Brook Rural Museum has received initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for a project to protect the future of the museum which is housed in one of the finest medieval barns in Kent with an adjoining early 19th century oast house.
Development funding of £218,000 has been awarded to help the trustees of the museum progress their plans for the project so that they can apply for a full grant of £1,468,000 at a later date.
Brook Rural Museum is situated in the small village of Brook between Ashford and Wye in the midst of the Kent Downs National Landscape. Its magnificent Grade I barn and Grade II oast house contain a collection of farming and rural implements which take visitors back in time. Issues of damp and pest control need urgent attention to safeguard the buildings and their collection of farming implements from the horse drawn age. At the same the project will also deliver improvements to accessibility, a pergola to provide shelter in the museum’s courtyard, a food & beverage offering and better interpretation, all of which will make the museum more readily accessible to all, and deepen public understanding and engagement.
The Museum’s Medieval Fayre on 11 July 2026 (11am-4pm) will provide a great opportunity for everyone to come and celebrate, explore the museum, and learn about its future plans, while trying their hand at archery or letting their children take on a knight in combat at Knight School.
John Nightingale, Chair of trustees, said:
“We are so excited to have received this initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and are hugely grateful to National Lottery players. Thanks to them we can now develop our plans to safeguard the museum’s buildings, including one of the finest medieval barns in Kent, and its amazing collection of farming implements – everything from large hay wagons and threshers to a beautiful farmworker’s smock and terrifying mantraps – which open up the stories of farming, food and rural life in the horse-drawn age.”
Glenda Harris, Brook Rural Museum’s Community Engagement Officer, said:
“I hope this wonderful news will attract others to join our enthusiastic band of volunteers at the museum for the next stage of its exciting journey – be it to join the conservation group, to help us with gardening or the care of our new hive of bees, or to welcome visitors and introduce them to some of the rich stories about the museum collection and its buildings. We hope to see some of the National Lottery players who have made this possible at the Medieval Fayre on 11 July or at our regular opening days throughout the summer!”
Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we are delighted to support Brook Rural Museum as it works to protect and share some of Kent’s remarkable heritage. This project will help safeguard the museum’s outstanding medieval barn and rural collection, while improving access and creating new ways for people to engage with the stories of farming and rural life. It will help ensure this important heritage is enjoyed by many more people, now and in the future. We look forward to working with the project team as they develop their plans towards a full grant application.”
