Avoncroft Museum will come to life over the first weekend of the school Easter holidays, with nearly 30 re-enactment groups in and around the historic buildings, representing life from the Stone Age, through the Viking era to the 1940’s and beyond. 

The International Living History Festival will visit the museum on Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 April.

There will also be around 30 trader stalls, inside and outside, selling historically inspired artefacts from jewellery and hats to handmade tools, costumes and cloth to historic pottery. You can also get a real taste of history with The Copper Pot’s delicious chocolates, a medieval kitchen display and multiple mead-makers among the traders. 

Museum Director, Zoe Willems, who is leading the Museum’s recovery from covid shutdown, is thrilled to have the International Living History Festival move its base to the Midlands. “My vision for Avoncroft Museum is for it to be an exciting place where history comes to life. To have so many re-enactors from different periods on the same weekend will be a fantastic experience – imagine smelling the smoke rising up from an English Civil War encampment, then being invited to join a Tudor dance, before turning a corner to find a full Napoleonic artillery section drawn up by the Windmill.” She adds “It’s accessible and fun for people of all ages and interests. And it’s amazing how much you can learn when you’re having fun!” 

The International Living History Festival was previously based in Essex, where it was held successfully for a number of years. Dave Allan from Pike and Shot Events, who organise the festival, says about the move to Avoncroft Museum “Re-enactment and Living History is growing ever-more popular, and we had just run out of space at our previous site. We are excited to partner with Avoncroft Museum, which is the perfect place for multi-period re-enactment, living history and trading, with lots of open space and historic buildings from every era. It’s also really handy to get to from all over the country, just off the M5 and M42. We look forward to this weekend and hope to make this a regular event at Avoncroft Museum” 

Trains will be running on the model railway from 11am to 3pm on both days, thanks to the Bromsgrove Society of Model Engineers, for just 50p a ride. 

“We are also encouraging people to travel by train, and we’ve been working with the Transport Museum at Wythall and Worcester Community Rail Partnership to make this part of the historic experience. The Transport Museum will provide a free ½-hourly heritage bus shuttle directly to and from Bromsgrove Station and the Museum throughout the festival weekend1” said Museum Director, Zoe Willems. “It’s a great opportunity to partner with other local groups to offer a great day out that’s accessible for everyone.” 

Discounted advance tickets are available now online here: avoncroft.org.uk