Redbourn Village Museum

About the museum

Redbourn Village Museum occupies Silk Mill House beside Redbourn Common in Hertfordshire. The house is all that remains of Woollams Mill, a steam-driven silk mill that stood on the site from 1857 to 1938. Raw silk was washed and spun into yarn suitable for weaving there. The mill was later pulled down to make way for a Brooke Bond tea factory, which was built on an enlarged site in 1960 and closed in 1994. Housing now covers the factory site.

Brooke Bond handed Silk Mill House to Redbourn Parish Council for use as a museum. The museum opened in May 2000 and is managed by the trustees of Redbourn Village Historical and Museum Group Ltd. It is staffed entirely by volunteers.

The displays cover the early history of the village and its priory, local trades and industries, and the life of the village over time. The museum garden is an outdoor gallery with a historic doorway, farm implements and a mural that recalls the Nickey Line railway.

Highlights

• Priory Room with stones from Redbourn Priory and archaeological finds
• Occupations Room with a Victorian parlour of 1900
• Displays on straw plaiting, the silk mill and the Brooke Bond factory
• Skillman Gallery with changing exhibitions and a mini cinema
• Garden with outdoor exhibits and seating
• Free admission

Permanent exhibitions

• Priory Room – Stones from Redbourn Priory, an astrolabe, archaeological finds and copies of writing by Matthew Paris tell the early history of the village and the story of St Alban and St Amphibalus.
• Occupations Room – A Victorian parlour of 1900, a chemist’s shop display and exhibits on straw plaiting, the hat factory, the jam factory and the silk mill and Brooke Bond factory.

Founded

2000

Operated by

Redbourn Village Historical and Museum Group Ltd (volunteer trustees)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free, but donations are needed to keep the museum running. Charges may apply on special event days.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• 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

Wheelchair access is limited to the ground floor. The first-floor gallery is reached by stairs with a handrail.

Kids & families

• Hands-on stations

The Occupations Room has discovery drawers with mystery objects that visitors can open.

Getting there & parking

The museum is next to The Cricketers public house on Redbourn Common (East Common, AL3 7ND). The what3words location is oasis.royal.shared.

Amenities & dining

The garden has seating and visitors may picnic there. The museum stands next to The Cricketers public house.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit