The John Moore Countryside Museum, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
The John Moore Countryside Museum in Tewkesbury was set up in memory of the author John Moore, who wrote so beautifully about rural life in the first half of the 20th century - among his better known works are Brensham Village, Portrait of Elmbury and The Blue Field. It's a charming little place, this museum, housed in two late medieval cottages and including The Merchant's House, which has been beautifully restored to show exactly how a Tudor shop and home would have been and what life was like for a family who lived and worked in Tewkesbury at that time.
The museum collections are housed over three floors and as you'd expect, include displays all about John Moore, his life, and his work. Quite typical of museums in smaller country towns there are agricultural tools exhibited, all kinds of bizarre looking hooks and knives, and forks and so on, that would have been used back in the day by the folk who worked the land in these parts of Gloucestershire. Most fascinating are the galleries of animals and birds that are native to the British Isles - if you don't like taxidermy you'll have to get over that, and if you do you might even be so brave as visit the handling table to feel a hedgehog's prickles or stroke a badger's fur.
What adds to the charm of the John Moore Countryside Museum is the cottage garden that links the two parts of the building, with all the old fashioned flowers jostling for space, tumbling in the beds together in true cottage garden style; it really is a step back in time, a welcome distraction from the push and shove of modern life.
Another site belonging to the museum is the Old Baptist Chapel just along the road. Dating back to 1623, the chapel is the oldest of its kind still in use as a place of worship, and very well preserved; you can visit it on certain days throughout the year.
Open: Tuesday to Saturday 10.00 am-1.00 pm and 2.00 pm-5.00 pm
T: 01684 297174 All information correct at the time of writing