History of the Museum

 Ramsey Rural Museum was officially opened on 25th May 1988 by Sybil Marshall, a celebrated local author of books about life in the Fens and whose antecendants can be traced back in the Ramsey area to the beginning of the 18th Century.
The opening was the culmination of nine years of hard work by a dedicated group of volunteers.  The Museum was the brainchild of the Reverand Robert Gwynn, curate of Upwood, a small village 4 miles from Ramsey, who together with the vicar of Ramsey, the Reverand Jones, and a local farmer, Marshall Papworth took a group of Sunday School children to a private agricultural Museum at Haddenham, Cambridgeshire.  They were very impressed by the number of items and variety of the collection and the fact that everything had a local origin.  They realized that there must be a wealth of historic items especially those peculiar to the Fens, lying around in fields, barns and houses in the Ramsey area and that unless something was done much of the areas local history could be lost forever.

In September 1977 a meeting was organised and it was decided that a rural Museum would be an asset to the area but that finding premises would be a problem.  Several sites were visited but all were found to be unsuitable or too costly to rent.  Eventually an approach was made to the Hon. John Fellowes (now Lord De Ramsey).  He was very much in favour of a rural Museum and agreed to provide a site on part of the Fellowes Estate which had belonged to Ramsey Abbey until the Dissolution of the monasteries.  After negotiation it was agreed that the buildings and land could be used to house the Museum at a peppercorn rent and a lease was agreed for twenty-five years.  This was later extended to fifty.

In March 1540 the Abbey estate was granted to Richard Williams alias Cromwell. Richard was the nephew of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, Chief Architect of the Dissolution.  Richard was one of the Commissioners who visited Ramsey Abbey on his uncle's behalf prior to the Dissolution, perhaps earmarking the estate for himself.  For the next hundred years or so the Abbey became an important source of income for the Cromwells.  The site became a vast quarry, stone from the Abbey being sold to build several of the Cambridge Colleges and many other local buildings.

In 1675 the Abbey estate was sold to Colonel Silus Titus, M.P. for Huntingdon and it was during his time of ownership that the buildings that now form the greater part of the Museum were erected, also using stone from the Abbey.

The Fellowes family bought the estate in 1737 and although they sold the Abbey House in 1937 they continue to own the Museum site and many acres of surrounding farmland.

Over the years the Museum buildings have been used as workshops and material stores for the maintenance and repair of estate property, and also for housing animals. When the site was taken over it was in a sorry state having become very overgrown and the buildings, all of which had been thatched were almost derelict.
It was decided to restore them to their original state so far as was practical. All the timbers were replaced as necessary and the broken down sections of wall were rebuilt using the original stone.  The cost of thatching all the buildings proved to be beyond the means of the Museum but it was agreed that one building should be re-thatched and this was made possible by the generosity of Lord De Ramsey.

The rest of the buildings were roofed using reclaimed pan-tiles many of which had been made in Ramsey.  Approximately 20,000 tiles were collected by volunteers from buildings awaiting demolition in and around Cambridgeshire.

In November 1983 a small team of previously unemployed people working for the Cambridgeshire Community Programme Agency and funded by the Manpower Services Commission were engaged to assist in the building renovation and to help with displaying and cataloguing the exhibits.

The Museum was registered as a charity in 1984 and became the Ramsey Rural Museum Community Trust, four members of the original steering committee became its first Trustees, two of whom still serve in this capacity.

The Museum is managed by a Committee that comprises, the President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, 4 holding Trustees and a maximum of eight ordinary members.  The Committee usually meet once a month and they convene on dates fixed at the previous meeting.  Each meeting has a set agenda and only member of the Management Committee being able to vote on any resolution.

Since the Museum was formed its collection has developed in three main areas:

Agricultural History, as the principal industry of the area is agriculture the Museum has collected machinery and implements illustrative of this aspect of the areas past.
Crafts and Trades, groups of Objects from different rural and urban crafts practised in the area.
Local and Social History, material which reflects the changes in the social and domestic life of people and places in Ramsey and villages in the immediate area.
It is the policy of the Museum that where possible only to acquire copies or negatives of photographs and documents.  Particular emphasis is also given to acquiring material, which is in some way unique to the area and only then if it can be adequately documented and displayed.  We also try to work in conjunction with other Museums especially in areas where types of collections may coincide.

There is a continual programme of fund-raising events throughout the six months we are open and apart from the major events such as Craft Fayre and Plough Day we try to vary our programme each year to maintain public interest.

