Avoncroft Museum of Buildings

 Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings opened in 1967 and has since developed into one of Britain's best known open-air museums.

The Museum was founded in 1964 following an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the destruction of a listed historic house in Bromsgrove. At the last minute, the timbers of this Tudor dwelling were rescued and stored.

This building, the Merchant's House, became the first exhibit to be restored and reconstructed at our 15 acre site on the outskirts of Bromsgrove, which opened as a Museum for the first time in 1967. The site itself was provided for the Museum by the Fircroft Trust, now the Croft Trust.

The aims of the Museum focus on the rescue of historic buildings from destruction, and on an education programme to let visitors learn why these buildings are important, and how they were used in the past.

Since the successful preservation of the Merchant's House, Avoncroft Museum has rescued a further 24 important buildings and structures, including a 17th century cock pit, a Victorian Mission Church, a windmill and a 1946 Prefab.

The Museum's collection includes structures made of timber, brick, corrugated iron, steel, asbestos, concrete and fibreglass.

The Museum's education mission is delivered through our award winning learning programme, as well as through special exhibitions and events that seek to bring the past more vividly into focus for the visiting public alike.