Left and right: A film crew records Roger

Champion’s progress on repairing the roof of

Bayleaf summer 1971.

educational film on medieval England, summer

1972.

field. This mix had been the subject of considerable research with the assistance of the local MAFF laboratory as previous attempts at daubing had produced unacceptable amounts of shrinkage. The cowpats worked as an excellent plasticiser, and the brick earth was less prone to shrinkage than other clays.

Merrie England

I recall quite intense discussions in the evenings about the nature of an open air museum. By this time I had visited others such as St Fagans at Cardiff, Skansen, Aarhus and Maihaugen, Lillehammer. I was at the time an enthusiast for the folk museum approach. It seemed to provide an appropriate setting for the buildings and might provide an appropriate outlet for my attempts at folk music! But Roy Armstrong, the Research Director, took a more guarded approach. The actors working on the educational film were seen by some as a spectre of the ‘Merrie England’ which could result from a folk museum approach. The reconstructed buildings at Singleton were in general much older than their Scandinavian counterparts and although evidence about their constructional features was good, contemporary furnishings and possession were very scarce.

The following year I spent some weeks assisting Geoff Kent, the Museum’s brick layer, with laying flint paving to form a square around the Market Hall from Titchfield, Hampshire. Geoff had just completed the brick noggin infill panels between the timber frames on the first floor. Finding suitable bricks had been a cause for concern and I had been involved in the hunt for suitable ‘Tudor’ sized bricks. This was one of the many enjoyable

CONTEXT

diversions the previous year. Our first visit was to the Pitsham Brickworks a few miles up the road; it produced hand made bricks and with luck and a long wait we could hope that it would produce a small order. We were amazed to see thousands of thin bricks perfectly matching our sample stacked up in the yard. “Would you like to take delivery today?” said the manager. “We are producing a million of these for Hampton Court and they have plenty to be getting on with”.

Dangerous structure

A couple of years later I started work on a local plan for an area of South Hampshire that included Titchfield. It seemed incredible that such a wealthy part of the country had failed in its attempt to save the market hall on site. I learned that the local council had served a dangerous structure notice on the trustees responsible for its repair, and had insisted on demolition. Unlike the majority of buildings at Singleton, it was not physically threatened by something like a reservoir proposal; it simply became a dangerous structure through neglect. But its rescue by the Museum does have a value, as it has played a part in educating hundreds of thousands of visitors about the legacy of timber framed buildings. In turn this had helped to create a climate 20 years later where it is much more likely that the resources would

Twenty years later the individual buildings dotted around the site have developed into coherent groups. Bayleaf has its associated outbuildings and granary, and a pig now resides in the cattle shed from Lurgashall which had been Roger Champion’s temporary workshop. Houses surround the Titchfield Market Hall, and water from the artificial lake now powers the mill from Lurgashall.

Philosophical approach

To my mind the museum has resolved the troubling philosophical problems associated with open air museums in its own distinctive way. First, it evolved from a concern to rescue threatened buildings, and these continue to be presented as the main exhibit. Displays on geology, building materials and construction techniques emphasise the importance of the buildings themselves in a way which is rarely found elsewhere. Secondly, it shows some domestic buildings simply furnished, usually with modern reproductions. This furnishing is kept to the bare essentials and conjecture is minimised. Thirdly, by erecting wattle fencing, developing kitchen gardens, introducing rare breeds of pigs and hens, and establishing a resident flock of sheep a context is provide for the buildings without resorting to the Merrie England approach.

In addition to saving the buildings themselves, other objectives have been achieved. The Museum reference library has been established as a regional resource centre for all interested in historic buildings. The Museum also acts as a clearing house for a wide range of enquiries relating to historic buildings. In addition it has developed a varied programme of events which includes lectures, exhibitions on building conservation and shows of heavy horses and rare breeds. My only regret is that while volunteers are still welcome they can no longer pitch their tent on the museum site for the summer holidays!

Mike Adams isa planning consultant with Tercncc ORourke plc. Wimborne.

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BUILDINGS AND CRAFTSMANSHIP

be found to save such a building on site.