The site now occupied by the Museum was formerly the Amberley chalk pits. From the 1840s to the 1960s, chalk was quarried and burnt in kilns to make lime for mortar, for decorating and for agricultural use. A century ago the limeworks was one of the largest in the region.
The Museum contains chalk pits, kilns and buildings from this once important industry, as well as many other interesting exhibits.
The Museum contains chalk pits, kilns and buildings from this once important industry, as well as many other interesting exhibits.
The Museum is a fascinating open-air museum dedicated to the industrial heritage of south-east England. The museum covers 36 acres of exhibits, ranging from transport to traditional crafts. Visitors can see craftspeople working at their trades, including pottery, blacksmithing, broom-making, and walking stick making.
Among the highlights of the collection are the Southdown bus collection, wireless radio, a narrow-gauge railway, print workshop, ironmongers shop, brickhouse, wheelwright shop, machine shop, and much more.
(above) A replica 1930s garage, with a petrol station and attached bicycle shop. The garage is full of period tools and repair equipment
The replica of a 1920s bus garage houses a collection of vintage buses, as well as a display on the history of Southdown itself. The buses are used to carry visitors around the museum site.
The narrow-gauge railway was built from the original industrial railway stock used to carry limestone from the quarry to the kilns. One railway feature is a signal box from Billingshurst, dating to before 1876, which has been saved from destruction and reassembled on site.
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