Toad Hole Cottage Museum

It is thought that Toad Hole Cottage, which sits calmly beside the River Ant, was built between 1780 and 1820. Until the start of the 20th Century, the cottage was home to Marshmen and their families and has been refurnished to give visitors the impression of life in the marshes in Victorian times. The roof of the cottage has been thatched with reed and sedge grown at How Hill.

The marshmen worked harvesting the reed and sedge, catching fish and eels, shooting wildfowl, cutting the marsh hay, looking after cattle and attending to the drainage mills on the marshes.

A ‘tool room’ contains some of the equipment needed for work on the marshes and in the larder, you can see the kitchen equipment and the food the family will have eaten. The main focus of home life was the kitchen or living room, cooking was done on the range and peat was used for fuel. Visitors will notice that there was no running water and candles and rush lights were the only lighting.

Upstairs, there are two bedrooms and children often had to sleep ‘head to tail’. Outside, the families will have grown their own fruit, vegetables and herbs.

We offer:

• Museum
• Visitor centre