Where the past comes to life

I’ve shared some photos over the last couple of weeks of our visit to Oakham Treasures, which is a museum like no other! It was started by a local West Country farmer who began to acquire interesting and old farm machinery… and this hobby gradually developed into much, much more! Keith Sherrell, the farmer, had initially intended to sell the machinery but he found that he was keeping more than he was selling and adding to his collection all the time. Mr Sherrell’s interest in unusual items spread to things you might find in shops, in old shops, shops in the past, and now his collection is just vast!

The collection opened to the public in 2008 and as well as the tractors and the other farm machinery, tools and artefacts there are areas of the museum representing different old shops,a grocer’s, a sweet shop, a hardware store, a haberdasher’s, an ‘offie’ – off licence (alcohol store) and tobacconist and a chemist’s. The marvellous thing is that the family run the museum, and the café which serves delicious home-made fare. It would be impossible to only visit once and see everything, just impossible!