The Museum is in the main self-funded, apart from a few but much appreciated small grants towards the purchase of a computer, photocopier etc.  Income is also raised via our Gift Shop and Tea Room.  Over the past few years this has grown significantly and we intend, with recent improvements, to continue this trend.  The Museum welcomes visits from Schools and other groups and organisations and we have also seen a steady increase in the area.  Especially popular are our guided tours, tractor and wagon rides and cream teas.
Due to this increase in income we have been able to continue with our plans to refurbish the Museum.  The old fire escape has been replaced and many improvements have been made both to the displays and the fabric of the buildings.

None of the above would have been possible without the most important aspect of the Museum - VOLUNTEERS.  Ramsey Rural Museum has no paid staff or Museum professionals and is managed and run entirely by volunteers.  Nearly every aspect from maintenance and repairs of both buildings and collections, cleaning, stewarding, administration and a thousand an one other essential jobs are all cheerfully carried out by them.  Fortunately they are all very dedicated and willing and a very happy atmosphere prevails, indeed sometimes they give the impression that they have no homes to go to! They range in age from Zoe at 15 to Lindsay (our computer whizz kid!!!) at 86, although the majority are 40 plus.   In fact some have been volunteers since the Museums inception 25 years ago.

Some can give more time that others and some are not so physically able but we hope that all feel equally valued and part of the Museum 'family'.  A group of volunteers have recently taken upon themselves the badly needed task of revamping the 'Friends of the Museum'.  The 'Friends' was a good idea that never really got off the ground.   Meetings were held in a local pub and became and all male preserve and tractor club causing member numbers to dwindle. Meetings are now held at the Museum with the emphasis on local and social history although tractors are not forgotten and I am please to say that there were over 70 people of both sexes at the last meeting!

Ramsey Rural Museum is very fortunate in the support and goodwill that it receives from the local community.  Many businesses and individuals have helped us by not only donating such items as furniture, carpets, paint etc but very importantly their labour.  Frequently we find that people will only charge for materials and insist on giving their labour free.  This is especially helpful in areas where expertise is needed such as carpentry, plumbing and electrical work and we are most grateful.

Ramsey is the centre of a large agricultural community and the Museum has an important role to play, not only in conserving the areas rich agronomic past but in promoting its future too. We receive constant support from local farmers and farming related businesses.  For example one firm kindly provides us with 'state of the art' tractors that cost in the region of £50,000 each, to pull our wagons when we have school visits.  Children are taken round a nearby farm to experience modern farming methods then returned to the Museum to compare them to the old.  The aforementioned wagons were made for the Museum by a local farming family, they not only have seats but are also designed to take wheelchairs.

We have many visits from children and adults with disabilities and we do our best to ensure that they are not excluded in any way.  We have provided ramps to all doorways and in one area where this was impossible the floor was raised to enable access.  A wheelchair is also provided by the Museum and there are fully accessible toilets.  Where people find it difficult to visit us, particularly the elderly and infirm, we take the Museum to them, giving talks and slideshows and where possible taking items from the collection.

Ramsey is unusual in not having a village hall or its equivalent (although we have since received one in 2009).  The Museum is fortunate enough to have a large barn which we use for exhibitions and fund-raising activities.

Ramsey is a close knit community and the Museum tries to work in partnership with the other organizations as much as possible. Amongst others we are members of Ramsey Town Centre Partnership, which has been formed to define a future strategy for Ramsey and to give clear guidelines for planning and development in the community.  It also hopes to encourage the community to involve themselves in creating a better environment in which to live and work. 

The Museum also works in conjunction with the Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust whose aim is to renovate the walled kitchen garden at Ramsey Abbey, which is adjacent to the Museum.  Meetings are held at the Museum and we intend to provide parking, toilet facilities etc, when the garden is open to the public.  We also work closely with the National Trust who own the Abbey Gate House, this year they have kindly included details of the Museum in the N.T. Guide.

Ramsey Rural Museum is an independent Museum with, perhaps, at times too much emphasis on the world independent.  In the past we have suffered from an isolation policy, which we are now striving hard to overcome.  At times we feel the lack of expertise and guidance of a Museum professional, especially in such areas as grants and funding.  But fortunately we have a very supportive County Museums Officer who is always ready to advise and encourage us.

At times our lack of experience can be an advantage.  We are very fortunate to have an excellent and expanding group of volunteers from all the walks of life who are prepared to 'give it a go', they would rather try and fail (not often!) than not try at all and we have had some startling successes with some very off the wall ideas.  We know that there are areas where improvements need to be made but we are all very positive and look forward to all the challenges that the future holds.

All photos shown and the above text, are used with the kind permission of Zoe, who has an excellent Blog about the Museum at.

 www.ramseyruralmuseum.blogspot.com/

 [ Search Pages ] [ Contact Us ] [ Home ]