Rural downland museum: experience and critique

Tuesday was a day spent in fine weather, following my own advice for focus week. Having already visited the three other long barrows in Kent (see post before this one), I spent the day visiting the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum.

It was not as informative on traditional woodland management practices as I had hoped, although it seemed that there were special days when singular skills and traditional practices were taught by historians and demonstrated, but you had to be there for each of those individual events (@ £8.00 a pop!) and as luck would have it, I wasn't.

Still ,the visit was worthwhile on a number of levels: For one, I was able to see the much talked of Downland Gridshell. This fabulous sinewy building is in effect a shell, which is formed of many pieces of overlapping timber bound into a shape that exists under constant compression and tension. This makes for not only a fabulous shaped piece of architecture, but also a self enforcing structure of extreme strength and longevity. Further to this, timber, unlike other materials, has a natural ability to weather with its surroundings meaning that it is already seamlessly a part of the landscape. And yet it retains on the interior, the beauty and warmth that timber is renowned for. It really is an engineering achievement, but it is not this that you appreciate when you first see it, but rather the sheer scale of the thing. It has to be the largest timber structure that I have ever layed eyes on and this is emphasised by there being no compartmentalisation within the building, leaving a vast open space flooded with natural light, filtered by the beech trees which surround it. It all makes for a wonderful workshop, where it is hoped, Britain's foremost research and restoration of timber buildings will be able to take place.

Overall I hoped more of the place than it was able to offer, but this is not a bad reflection on the museum, as they do not pertain to offer what I sought. Rather it is an observation, that alongside their work on the preservation of ancient timber structures, they could also preserve and teach the traditional wodland crafts that provided and supported the industry of building during the historic periods in which the buildings were erected. To go a step beyond their current practice, an increase in the times available for vistors to observe and/or take part in these traditions would be only to their credit, and when these events are not taking place, some literature available from the shop and some information plaques around the site with visual examples akin to what they have for the buildings, would all be worthy additions.

Beyond this experience, it was a great family afternoon, and I picked up a fantastic bargain on a beautiful Eco homes book. Oh, and Ash got a toy tractor :)