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The Food Museum

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Coordinates: 52°11′09″N 0°59′30″E / 52.18588°N 0.99155°E / 52.18588; 0.99155
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The Food Museum
Abbot's Hall
The Food Museum is located in Suffolk
The Food Museum
Location within Suffolk
Former name
Museum of East Anglian Life
Established1967
LocationIliffe Way, Stowmarket, Suffolk, England
TypeFood museum
Collection sizeOver 40,000 objects
WebsiteThe Food Museum

The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, is a museum in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England, which aims to connect people with the process of growing, making and eating food through its 84-acre estate, 17 historic buildings, large collection, farm area and daily demonstrations around cooking, growing and eating.

History of the Museum

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Grundisburgh Smithy

The land was originally part of the Home Farm for the Abbot’s Hall estate. The estate dates from medieval times, when it was an outlying manor for St Osyth's Priory in Essex. It passed through numerous owners until it was purchased by the Longe family in 1903.

Mechanisation in the 1950s and 1960s meant that England was in danger of losing long-established skills, equipment, and buildings, if something was not done to rescue them. Local farmer Jack Carter, the Suffolk Local History Council, and other individuals worked to collect, preserve and display objects from rural East Anglia. After several years of temporary exhibitions, Vera and Ena Longe placed 70 acres (28 ha) of farmland, Abbot’s Hall, its gardens, and 18/20 Crowe Street, in trust to be used as a museum. The Museum opened in 1967.[1]

In April 2022, the museum was renamed The Food Museum, with the aim of engaging new and diverse audiences with its collections.[2]

Buildings

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14th-century Edgar's Farmhouse, interior
Eastbridge Windpump

The Museum has various buildings on its 84 acres (34 ha) site, including:

  • William Bone Building - a modern barn, hosting the museum's annual exhibition programme, as well as a demonstration kitchen. [3]
  • Abbot's Hall — each room in the Queen Anne house explores heritage in East Anglia, as well as hosting temporary exhibitions in the Community Galleries.
  • Edgar's farmhouse — a 14th-century aisled farmhouse "discovered" in Combs which had been incorporated into a Victorian era farmhouse. Saved from demolition in 1970, it was the first historic building to be re-erected on the museum site. The first recorded owners were John and Ascelina Adgor. The building is Grade II* listed.[4][5]
  • Crowe Street Cottages — the last pair of workers' cottages to remain as part of the Abbot's Hall Estate. The buildings have been kept as they were left, as dairy cottages.
  • Boby Building — features exhibitions of agricultural engines and individual craft workshops, along with a working printing press.
  • Eastbridge Windpump — a windpump used for draining land in the 19th century.
  • Alton Watermill — an 18th-century watermill which was used to grind corn. Like many of the museum buildings, it was taken apart and then transported to the museum where it was reassembled. The watermill was moved to prevent it being destroyed by the Alton Water Reservoir. It was recently restored and runs on Fridays. [6]


Restoration of Abbot's Hall

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The museum was awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to renovate Abbot's Hall and Crowe Street Cottages. The project was completed in April 2012, and officially opened in June 2012. There are nine exhibition spaces exploring ideas of home and belonging in East Anglia, as well as space for temporary exhibitions. Crowe Street Cottages, which were occupied by workers at Abbot's Hall, have been displayed as they would have looked when the last owner lived there.

Abbot's Hall is open year round, as part of entry to the museum. The Hall features a permanent exhibition of the life and works of Welsh folklorist George Ewart Evans.[7][1]

Events

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Since becoming the Food Museum in 2022, the museum runs daily talks, tours and activities around the site, focusing on farming, animals and cooking. [8] The museum also runs a programme of cooking workshops, family activities, exhibitions and large events throughout the year. [9]

Since 1996, the Food Museum has hosted an annual Festival of Beer and Brewing, showcasing beer and cider from local breweries. [10]

The Museum hosts Primadonna Festival, an inclusive literature festival, annually in the spring, [11]

The museum previously hosted the Stowblues Festival. The festival is organised in partnership with BBC Radio Suffolk.[12]

In August 2016 the Museum hosted the annual East Anglian Living History Fayre[13] run in partnership with Black Knight Historical.


References

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  1. ^ a b "Museum of East Anglian Life opens Abbot's Hall, Stowmarket - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Stowmarket's Museum of East Anglian Life becomes The Food Museum". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  3. ^ https://foodmuseum.org.uk/visit/whats-here/
  4. ^ "Edgar's Farmhouse museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket, Suffolk". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Edgar's Farmhouse". The Food Museum. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  6. ^ https://foodmuseum.org.uk/alton-watermill-2/
  7. ^ "Abbot's Hall and Gardens". Museum of East Anglian Life. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  8. ^ https://foodmuseum.org.uk/events/daily-talks-tours/
  9. ^ https://foodmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/
  10. ^ https://www.eadt.co.uk/local-events/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event/2461530-27th-festival-of-beer-and-brewing
  11. ^ https://primadonnafestival.com/travel-how-to-get-here/
  12. ^ Ghaemi, Mariam (11 June 2017). "Did you go to the StowBlues Festival? Spot yourself in our photos". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  13. ^ "East Anglian Living History Fayre at the Museum of East Anglian Life this weekend". East Anglian Daily Times. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
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52°11′09″N 0°59′30″E / 52.18588°N 0.99155°E / 52.18588; 0.99155

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