About the tours

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

We are located in Putney, London, England and open most Saturdays and Sundays, 3-5pm by appointment. We will provide the address once the booking is made.

Small group rate: £60 (1-4 visitors), including a generous cream tea
Maximium 5 guests

Please call: +44 20 8785 2464 or email: theantiquebreadboardmuseum@gmail.com

We do hope you will muster some choice friends and family – and make a day of it!

We can also offer additional dates and times:

Wine and cheese parties on weekday evenings (BYO wine, I supply cheeses and nibbles)
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Reunions

Where to park

Visitors coming Monday- Saturday have 3 options:

Waitrose car park on Lacy Road, where a minimum spend is required
There are metered parking bays in the vicinity.
Or buy a visitor permit from us which costs a criminal £8. There are usually spaces in the afternoon

Sunday parking free

Using public transport

Our nearest stations are Putney Bridge (District), East Putney (District) and Putney mainline (SW trains)

Where to grab lunch/supper – go easy though!

Gastropub: Coat and Badge, Lacy Road

Indian: Kashmir, Lacy Road

Artisan Bakery and lunches: The Bakehouse, Upper Richmond Road

Thai: Pinto Thai Putney, 320 Upper Richmond Rd

Kebab: Soul Flame, Putney High Street

Light: Pret, Putney High Street

Ingredients

The world’s first Antique Breadboard Museum (until proven otherwise!) showcases a stunning collection of breadboards and bread knives, butter dishes, butter knives, cheese boards and related items dating from the 1840s. The bread boards display a wide variety of carving techniques, motifs and mottos, some mass-produced, others unique.

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 curator, Madeleine, (daughter of the collector) runs the tours
Different boards are highlighted according to the broader interests of visitors
Visitors choose their favourite board to present the scones

Active:

The collection is accessible and can be handled
Visitors can ask questions and determine what they learn
Using the boards in their authentic context: to present baked items
Taking photos
Bringing your board to show and talk 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
Madeleine explains 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 and photos in other collections
Collating specialist knowledge about the pieces thanks to the generosity of our visitors who share their hard-earned insights

Social

Sharing stories and information with other guests
Convivial tea with friends, family or fellow enthusiasts
Bookings received for a novel 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

Note: Kate from Wandsworth Food Safety visited and kindly gave us a 5*! If we launch into home-made, every ingredient’s source must be traceable with receipts and rigorous records kept for each batch/serving. We may choose this option later on, but for the moment, guests are served the very best that Putney can offer: Rhodda’s clotted cream, TTD strawberry jam and M&S buttermilk and clotted cream scones (going the extra mile to Barnes branch). The packet says ‘just add jam’, but I think not. Maureen (scone aficionado) endorses M&S, saying they are nicer than Waitrose because they are not sweet, creating a pleasing contrast with the jam. All rigorously taste-tested by my foodie husband.

We have all had scones which were disappointing, I’m sure. Those cold, claggy ones spoil the once-a-year treat which is a Cream Tea. Isobel, domestic goddess, passed me recipes which were deceptively simple, but confided that the fluffiness was all down to minimal mixing, and that was down to a subtle interplay of cold hands and warm butter… alchemy which I currently feel unqualified to practise.

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!”