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Weald & Downland’s Living History Festival is taking place this weekend from 4-5th June.

During the festival there will be 200 re-enactors recreating 950 years of history throughout the museum with gun firing, jousting, sword craft, archery, music, demonstrations, talks and food and drink stalls. There will also be a military vehicle parade, a medieval gun display, a jousting tournament, a horse-drawn fire-engine display amongst others.

Living History Festival

Time: 10.30am – 5pm
Date: 3rd & 4th June
Website Details: http://www.wealddown.co.uk/events/living-history-festival/

About Weald & Downland Living Museum

Located at the entrance to the South Downs National Park near historic Chichester is the fascinating Weald and Downland Living Museum. The museum is a “living” collection of over 50 traditional rural buildings from sites across south-east England in a beautiful 40-acre landscape.

These buildings have been saved from being demolished or simply falling down and carefully dismantled, conserved, and painstakingly rebuilt at Weald and Downland Museum. Visitors can truly experience the buildings’ original uses with volunteers explaining the stories of the men, women and children who lived and worked in them over a 950-year period. There is a regular programme of domestic and craft demonstrations including cooking in the Tudor kitchen, blacksmithing in the Victorian smithy and flour milling at the 17th century watermill.

The Gateway Project

The Gateway Project is the result of 10 years of planning. The three new galleries housing the visitor centre, shop, café and community space are clad in local materials including hand-crafted sweet chestnut shakes (heartwood) and locally produced clay tiles, echo elements from many of the Museum’s rural farm complexes.

Large areas of glass highlight the new green oak frames give views of Museum’s collection of vernacular buildings bringing the Museum’s craft and architectural traditions right up to date. Hugh Bonneville officially opened The Gateway project earlier this month naming the museum a “living story book of our culture”.

A link to the programme is available here.

Information

Weald & Downland Living Museum
Singleton, Chichester, West Sussex
PO18 0EU
T: 01243 811363
E: office@wealddown.co.uk
Registered charity number 306338