Hidden gem showcasing Skegness’ farming heritage re-opens to public

While it has been closed for the winter, the team at the Village Church Farm have been busy with a Museum Makeover

“Room by room, volunteers have been emptying, cleaning, repairing and restoring items to create a wonderful display for the public,” explained manager Naomi Walton.

"The work has been so far focused on the upstairs of the farmhouse, completely emptying the rooms, repainting the walls and floors, assessing any damage, repairing and then rearranging all the exhibits again assessing each item, repairing/restoring what we can, researching and updating the inventory.”

Naomi said the work would continue throughout the year and new volunteers would be welcome to go along and help.

“We will be doing this throughout the year across the entire site and we would love for people to get involved and see some of the hidden exhibits that have been in storage, take part in looking after history, community spirit, potentially learn new skills or just experience what it is like behind the scenes at the museum with it's exhibits,” Naomi said.

"We are also desperately looking for volunteers, whether they come for a day to help with a project or they come to help with day to day running. We can be contacted via phone, email or social media.”

The Village Church Farm has a history dating back to the 18th century. It was once a working farm and the first recorded tenants of the farmhouse were the Enderby family in 1766.

Now at the centre of a housing estate, the farm was a dairy farm at one point but began to lose land to the development of Skegness in 1870.

The museum was opened to the public in 1976 as part of the Museum of Lincolnshire Life

In 2010, Lincolnshire County Council withdrew from the museum and in 2011, it became a registered charity

Main features include a thatched cottage moved from Withern, the original 18th-century farmhouse, a 19th-century stable block and cowshed, exhibitions of farm implements and machinery, displays about traditional breeds of cattle and sheep and a war museum section with artifacts, photographs, and personal stories

The museum re-opens to the public on Saturday, February 15. Entry is by donation.

Opening times are:

10am - 3pm out of season.

10am - 4pm in season.

Closed Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A number of events take place through the year. The first is at Easter on April 20, featuring the Easter Rabbit, an Easter Hunt with prizes and stalls.