There is a moment in the year when the world seems to pause. The sun climbs higher than it will at any other time, the days stretch long into the…
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Becky White’s connection to Weald & Downland Living Museum is not a simple story. It has roots that go back to childhood, threads that run through her family, and a…
Les first came to the museum as a visitor, drawn by a straightforward love of history and the kind of place that makes the past feel present and real. Something…
Some relationships with a place develop slowly, deepening over time until they become something central to a person’s life. Martin Downey’s relationship with Weald & Downland Living Museum is one…
Julie Peachy came to Weald & Downland Living Museum at the start of 2019, at a point in her life when she was looking for something to give her days…
There’s a particular kind of person who becomes a volunteer at Weald & Downland Living Museum. They tend to be curious, enthusiastic, and deeply connected to the stories that the…
When one of our volunteers, Debbie Wallace retired, the world had ground to a halt. Lockdown had closed doors across the country, and with it, the usual routes into a…
Retirement can feel like standing at a crossroads. After decades of routine, the question of what comes next isn’t always easy to answer. For Steve, a volunteer at Weald &…
It is unfailingly remarkable what the willing hands of ordinary people can achieve. Long before the first visitors paid for their tickets at the gate on a September morning in…
Rural life in the shadow of mighty kings and storied conquests, kept the heart of Anglo-Saxon England beating. Far from the centres of power chronicled by monks and minstrels, the…
Marking the traditional beginning of the agricultural year, Plough Monday, observed on the first Monday after Epiphany, offers a vivid insight into England’s rural past. With roots stretching back to…
Twelfth Night, the traditional end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, is a captivating and often overlooked celebration rooted in medieval English customs. With a legacy woven through centuries of…
