Latest Local News at The Weald & Downland Living Museum

17 October 2025

Celebrating All Hallow’s Eve Like a Medieval

When most people think of Halloween today, they imagine carved pumpkins, spooky costumes, and trick-or-treating. Yet beneath these modern trappings lies a much older tradition - a distinctly British story…

Zachary Peatling

Museum News

23 September 2025

A Medieval Harvest Festival: Michaelmas

Michaelmas, the feast of St. Michael and All Angels, was one of the most important festivals in the medieval English calendar. Falling on the 29th of September, it marked both…

MarketingAssistant

Museum News

17 September 2025

Crafting Culture: The Importance of Heritage Crafts & Skills

Culture is built on the practices and characteristics that make a place unique. For thousands of years and countless generations, humans have always crafted. Whether it be art or practical…

Zachary Peatling

Museum News

4 September 2025

Our Story: The Founding of the Weald & Downland Living Museum

Nestled in the heart of the South Downs National Park, the Weald & Downland Living Museum tells the stories of rural life in South East England, not just through its…

Zachary Peatling

Witley joiners shop 031110 sp m 5003 autumn

Museum News

12 August 2025

Joining the Past & Present: The Joiners’ Shop from Witley

As part of our collection here at the Museum, stands the Joiners’ Shop from Witley. While a fascinating building in its own right, the Joiners’ shop also gives us an…

Zachary Peatling

Museum News

31 July 2025

Toys Through Time: A History of Toys & Games

Toys have long played a vital role in the lives of children, providing not only entertainment but also education, socialisation, and development. Across history, the materials, design, and purpose of…

Zachary Peatling

Museum News

20 July 2025

Whispers of the Weald: Folklore in West Sussex

From age-old legends of ghostly processions to the rustic charm of shepherd songs echoing across sheep-filled hillsides, West Sussex hums with echoes of its folkloric past. Especially in the Weald…

Zachary Peatling

Museum News

10 July 2025

Brewing Energy: The Traditional Art of Brewing Beer

Step into the fragrant, fire-warmed Winkhurst Tudor kitchen at the Weald & Downland Living Museum, and you might just catch a whiff of something brewing traditional 16th-century beer. With smoke…

Zachary Peatling

Museum News

24 June 2025

Planting the Past: The Living Gardens of Our Museum

In 1983, a quiet yet transformative initiative took root at the Weald & Downland Living Museum - one born not from blueprints or brickwork, but from soil, seed, and a…

Zachary Peatling

Museum News

21 June 2025

Herald in the Summer: Summer Solstice & Midsummer

How do you herald in the summer? What traditions mark the changing of the seasons? For thousands of years, the beginning of summer was marked by the Summer Solstice. …

MarketingAssistant

Museum News

9 June 2025

Upholding the Peace: Law & Order in Elizabethan England

Among the many threads woven through the tapestry of Elizabethan England, few were so critical to the fabric of daily life as the maintenance of law and order. In a…

Zachary Peatling

Museum News

22 May 2025

Daily Rural Life in Anglo-Saxon England

In the shadow of mighty kings and storied conquests, it was not the thrones or the battles that kept the heart of Anglo-Saxon England beating, but rather the enduring industry…

Zachary Peatling

News

Celebrating All Hallow’s Eve Like a Medieval

A Medieval Harvest Festival: Michaelmas

Crafting Culture: The Importance of Heritage Crafts & Skills

Our Story: The Founding of the Weald & Downland Living Museum

Joining the Past & Present: The Joiners’ Shop from Witley

Toys Through Time: A History of Toys & Games

Whispers of the Weald: Folklore in West Sussex

Brewing Energy: The Traditional Art of Brewing Beer

Planting the Past: The Living Gardens of Our Museum

Herald in the Summer: Summer Solstice & Midsummer

Upholding the Peace: Law & Order in Elizabethan England

Daily Rural Life in Anglo-Saxon England

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