Our hands-on curated tours combine stories of past owners with anecdotes from current bb-lovers. Hear about political breadboards, and boards with noble, religious and homely mottos. Drive the content with Q&A, take away a photo souvenir.
Nuts and bolts
The world’s first Antique Breadboard Museum (until proven otherwise!) showcases a small but stunning collection of breadboards and bread knives dating from the 1840s. The bread boards display a variety of carving techniques, motifs and mottos, some mass-produced, others unique.
Typically, the tour consists of one hour of potted history, collection handling and primary source viewing. The second hour we tuck in to the homemade cream tea, and things tend to get more informal/confessional. As the action all happens in our front room, in a Victorian cottage, we can only comfortably accommodate small parties of 5 guests maximum. The fully-functioning, heated Victorian privy is at our guests’ disposal.
The museum visit has been described as ‘surprisingly interesting’ and ‘the best thing since sliced bread’, possibly due to the curator’s desire to make it personal, active, informative and social. We operate on the premise that everyone is trustworthy and will not break it or take it! We realise this is unfamiliar territory for museums – making us ‘pioneering’ (Mike’s word), both as a collection and an experience.
Personal:
- The tours are run by me, the curator (daughter of the collector) with frequent reference to my book, Vintage Breadboards, by Prospect Books (2019), the first ever book on the subject, which showcases the collection and my mother’s extensive research. It’s a homage to my mother and her obsessive acquisitiveness!
Active:
- The collection is accessible and can be handled
- Visitors can ask questions and determine what they learn
- Seeing the boards in their authentic context: home
- Taking photos, food styling with guests’ own loaves
- Bringing your board to show and share stories about
Informative
- Tom Samuel, award-winning cabinet maker, has contributed much to our better understanding of the collection from the point of view of a maker
- I explain the history and carving skills involved, as well as the stories behind individual boards where possible
- Primary sources are available to view and discuss
- Building a social history of breadboards through individual reminiscences
- Collating specialist knowledge about the pieces thanks to the generosity of our visitors who share their hard-earned insights
Social
- Sharing stories and life experiences with other guests
- Convivial tea with friends, family or fellow enthusiasts
- Celebrations: Christmas gift-experience, friends’ reunions, a family reunion, birthday teas, a Mother’s Day gift-experience and a Valentine’s Day treat (no prompting from us!)
Harriet’s birthday tea! Jan 2018
Ingredients
Note: Kate from Wandsworth Food Safety visited and kindly gave us a 5* for our homemade Cream Tea! It includes Rhodda’s clotted cream, with my raspberry jam.
Cream teas include allergens such as dairy and gluten, however I am happy to accommodate dietary restrictions with Warburtons Gluten-free crumpets and dairy alternatives such as almond butter. Cheese & Wine parties are also possible.
BTW Kate remembers: the small round wooden board her Granny used where she grew up in Battersea in the 1970s. It slotted into the plate-rack her Grandfather had made, which hung over the sink. It stayed in the kitchen. The flats have since been demolished and it broke up the whole community.
She also had a jolly story to tell: her grandfather went down the pub one evening and came back and fell asleep in his chair. Mum didn’t have enough to feed the family so she smeared gravy on his lips and gave the kids the food. When he woke up hungry, she said, “You’ve had your dinner. Look, it’s all over your face!”
Breathing new life into antique breadboards 