Kent Life

About the museum

Kent Life began as the Museum of Kent Life. In 1966 Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake left the Cobtree Manor estate to Maidstone Borough Council, and Sandling Farm on the bank of the River Medway was part of it. The council decided in 1984 to restore the derelict farm as a museum of rural life, and it opened to visitors on 6 July 1985. It was renamed Kent Life in 2009 and is now run as a heritage farm park by Planning Solutions Limited on behalf of the council.

Most of the buildings were moved to the site from other places in Kent. The Vintage Village includes Petts farmhouse, restored to a Victorian home, wartime cottages from Lenham furnished in a 1930s style with an Anderson shelter, and Sandling Farmhouse, which shows a 1950s homestead with an exhibition about the house in the attic. There are also a granary, hoppers’ huts, a working blacksmith’s forge, a chapel built at Cuxton in 1897 and rebuilt on the site in 2000, and the village hall from Ulcombe. The oast house, which houses the gift shop, is the last in Britain to work with a coal fire.

A farmyard with traditional breeds, gardens and orchards, a walk-through area for small animals and a nature trail complete the site, along with play areas, a land train and, throughout the year, events such as the hop festival, fireworks and Christmas.

Highlights

• Vintage Village of relocated Kentish buildings, including a Victorian farmhouse, wartime cottages and a 1950s farmhouse
• Oast house and working blacksmith’s forge
• Working farmyard with traditional breeds and a walk-through for small animals
• Indoor soft play barn, outdoor play areas and a land train
• Kent Owl Academy and seasonal events such as Hops and Harvest and the Christmas experience

Permanent exhibition

• Vintage Village – Relocated Kentish buildings, including a Victorian farmhouse, wartime cottages, a 1950s farmhouse, an oast house, hoppers’ huts and a blacksmith’s forge.

Founded

1985

Operated by

Planning Solutions Limited (on behalf of Maidstone Borough Council)

Admission & discounts

The ticket price depends on the date and must be booked online. The lowest standard price, without Gift Aid, is £10.09 for an adult or a child on a low-season weekday; it rises to about £11.45 at weekends in the mid season and £12.82 in the October school holidays. Gift Aid tickets cost about 10 per cent more. Special events have separate tickets, and members get free admission.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Most buildings are accessible to wheelchairs except the first floors of the historic buildings, where interpretation books on the ground floor describe the rooms upstairs. Accessible toilets are at four places on the site. There is a slope to the upper part of the site, while the entrance area, the play areas and the area beyond the village hall are flatter. The land train and tractor can be adapted for wheelchair users. Dogs on short leads are welcome but not in the catering areas, the Farmyard Friends walk-through or the Kent Owl Academy.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area
• Kids’ birthday parties

The site has an outdoor play area, pedal tractors, an indoor soft play barn on three floors, a messy play area and a year-round hunt for hidden wooden objects. Nappy changing is in all toilets and buggy parks are by the tea room and the party room. Children’s birthday parties are available from £20 per child.

Getting there & parking

Kent Life is next to the M20, five minutes from the centre of Maidstone; leave at junction 6 and follow the signs towards Aylesford. There is a covered cycle shelter with racks in the accessible car park.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Dotty’s Tea Room has a 1950s-style interior and a terrace, The Pantry in the play barn sells snacks and drinks, the Pizza Garden is open at weekends and daily in school holidays, and an ice cream hut opens in peak season. The gift shop is in the oast house.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 350 guests.

Rooms for weddings, meetings and groups include the old wedding chapel (up to 70 guests), the Wagon Store (up to 100), Ulcombe Village Hall (up to 100) and the Pavilion (up to 150 for a formal meal and 350 in the evening).

Plan your visit