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Saturday 2pm - 5pm Sunday 2pm - 5pm

Brook Rural Museum

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Brook Rural Museum

Now Open! Sat - Mon, 2 - 4pm. As well as the usual opening hours, we offer tours throughout the year for both interested groups and schools.

Museum dedicated to agricultural & rural history of Kent, housed in 14th century barn & 19th century oast house

Run by charitable trust, relying on volunteers & donations to open
Charity No. 1055879 *2025 Season Opening Times: Sat & Sun, 2pm - 5pm, 24 May - 28 September *

Tucked away below the North Downs, in the small village of Brook between Ashford and Wye, the Brook Rural Museum houses an i

mpressive collection of Kent related agricultural rural objects. The Wye Rural Museum Trust, which owns and runs the museum, welcomes you to explore the site and learn more about its history, buildings, and collections. Contact us at: [email protected]

Brook Rural Museum is a registered charity: 1055879

We are always looking for new volunteers to get involved with the museum. Please visit our website or email/message us for further information.

22/06/2026

🐝 They’re here! 🐝

Our newest residents have officially arrived at Brook Rural Museum, the bees are settling into their new home!

After weeks of preparation (including beekeeping training for our wonderful volunteers), it’s fantastic to finally welcome them to the museum.

Honeybees have played an important role in rural life for centuries, supporting pollination, biodiversity, and food production, and we’re excited to share more about their fascinating world in the coming weeks.

Keep an eye on our page for updates as the colony settles in and begins its next chapter with us 🍯🌼

15/06/2026

🍺 Beer Day Britain is a chance to celebrate not only the drink itself, but also the people, traditions and industries behind it. 🍺

Kent has a long and important connection with hop growing, and at Brook Rural Museum we care for a fascinating collection that helps tell that story. From hop pockets, hop claws and hop tokens, to stilts and even a sulphur duster’s hat, these objects offer a glimpse into the working lives of those involved in hop farming and picking.

Alongside these objects, visitors can also explore memories of hop picking through our oral history listening station, hearing first-hand experiences and stories from local people.

The next time you enjoy a pint, spare a thought for the generations of workers and communities whose lives were closely connected with Kent’s hop industry. 🌿

Why not come along and discover the stories for yourself?

🕑 Open weekends and Mondays | 2–4pm

13/06/2026

☀️ It’s a beautiful day here at Brook Rural Museum!

We’re open today from 2–4pm, so why not make the most of the sunshine and pay us a visit?

Come and explore our fascinating collection, enjoy our latest exhibition, and soak up the beautiful rural surroundings 🌿

We’d love to welcome you this afternoon!

10/06/2026

Ever wondered how museums care for their collections? 🤔

Many of the objects in our collection are made with metal, including milk churns, buckets, hand tools, cartwheel rims and barrel hoops. Like all historic objects, metal is affected by its environment and can suffer from tarnishing, corrosion and rust if left untreated.

Our conservation volunteers are currently working their way through the collection, carefully assessing and cleaning metal surfaces. Some objects, such as horse brasses, are polished to restore their shine, while others are simply cleaned to preserve their historic character.

Once cleaned, a thin layer of Renaissance Wax is applied. This specialist microcrystalline wax forms a protective barrier between the metal and the environment, helping to repel moisture and dust while slowing down deterioration.
It's meticulous work, but an important part of preserving our collection for future generations and ensuring visitors can continue to enjoy these fascinating objects for years to come.

Visitors can even see conservation in action every Monday between 2 and 4pm.

Do stop by and say hello to the team!

08/06/2026

Join us on Saturday 11th July for our Medieval Fayre🏹⚔️🎪

We’ll have loads of fun drop-in sessions including archery (surcharge applies), calligraphy, wheat weaving, and Knight School for kids, plus performances from the Companye of Strangers dancers and CantiaCorum singers. Blacksmithing and leather working demonstrations will also be taking place. Admission includes access to our magnificent medieval barn, oast house and exhibition space.

We will also have coffee, food, ice-cream available to purchase on-site, plus a licensed bar. Seating is limited, feel free to bring your own picnic blankets and camping chairs and enjoy the museum courtyard!

WHEN: Saturday 11th July 11am-4pm
WHERE: Brook Rural Museum, The Street, Brook, Ashford, TN25 5PF
ENTRY: £10 per adult (under-16s FREE), no need to book. We are dog friendly, too 🐶
PARKING: Free on-street & off-street parking
ACCESS: Unfortunately, Brook Rural Museum is not fully wheelchair accessible. This is due to the design and nature of our ancient buildings.

01/06/2026

🎉 It’s Volunteers’ Week! 🎉

This week we’re celebrating the wonderful people who give their time, skills, enthusiasm and energy to Brook Rural Museum.

From welcoming visitors and caring for collections, to maintaining the museum, helping at events, researching local history and even preparing for the arrival of our honey bees 🐝, our volunteers are at the heart of everything we do.
Thank you to every one of our volunteers for helping keep local history alive and making the museum such a special place.

We simply couldn’t do it without you 💚

29/05/2026

🌿 Celebrate the final weekend of National Walking Month with a countryside walk and a visit to Brook Rural Museum.

Situated close to the spectacular Devil’s Kneading Trough viewpoint in the Kent Downs, the museum makes an ideal stop during a day exploring one of Kent’s most beautiful landscapes.

Walking is one of the simplest ways to support our health and wellbeing, helping reduce stress, improve mood, and connect us with nature and local heritage. Kent County Council’s National Walking Month campaign has been encouraging people across the county to get outdoors and explore more this May.

After your walk, step inside the museum to discover fascinating objects, rural stories, and our current exhibition:

🌾 Brook Digs for Victory: Farming During WWII

☀️ Open Saturday, Sunday and Monday
🕑 2–4pm
We’d love to welcome you!

22/05/2026

☀️ Looking for somewhere to explore this Bank Holiday weekend?
We’re open every day of the Bank Holiday from 2–4pm, the perfect excuse to enjoy a relaxed afternoon discovering local history, fascinating objects, and our latest exhibition, Brook Digs for Victory: Farming During WWII. 🌾
With sunshine forecast, why not make a day of it? Wander through the nearby village of Wye, enjoy the countryside, and step inside the museum to uncover stories of rural life past and present.
🧵 Don’t forget, on Mondays you may even catch conservation work taking place behind the scenes!

We’d love to welcome you this weekend. 🌿

19/05/2026

🐝 Something exciting is buzzing into the museum…

Our volunteers have recently been taken part in beekeeping training with as we prepare to welcome honey bees to the museum for the very first time!
From learning how a hive works to discovering the fascinating lives of honey bees, there’s been plenty to learn, and we’re all looking forward to putting those new skills into practice very soon.

Bees have played an important role in rural life for centuries, providing not only honey and beeswax, but also helping pollinate crops, and wildflowers. We’re excited to begin sharing more about the history of beekeeping, and the importance of bees both past and present.

Keep an eye on our page over the coming weeks as we get everything ready for our newest residents… 🐝🍯

Address

The Street, Brook
Ashford
TN255PF

Opening Hours

Saturday	2pm - 5pm
Sunday	2pm - 5pm

Telephone

+441304824969

Website

https://linktr.ee/brookruralmuseum, https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/charity/the-wye-rural-museum-trust, http://www.brookru

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