Today it is an architectural jigsaw of windows, blocked doorways and arches. Inside, the pieces begin to fit together as visitors stand in the crossing of a 12th century Benedictine church.

Denny was home to Benedictine monks for only ten years from 1159 until it was handed over to the Knights Templars. For this mysterious religious order, known as the ‘fighting monks’ because of their commitment to protecting pilgrims to the Holy Lane, the Abbey was a home for aged and infirm members of the order.

By 1308 the Templars had fallen out of favour with the king and on January 10th of that year they were arrested, taken to Cambridge Castle and then to the Tower of London.

The third religious order to occupy Denny Abbey was that of Franciscan nuns, otherwise known as Poor Clares. Their founder, the Countess of Pembroke, converted the original church into her own private apartments and built a new church, a refectory, dormitory, cloisters and other buildings which have not survived.

The 14th and 15th century would have seen a bustling Denny – home to nuns and several chaplains. At that time, Abbeys were not only religious centres but also the occupants were also managers of large agricultural estates. There would have been a considerable community here that would have included servants and farm workers.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 signalled the end of religious life at Denny; two years later, all the nuns had left. The Countess of Pembroke’s apartments and the refectory survived as they could be converted for farm use – the rest was destroyed.

The estate subsequently passed through the hands of many generations of farmers until the early 20th century, when Pembroke College acquired it and placed it in the care of the Ministry of Works, now English Heritage.

When you enter the cottage living room discover what people did in the age before television. Look out for the washroom, larder and a kitchen complete with range. Explore the family bedrooms upstairs. Go outside into the cottage garden around the side of the house and visit the family’s toilet or privy.

Many houses did not have a bathroom or inside toilet (privy) until the 1950’s. Privy’s were usually a separate weatherproof building, often some distance from the house. “Paying a visit”, to the privy was often called “Going to pick the daisies” or “Going to stack the tools”. Inside most people had a single seater with a lid (this was very important in the summer!). There was either a bucket under the seat which was regularly emptied or a deep pit.

Interior of cottage ground floor kitchen

Demonstrating washing clothes in a dolly tub to a child

While the expert will doubtless enjoy all the equipment and machinery in its own right we have also tried to make it accessible to the increasing numbers of people, especially the younger generation, who are not familiar with farming.

Notable farming equipment on display includes a 1940s grey Ferguson tractor, an early sail reaper, sugar beet farming equipment, hay making equipment, ploughs and potato machinery.

A fascinating and interactive exhibition of childhood that will bring back memories for adults, and information for children, on the way we used to live. 

The colourful and informative panels on such aspects as toys and games, children’s TV, nursery rhymes, clothing, children’s furniture, and school and learning, are accompanied by an old-fashioned wooden toybox, complete with toys and games, and a listening post to hear recordings of childhood memories.

The exhibition is enhanced by the museum’s own collection of toys and childhood memorabilia.

The museum has also organised family craft days on Tuesday 3^rd and Thursday 5^th April,12pm-4pm where children can have a go and recreating their own toys from the past such as making a whizzer, or a cup and ball, or an illusion trick. 

Laura Pearson, Acting Curator says: “This delightful exhibition, which coincides with the Easter holidays, is a must for families, and all generations will enjoy either reminiscing about their own childhood, or learning about the toys their parents and grandparents played with.”

Exhibition: In The Frame
2 May to 16 July 2012
An exhibition looking at Museums collections of pictures – prints, paintings, posters, needlework, crafts and photographs. Come and see what the museum has chosen. Discover the range of different things; learn to tell what these pictures are and how to care for them. You may have similar things on your walls at home.
Normal admission and opening times apply.

Exhibition: The second annual Farmland Artists’ Exhibition
Sat 5 to Mon 7 May 2012
An in-house temporary exhibition over the bank holiday celebrating the artistic talents of The Farmland Museum volunteers and staff. The exhibition will feature some works for sale and a selection of printed cards.
Normal admission and opening times apply.

Exhibition: Cambridgeshire Competes
20 July to 31 August 2012

Cambridgeshire Competes is a partnership between museums and sports centres across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to work together to explore the tangible and hidden history of the county’s connections to the past and future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The project will create an exhibition trail across the county utilising museums inspiring collections to explore local champions and heroes, and the excellent designated collections’ fascinating and quirky insights into different aspects of the Olympic story.

For further details on this project visit the Cambridgeshire Competes website

Archived Exhibitions
2011

Exhibition:  The Coppice : Ancient Traditions, Sustainable Future?
An in-house temporary exhibition exploring the ancient tradition of coppicing and following its continued use into a contemporary context. The exhibition will feature interactives and examples of how coppicing is now put to use to create contemporary furniture.
Until 31st October 2011

  http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm

29/03/2012

NEW PLAY AREA FOR LOCAL MUSEUM
Army in Waterbeach lends a hand moving old Fordson
In preparation for work to begin to install a new play are at the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey

A new children’s play area is planned to be installed in the middle of April at the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey. The new facilities will include a play centre for younger children and an obstacle course geared to older children. The museum’s Fordson Tractor, popular with generations of children, will also be restored as part of the development.

