Wash day in the open air

Year 1 and 2 had a fantastic opportunity to see what life was like in the past when they visited the Chiltern Open Air Museum. The museum has restored many historical buildings and preserved them in a traditional Chiltern landscape.

The girls went back in time to the Iron Age where they discovered what it was like to live 2000 years ago with dim lighting, a smoky fire and the different ways people used to prepare food such as a quern for grinding corn.

The girls also had the opportunity to experience a typical “wash day” in the 1940s. Following a discussion about the differences in how washing is done today and what it was like in the past, all girls were given a tea towel to wash using traditional equipment such as a washboard, carbolic soap and cold water. They then rinsed their tea towel using a prosser and mangle to squeeze the water out before hanging the tea towels out to dry using Victorian pegs. They all agreed that it was nothing like the modern methods we have in our homes today.. They were then given the opportunity to explore the 1940s house to see what other differences there are.

Other buildings the girls explored included the Wycombe Toll House, a residence for a toll keeper and his family, a Victorian school house and Haddenham Croft Cottage where the girls were taken through the process of how the cottage was reconstructed.

Year 2 teacher, Mrs Clare said “The girls thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the Chiltern Open Air Museum. Being able to see all the different types of dwellings really brought periods of history alive for the girls. Hands-on type of visits such as this are invaluable in terms of consolidating learning completed in the classroom. 

For more information contact:

Rebecca Conroy, Senior Marketing Executive, Pipers Corner School. Telephone 01494 719850 or email [email protected] | www.facebook.com/PipersCornerSchool | @PipersCornerSch