Dairies produced and sold a host of dairy products including locally sourced milk and cheeses. Here you can see typical equipment including milk and butter churns, milk bottles, and cream coolers.

Every village needed a forge and blacksmith to repair tools and machines. The farrier specialised in horses, making and fitting horseshoes, alongside caring for the health of the horses’ hooves.

Step inside the Fenman’s Hut — a simple all-weather shelter for workers on the land and fens.

Before the fens were drained, people made their living in the marshy waters. They trapped eels, hunted duck and wildfowl, and our display shows the tools they used – including a punt and punt gun.

Explore the world of the basketmaker, where finely crafted willow baskets were essential for farming and daily life.

One of the oldest skills, the basketmaker provided baskets, eel traps and crates for carrying fruit and vegetables, as well as hurdles for use as temporary fences.

The damp fenlands are ideal for growing willow, which was harvested and stripped to create the raw materials that were woven into baskets.

Our Wheelwright and Carpenter’s workshop shows items from James Watts & Sons, a former wheelwright in the nearby village of Stow-cum-Quy. The wheelwright was responsible for making and repairing wooden wheels but was also expected to turn their hand to anything that involved wood. As well as wheels, James Watts & Sons produced coffins, repaired buildings, and painted houses.