NTG Properties: The Folk Museum

Photo: A model steam train and its owner parked up in the forecourt of the Folk Museum

Photo: Two ladies sit in an old-fashioned parlour inside the Folk Museum

The Folk Museum, Saumarez Park

Castel

Advocate William Langlois had been collecting agricultural implements on the island throughout his lifetime and had become renowned for his re-enactments of country scenes for the benefit of the public at the West and other agricultural shows. He requested that on his death, La Société Guernesiaise should set up a museum for his collection and he bequeathed a sum of £3,000 for this purpose. It was thanks to Advocate Langlois' foresight and generosity that the Folk Museum collection was eventually to come into being.

In 1951, in order to mark the Festival of Britain, the States of Guernsey created the Old Guernsey Kitchen in a downstairs room of one of the buildings around the old stable yard in Saumarez park. This kitchen, now enhanced by the National Trust of Guernsey in terms of artefacts and costume, can still be seen today in the main building.

In the 1960s the newly created National Trust of Guernsey, in conjunction with La Société Guernesiaise, was able to form a committee to pursue the creation of a new museum. Both La Société and the Trust were able to lease the old Guernsey kitchen and other under-used buildings around the courtyard from the States of Guernsey, thus providing the space required to realise the creation of The Guernsey Folk Museum in 1968. The nucleus of the Museum's display was created through the generous donation of numerous items of Advocate Langlois' collection by his family to the National Trust of Guernsey.

After the initial creation of the Folk Museum, the National Trust of Guernsey expanded its role and became sole manager of the endeavour and continued to develop and utilise more of the buildings around the stableyard. The year 1975 saw the installation of the Cider Barn thanks to a legacy from Michael Whiteaway, the first secretary of the Museum Committee. This enabled the Trust to house the magnificent cider press, dating from 1734, which was donated by Dr. Bostock from his property in St. Pierre du Bois.

The roof of the main building was replaced in 1980 and this provided the opportunity to create a new first floor display area over the kitchen. Two years later an anonymous donation enabled a coach house in the courtyard to be converted into the first museum shop. Space to display the larger agricultural machinery items was provided after the "New Barn" was erected in 1995 thanks to generous sponsorship from the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Now at the end of 2003, the States of Guernsey are in the process of relaying the courtyard in granite cobs for the 2004 season.