Countryside Collection, Martham (AKA Church Farm, Martham).
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Richard & Judy Fairbairns farmed 230 acres of land at Church Farm, Martham for many years. In 1977 they began incorporating a museum into the activities of their conventional arable farm. They started with open days that included demonstrations by craftsmen and the following year opened all year round.
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Local businessman Donald Bradfield took over the museum and developed it into the Countryside Collection that included brass rubbing and an attractive tearoom which became a popular destination for holiday makers. He put on a number of special events culminating in September 1980 in what was billed as an English Civil War Battle. The re-enactment recreated the battle between the “Illustrious Persons & Great Gentlemen of the King’s Army & The Roundhead Association”. The all-day event saw the Cavaliers & Roundheads battle it out in period costume with musket, pike & cannons.
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The Collection eventually closed and was broken up in a sale in March 1985.
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![](http://marthamnorfolk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Countryside-Collection-with-Donald-Bradfield-1024x744.jpg)
Church Farm in 1978 when it was a real working farm.
Click a thumbnail for a close-up and scroll through all the images from there.