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 Examples of a cottage and a prefabricated chapel at the Chiltern Open Air Museum | |
  Chiltern Open Air Museum Museum location in Buckinghamshire | |
| Established | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Location | Chalfont St. Giles,Buckinghamshire, England, UK |
| Coordinates | 51°38′10.87″N0°32′29.05″W / 51.6363528°N 0.5414028°W /51.6363528; -0.5414028 |
| Type | |
| Collections | Reconstructedvernacular buildings from theChiltern Hills region |
| Public transit access | |
| Website | coam |
Chiltern Open Air Museum (COAM) is an independentopen-air museum ofvernacular buildings and a tourist attraction located nearChalfont St Peter andChalfont St. Giles in theChiltern Hills,Buckinghamshire,England. Its collection consists mainly of historic buildings at risk ofdemolition that have been dismantled and reconstructed in the museum grounds in a process ofstructure relocation.
The museum is aregistered charity under English law.[1] It has a small number of full-time staff and a volunteer workforce of approximately 200.
The museum was founded in 1976 and opened to the public in 1981. It rescues and restores common English buildings from the Chilterns, which might otherwise have been destroyed or demolished. The buildings have been relocated to the museum's 45-acre (180,000 m2) site, which includeswoodland andparkland. The collection has more than 35 buildings on view includingbarns, other traditionalfarm buildings and houses. There is a working historic farm with farm animals.[2][3][4][5]
The charity's aims are to create a living landscape connecting the past to the present — people and place; preserving and interpreting the cultural heritage of the Chilterns.[3]
Buildings of interest include a 1940sprefab fromAmersham, a reconstruction of anIron Age house, aVictorian toll house fromHigh Wycombe, a "Tin Chapel" fromHenton, Oxfordshire and a forge fromGarston, Hertfordshire. A fine pair of cottages from 57 Compton Avenue atLeagrave, nearLuton which started out as aweather-boardedthatched barn with central double doors in the early 18th century. In the late 18th century the barn was converted into two labourers' cottages. A chair factory from High Wycombe highlights the local chair making trade. There is a reconstructed WW1Nissen hut and a reconstructed WW2Nissen hut next to a 'Dig for Victory' allotment.[6][2] In 2014, the museum completed reconstruction of awychert-style farmhouse fromHaddenham, which it had held in storage for 30 years awaiting the necessary funds.[7]
The museum's collection includes 16 buildings that are held in storage and awaiting reconstruction, as and when the museum's funds permit. Among these is Jackson Studios, arecording studio used by the influentialBBC Radiodisc jockey,Jack Jackson, who was also known as the "father of DJs". In the 1970s, the studios were set up by Jack's sons, Malcolm and John as a commercial recording studio. The studios became noted for their ‘dead’ sound, and many noted artists recorded at the studios, includingElton John,Ian Dury,Dr Feelgood, andMotörhead (who recordedAce of Spades there). With the advent of digital technology, the studios went out of business. The dismantled studio building is now in storage at the museum until the necessary funds can be raised to reconstruct them on-site.[8]
At the museum there are many hands-on activities and traditional skills experience days including blacksmithing, willow sculpting and weaving, straw plaiting, historic cooking and folk singing. There are many annual events including re-enactments and living history.[9][5]
The site is popular with school groups and has theSandford Award, Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge and was shortlisted in the Museums + Heritage Awards in 2018 under the Education Initiative.[10]
The site has an environmentally-friendly ethos. In June 2013, the Museum won the environmental category of the Pride of Bucks award, sponsored by B P Collins.[11]
The historic buildings on the Chiltern Open Air Museum site mean that it often used as afilming location for television and filmperiod dramas, and the Museum is located 8 miles (13 km) fromPinewood Studios and 16 miles (26 km) fromLeavesden Studios.[12]
The museum has featured in a number of noted productions, includingMary Queen of Scots,Downton Abbey,Inside No. 9,Call the Midwife,Grantchester,Midsomer Murders,Horrible Histories,The Suspicions of Mr Whicher,Bramwell,Shine on Harvey Moon, andTaskmaster. The site has also been used as a location for a number of educational programmes and historical documentaries produced byBBC Schools,Thames Television andAnglia Television.[12][13]
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