Rural Life Centre

The Rural Life Centre is a museum of country life founded in 1973 by Mr and Mrs Henry Jackson. In 1984 the administration was handed over to a charitable trust. The museum occupies ten acres of woodland and meadow and the exhibits are housed in a collection of purpose built and reconstructed historic buildings which include a prefab, village hall, cricket pavilion, chapel and schoolroom among others.

Additional info

Preserved two foot gauge light railway operates on Sundays. Our library and archive material can be made available to researchers on request.

The collection documents the changes in rural life over the period between about 1750 and 1960 in an area roughly encompaccing Surrey, east Hampshire, West Sussex and parts of Berkshire. Areas covered include all aspects of domestic and village life including agriculture, crafts and trades. Artefacts include buildings ranging from a prefab through a chapel and village hall to a corrugated iron school room.

Collection details

Agriculture, Architecture, Archives, Costume and Textiles, Industry, Land Transport, Medicine, Personalities, Social History, Trade and Commerce, Weapons and War

Key artists and exhibits

• Wheelwright
• George Sturt
• Blacksmith
• Ploughs
• Trapping
• Prefab
• Victorian School
• Light Railway
• Chapel
• Waggons
• Wagons