However, the two-tonne  Fordson Tractor needs to be repositioned before any installation work can begin. This is where the army from Waterbeach Barracks stepped in, bringing their expertise and 30-tonne crane to lift it into its new location. 

Acting Curator Laura Pearson said;

“We are extremely grateful for the Waterbeach Barracks help and support with getting this project underway. The Fordson tractor will now have pride of place, linking the play area with our amazing collection of Cambridgeshire farming.

The new play facilities will be a perfect addition for families to hang out together and for kids to let off steam.”

Local company Fenland Leisure from Wisbech, have designed, made and installed the bespoke equipment.  Richard Taylor from Fenland Leisure said:

“One of our other contracts at the moment involves constructing fitness courses for the Ministry of Defence. But whilst we work nationally it is always great for us to be working in the local community and we are really looking forward to providing our traditional play equipment to this lovely local attraction”.”

The Friends of the Museum are providing some of the matched funding and museum volunteers are helping out by re-painting the Fordson Tractor.

The new facility is being funded by AmeyCespa/ Cambridgeshire Community Foundation  and the Fen Adventurers Tourism Challenge project, which is funded by DEFRA and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and managed by Cambridgeshire County Council.

ENDS

End of day one and the surface is ready for the new turf to be laid and all the individual pieces are waiting to be installed. Tom Fisher, local archaeologist from Oxford Archaeology East will be on site tomorrow to watch and report on the digging of holes to concrete each piece in…

17/04/2012

Day two of play area installation! Tom the archaeologist begins the watching brief in the rain on over 20 holes that need to be dug (500mm deep). Previous archaeology reports from test pits advised the positioning of each play piece which is flexible and subject to change if Tom discovers anything of archaeological siginificance.

Wondering what to do when the school holidays are upon you? Why not come along to our special family drop-in holiday activities.

Children's activity

There is no need to book, just turn up between 12 noon and 4pm.

Who runs the sessions and what age are they for?

The activity sessions  are suitable for ages 4+. Each child should be accompanied by an adult. The activities are led by education staff and volunteers.

Where do the activities take place?

The activities will take place in The Farmland Museum’s Education base and sometimes outdoors if fine weather.

How much does it cost?

Admission prices are Adults £4.50, Concessions £3.50 and all children five and over £3. The admission price includes all the activities on offer.

Membership gives you free entry

If you come to more than one activity day a year, it may be worth joining the Museum as a Friend. This will give you and your family unlimited free entrance to the Museum (family membership per year £22).  Please see the Friends page for more details.

Make a day of it

You may also like to bring a picnic lunch. On the activity days the cafe will be open  selling a range of filled rolls, hot and cold drinks and cakes. There are toilets and parking on site, so you can make a day of it.

The Farmland Museum welcomes Families

We understand that our museum is an ideal location for a family day out, and we have made important changes to allow families to enjoy the site as a family group, with plenty to see, do and discuss for all ages.

The welcome begins with a banner in the car park which carries our new logo ‘Farmland Families’ and points out that the open grassy site is a great place to have a picnic.

At the reception kiosk you will find that there is a special entry price for families. Here you will not only find a shop stocked with attractive items for all ages, and all pockets, including ice-cream, but also a range of free activity leaflets to help you focus on the best things in the museum. You can also pick up our returnable ‘Activity Pack’ which has a range of information leaflets, activity sheets, colouring pages, and even a special magnifying glass for explorers who want to get really close to the artefacts. Please ask for one of these at the reception desk.

Around the museum you will spot cards which encourage you to ‘Have a Go’. Please do. There is a mixture of activities which will help you to understand the collections more fully.

For example, you can:

• Practise weaving in the Basketweavers Workshop
• Learn to talk like an auctioneer in the Farm Sale
• Milk the cow and pat butter in the Dairy
• Take rubbings of makers’ signs in the Stone Barn
• Weigh out with the scales in the Village Life Shop
• Design a tile floor in the Nuns’ Refectory
• Dress like a monk or nun, and make a stained glass window in the Abbey

                and much more…

Have a pause in the Education Room where there are a number activities, including the ‘Crawl Space’ for younger family members, a ‘Reading Corner’ with books for all ages, as well as jigsaws, colouring sheets, a farmyard to play with, and construction exercises. You can also do a Victorian schoolroom exercise, and even a computer quiz. (From time to time this space is booked for adult craft workshops, training and conferences. Please ring the museum to check availability prior to your visit T: 01223 860988)

Another place to pause is the Playshed, where younger family members can play with old farmyard toys and dress up in historical costumes.

Outside the playshed is the new Play Area, and alongside is the cafe, which includes children’s meal deals, and picnic tables.

As well as ‘doing’ there are also many fascinating objects and places to see which will certainly get the older family members talking. The Farm Labourer’s Cottage needs little explanation, as does the Village Life Shop; both are full of atmosphere and memories of not so long ago. The 850-year old Abbey is a fascinating building to explore, with so much to discover, and with the changes of England’s tumultuous history written into its very stones.

There is certainly enough on the site to involve a family for a whole day’s visit. And if you don’t have time to see everything, why not drop in again on one of our Event Days, or Family Activity Days?

No personal information supplied to this website will be given to any other organisation without your explicit permission.

If you choose to register with the site, you will be asked for your name. The name you give will be listed on an index of contributors. The name will also be displayed alongside any pages or comments that you contribute to the site.

If you choose to supply your e-mail address along with your other personal details, this will only be used to contact you about matters specific to this website. It will not be supplied to third parties and is not displayed on the site.

Use of cookies

This website does not require cookies to be accepted during normal browsing. Your browser must accept cookies in order to use the interactive aspects of the site, such as adding pages and comments, but no permanent information is stored during this process.

In all other respects, we do not use cookies for storing information about you or your usage of the site.

Web site tracking

Whenever you visit our web site, our host server automatically records each page you visit and the IP address from which you are connecting to us. It also records other information, including your operating system, your web browser, and the web site from which you followed a link to this website (if any).

This information is only gathered to establish general usage trends for the site, not to find out information about individual users.

Other sites

This site may contain links to other sites which are outside our control and are not covered by this privacy policy. If you access these sites using the links provided, the operators of the sites may collect information from you which will be used by them in accordance with their privacy policy.

By accessing the content of www.dennyfarmlandmuseum.org.uk (“the Website”) you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set out herein and you accept our privacy policy. If you object to any of the terms and conditions set out in this agreement you should not use any of the products or services on the Website and leave immediately.

You agree that you shall not use the Website for illegal purposes, and will respect all applicable laws and regulations. You agree not to use the website in a way that may impair the performance, corrupt the content or otherwise reduce the overall functionality of the Website. You also agree not to compromise the security of the Website or attempt to gain access to secured areas or sensitive information.

You agree to be fully responsible for any claim, expense, liability, losses, costs including legal fees incurred by us arising from any infringement of the terms and conditions set out in this agreement.

Modification

The Farmland Museum reserves the right to change any part of this agreement without notice and your use of the Website will be deemed as acceptance of this agreement. We advise users to regularly check the Terms and Conditions of this agreement.

The Farmland Museum have complete discretion to modify or remove any part of this site without warning or liability arising from such action.

Limitation of liability

The Farmland Museum will under no circumstance be liable for indirect, special, or consequential damages including any loss of business, revenue, profits, or data in relation to your use of the Website.

Nothing within this Agreement will operate to exclude any liability for death or personal injury arising as result of the negligence of The Farmland Museum, its employees or agents.

Copyright

All intellectual property of The Farmland Museum such as trademarks, trade names, patents, registered designs and any other automatic intellectual property rights derived from the aesthetics or functionality of the Website remain the property of The Farmland Museum.

By using the Website you agree to respect the intellectual property rights of The Farmland Museum and other contributors to the Website (which are identified in the photo captions and credit lines for each article) and will refrain from copying, downloading, transmitting, reproducing, printing, or exploiting for commercial purpose any material contained within the Website.

You must obtain permission from the relevant copyright owner to republish the material on a public web site or within a work for publication in any medium. Such use may be subject to reproduction fees and the source of the material and its copyright status must be acknowledged.

Anyone republishing material from The Farmland Museum website without permission is liable for any resulting infringement of copyright.

Disclaimers

The information is provided on the understanding that the website is not engaged in rendering advice and should not be wholly relied upon when making any related decision.

The information contained with the Website is provided on an “as is” basis with no warranties expressed or otherwise implied relating to the accuracy, fitness for purpose, compatibility or security of any components of the Website.

We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability of the www.dennyfarmlandmuseum.org.uk Website and cannot provide any representation that using the Website will be error free.

Third parties

The Website may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by other parties. We do not control such websites and we take no responsibility for, and will not incur any liability in respect of, their content. Our inclusion of hyperlinks to such websites does not imply any endorsement of views, statements or information contained in such websites.

Severance

If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck out and the remaining provisions shall remain in force.

Governing law and jurisdiction

This Agreement will be governed by the laws of England and any user of the Website hereby agrees to be bound exclusively by the jurisdiction of English courts without reference to rules governing choice of laws.