Manor Farm

About the museum

Manor Farm has medieval roots. A parish church was built here in the thirteenth century to serve the village of Botley, and over the following eight centuries farm buildings were added and restored. The most important of them is the fifteenth-century farmhouse, which was home to many generations of farm workers and their families. Some of them, such as Isaac and Sarah Earwicker, who lived there with their nine children in the late 1800s, are buried in the churchyard next to the farm.

After the farm fell into disrepair, Hampshire County Council bought it in the 1970s and restored it with the help of local volunteers. In 1984 it opened to the public as the Hampshire Farm Museum. Today the council runs it as a working historic farmyard that keeps the feel of a traditional Hampshire farmstead and shows how farm workers lived and worked in Victorian times.

Visitors can look into the farmhouse, which is filled with everyday objects such as mangles, horsehair mattresses and chamber pots, and into a wartime cottage that shows home life in the Second World War with taped windows, blackout curtains, an Anderson shelter and an old schoolroom. Alongside the historic buildings there are traditional and rare-breed animals, a play barn and a farm cafe. The farm is inside River Hamble Country Park and also offers Victorian-life and wartime sessions for school groups.

Highlights

• Fifteenth-century farmhouse with Victorian household objects
• Wartime cottage with blackout curtains, Anderson shelter and schoolroom
• Traditional and rare-breed farm animals, including Gloucester and Sussex cattle
• Eighteenth-century threshing barn that houses the gift shop
• Play barn and daily animal encounters

Permanent exhibition

• Farmhouse and Wartime Cottage – A farmhouse dating back to the 1400s filled with household objects, and a wartime cottage showing life in the Second World War, with an old schoolroom inside.

Founded

1984

Operated by

Hampshire County Council

Admission & discounts

Tickets are bought at the visitor centre on arrival; there is no need to book. Parking is included in the ticket price. Holders of an Armed Forces ID or Veteran Card and their immediate family (up to 2 adults and 4 children) receive 50 percent off day tickets.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• 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 site is mostly suitable for prams and wheelchairs. The car park, about 100 metres from the farm entrance, has reserved spaces for visitors with mobility difficulties and leads to the cafe and accessible toilets. Wheelchair access to the farm is by a short slope, and the farmyard is mostly level. The ground floors of the farmhouse and cottage and most barns are accessible. Dogs are not allowed on the farm for the safety of the animals.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Playground / play area
• Kids’ birthday parties

The farm has a play barn with indoor and outdoor play areas, a tractor circuit, daily animal encounters and family events in the school holidays. Birthday parties in The Cabin start at £270 plus £7.50 per child for food, for up to 10 children and 11 adults.

Getting there & parking

The farm is half a mile from junction 8 of the M27, between Portsmouth and Southampton, inside River Hamble Country Park.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The Farm Cafe, outside the farmyard, and the Play Barn Kiosk serve hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and snacks, including gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options. Picnic benches are provided. The gift shop is in an eighteenth-century threshing barn and sells farm produce and gifts.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties

The Cabin, a purpose-built party room, can be hired for children's birthday parties, and the site can be hired for commercial events.

Plan your visit