Weald and Downland Open Air Museum
West Dean, West Sussex
Situated in a glorious setting between Chichester and Midhurst, the museum is open all year. A charitable trust, it was opened in 1970 with the intention of gathering together on one site a representation of vernacular buildings from the south east of England. The objective is not only preservation but their use for many educational purposes. The Downland Gridshell, an award-winning timber structure designed by Edward Cullinan Architects, opened in 2002 and accommodates a conservation workshop, storage, conferences and musical and other events. The museum, a remarkable example of perseverance and enthusiasm, now hosts over 30,000 school visits a year among its 135,000 total visitors. Volunteers play an important role as stewards on the museum site informing and inspiring the public as well as schools. They receive thorough training for these duties including Tudor, medieval and Victorian life.
Workshops for special needs groups are funded by Barclays Bank and run with volunteer help from their staff.
Adult education is equally important and increasingly popular. Based on the museum, it runs collections courses and training on building conservation and rural trades and crafts covering a vast range of materials and methods. Building Conservation Master classes are held with West Dean College and English Heritage and degree courses in timber building conservation are held in partnership with Bournemouth University. Under the National Heritage Training Group established in 2003 the Museum is exploring the feasibility of joint diploma courses with the Building Crafts College in Stratford, East London (supported by the Carpenters Company). Courses are currently being offered on site for rural trades and crafts training which include opportunities to learn about hurdle fencing, coppice management, animal husbandry and so forth. JH
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