Right in front of you, you’ll see a huge, old stone barn-its thick, golden walls and high pitched roof stand out against the deep green of the grass. There’s a pair of massive wooden doors at the front, like something you’d expect to see on a castle or a movie set… and would you look at that! Some of those stones in the roof are the size of loaves of bread. If you’re wondering which building is the museum, just look for the structure that looks big enough to hide a giant’s lunch and has the aura of centuries of stories.
Welcome to the Somerset Rural Life Museum! Imagine you’re standing where Monks once bustled about, wheat and rye sacks slung over their shoulders. This barn was built way back in the 14th century and used to belong to Glastonbury Abbey. They didn’t store boring old tithes in here-just top-notch Abbey produce, mostly wheat and rye, all stacked high and probably guarded by the sternest abbots in Somerset.
Feel that rough, ‘shelly’ limestone under your fingertips and look up-those thick wooden beams once held up piles of grain, and the great doors before you now are an exact replica, hand-built using crafts passed down for generations. So, if you hear stories about monks getting their heads stuck in pigeon holes while chasing mice out of the grain, don’t be surprised!
After the monks had left the building-literally, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries-the barn bounced between owners, even sitting quietly as a humble farm store. It took its turn on the big screen for a famous movie pistol duel in ‘Barry Lyndon’. Imagine gunshots echoing, tension in the cool air... You can almost picture Kubrick yelling, “Action!”
Step inside (when you’re ready) and you can wander past farm machinery that’s as quirky as it is enormous, or peek into rooms showing off crafts like willow-weaving and how locals made cheese, cider, and even caught fish with just mud and a lot of hope. Did you notice the orchard outside? Don't get too close to the bees-they’re hard at work, and they don’t take kindly to daydreamers!
There are chickens and rare-breed sheep out there, too-if the farm machinery doesn’t impress you, their dramatic staring contests will. The museum is full of old Somerset secrets, and they’ve even got a shop and a tea room. Yes, after a few hours in the past, you absolutely deserve a good cup of tea.
Soak up the centuries-you’re standing in a piece of living, breathing Somerset history!
