which point the Museum offered to take it.
• The building is currently presented as it may have been furnished in 1860.

Leagrave Cottages

An 18th-century barn converted into cottages

• This building started life as an 18th century barn in Leagrave, near Luton in Bedfordshire. The barn was converted into cottages in the 1770s. The date of conversion was confirmed by the discovery of a mint condition George III copper farthing under the brick paving near the south gable.
• Interviews with the Marks family who lived in one cottage from 1913 to 1928 are held in the Museum’s archive. These have enabled us to present one cottage accurately as it would have been in the 1920s. The other side is presented as it might have been in the 18th century.
• Although it was a listed building, permission was given for demolition in the 1980s because it was unfit for human habitation. This was when it was donated to the Museum.

Tudor Barn from Northolt, Middlesex

• Formerly Grade II listed barn was under threat on its original site at a farm in Northolt, Middlesex. It had been set on fire three times by vandals. Permission was given for it to be moved the museum in the 1980s.
• It was originally used for storing hay, and may not have had cladding on the walls, allowing for the hay to be well-ventilated. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the fields around Northolt Church were used to grow hay which was then taken to London as fodder for horses.
• Barn dated 1595 on doorway
• The barn is now used for school workshops, birthday parties and events.
• The barn is also licensed for wedding ceremonies.

High Wycombe Furniture Factory

The Chilterns were famous for furniture making

• High Wycombe was well known for its furniture making trade. Our furniture factory was owned by James Elliot and Son. They made a special type of chair called a Windsor. When the factory first opened, it was used for assembling chairs. Chair legs were brought from people called bodgers (skilled men who worked in huts in the woods). They ‘turned’ legs on equipment called a pole lathe; a foot-operated pedal with string or a wheel attached spun a piece of wood really quickly, and the bodger held a sharp chisel against it to shape it smoothly. They could also make spoons and bowls in the same way – it’s harder than it sounds!
• During the First World War the factory made flaps for aeroplane wings, and they also made fireproof furniture for the Royal Navy in World War 2.
• Why is it here at the Museum
• It was going to be knocked down so houses could be built. The Chilterns were famous for making furniture and the factory was perfect to represent this.
• How old is it?
  * It was built in 1887 and was a working factory until 1974.

Skippings Barn, a Traditional Chilterns Barn

• The barn is believed to date from the 18th century It was re-erected at the Museum in 1994.
• This building was probably a threshing barn; a stable and hayloft were added later.
• It was originally located at Skippings Farm, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire.
• It was used by the Hawk and Owl Trust until 2010 as an education centre.
• Fun Fact: The farm from which this barn came was once part of Newland Park Estate, the manor house of which is next door to the Museum.
• Skippings Farm was once part of the Newland Park Estate and local residents may remember Skippings Farm in Chalfont St Peter (now incorporated into the Epilepsy Centre on Chesham Lane).

In 1993, Chiltern Open Air Museum was delighted to be able to rescue one of its buildings, a good example of a traditional ‘Chilterns Barn’, which now resides in the beautiful setting of the Museum’s Village Green. The barn would otherwise have been demolished as it was redundant and posed an obstruction to development plans for the site.