Brook Rural Museum
Museum of agriculture and rural life in a 14th-century barn and a 19th-century oast house in Brook, Kent, open on summer weekends.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Brook Rural Museum is housed in the Grade I listed 14th-century Manorial Barn at Court Lodge Farm and a round-kiln 19th-century oast house. It lies at the foot of the North Downs and covers more than 700 years of farming and country life in East Kent.
The collection was begun in 1931 by N P Bagenal of East Malling Research Station and G H Garrad of the Kent Education Committee, who gathered old Kentish agricultural tools. In 1948 Wye College took the collection over and set it up as a museum, first near Wye and then, from 1957, in the barn at Brook after the college had bought Court Lodge Farm.
When Wye College could no longer support the museum, the Wye Rural Museum Trust was formed in 1996. It bought the barn and the neighbouring buildings in 1997, and the college gave the collections to the Trust. A grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2022 allowed the museum to employ its first staff, to rename itself Brook Rural Museum and to start cataloguing and digitising the collection.
Today volunteers open the museum on summer weekends. The displays include tools and machinery for farming and hop growing, wagons and carts, a farmer’s smock, a Ferguson TE-20 tractor, and an exhibition on wartime food growing.
Highlights
- Grade I listed 14th-century Manorial Barn
- Round-kiln oast house and hop-growing tools
- Kent pole waggon, mantrap and threshing machine
- Victory Garden and hop garden
- Brook Digs for Victory wartime exhibition
Permanent exhibitions
- Agricultural and rural life collection – Farm tools and machinery, hop-growing equipment, wagons and carts, mantraps and a Ferguson TE-20 tractor in the barn and oast house.
- Brook Digs for Victory – A Second World War exhibition on growing food at home, with a Victory Garden outside.
- Founded
- 1948
- Operated by
- Wye Rural Museum Trust
Admission & discounts
| Adults | £5.50 |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | £2.50Price for children under 14. |
| Groups | £7.50 per personGuided group tours cost £7.50 per person, with a minimum charge of £75. |
Special events may have different charges. Donations can be made online.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The museum is not fully wheelchair accessible. The barn is reached over grass from the pavement and has an uneven floor and some narrow passages. The oast house is reached over grass, has a step down into the furnace area, and its first floor is reached by a steep, narrow staircase. The stable block with the toilets is reached by a ramp from the car park.
Kids & families
The museum holds a Harvest Festival with games and music for families, on 27 September in 2026.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
There is no public bus or other public transport to Brook. The nearest railway stations are Wye (3 miles) and Ashford International (5 miles).
By car
Free parking
Free parking at the museum, with overflow parking on the street.
Brook is about 5 miles north-east of Ashford and about 10 minutes from the M20 (junction 10 when heading south, junction 10A when heading north). Marked footpaths and cycle routes surround the village. St Mary’s Church, a Grade I listed Norman church, is next door.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
Toilets are in the stable block. Seating is limited, so the museum suggests bringing camping chairs and picnic blankets. The nearby pub was closed in May 2026.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Group tours and school visits can be arranged by email. |
