Surprises under the foundry floor!

This year we re-opened on Saturday, March 3rd. It’s been a busy winter - we had our busiest ever St Clement’s Day celebration with over 200 visitors, a sing-song with Mariner’s Away and quite a few blacksmiths too. The fastest snail in the snail race came in at under two minutes and a perfectly formed mini-axe made by Tony Hollis from Somerset took the main prize.

We’ve been busy with maintenance on the machinery and building and had our regional archaeologist have a look at our floor as well. During the digging of a test pit he uncovered a wall almost a metre down, with signs of burning which could mean a fireplace or even a furnace, either of which were built much earlier than the current building, which has set imaginations racing. We hope to map the area one day using geophysics, as sadly digging any further would be costly and damaging.

Over the next two months we have a few events. There’s a rag rug making workshop on Friday, March 30th, a great session which will help you get to grips with this ancient skill. Prices vary but range from £1.50 to £3.00. This kicks off our Easter celebrations, when from Good Friday to Easter Monday, you’ll be able to follow a trail to gain a chocolate prize at the end (£2 per trail). Finally on Saturday, April 28th we will have our usual classic car show with all sorts of interesting, rare and beautiful classics on show.

If you’re a returning visitor or spring-bulb enthusiast it will also be worth popping down as we’ve planted plenty of bulbs this winter ready for a flowery spring display once the sun rears its head.

Finally I would like to thank the people who have come forward with stories about local suffragettes for our upcoming display over the summer - I am happy for more information so please get in contact if you have any interesting stories.