Introduction:

A working farm of a bygone age set in a scenic landscape of farmland and ancient woodland on the banks of the River Hamble.

The Park Covering an area of some 400 acres, Manor Farm Country Park offers a welcome chance to escape the pressures of the modern world and relax in peaceful surroundings. An extensive network of riverside and woodland trails allows easy exploration of this rich and varied area of Hampshire countryside. The park offers a number of scenic picnic and barbecue sites, together with three children's play areas. The park's main facilities are located in the areas known as Barnfield and Toplands. These are signposted from the park road. Here, large areas of woodland and open space offer a variety of recreational activities, from ball games and dog walking to picnics and bird watching.

The Farm Hidden away at the end of a winding country lane lies Manor Farm itself. The traditional working farm, complete with farmyard animals and a fine collection of historic agricultural buildings and bygones, offers visitors a unique insight into everyday life in the Hampshire countryside prior to the 1950s. Children will love meeting the farm animals, including Janie the Shire horse, while anyone old enough to remember the washboard and mangle is sure to recall many a childhood memory. The farmyard displays a selection of agricultural machinery of the period together with fine examples of Hampshire barns and outbuildings. Chickens still roam free around the farmyard, where a variety of traditional livestock, including sheep, pigs, donkeys and cows, help capture the essential atmosphere of the countryside of yesteryear.

The 15th century farmhouse portrays the late-Victorian home of the Earwicker family and brims with period bygones to delight, amuse and confound visitors of all ages. One wing of the farmhouse is home to Miss Stubbs' Victorian Schoolroom, a faithful re-creation of an early 1900s rural school, complete with teacher's cane and dunce's cap! A cast of living history characters bring the working farm vividly to life each day, while the blacksmiths forge, wheelwright's workshop and 13th-century church offer the chance of a new discovery around every corner. Manor Farm Country Park is owned and managed by Hampshire County Council.

Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Activity Centre and Cricket Camp Scout Centre

These facilities are located within the country park but operate independently from the main site. For further information please contact the relevant facility direct on the following telephone numbers: QEII Activity Centre 023 80 404844
Cricket Camp Scout Centre
(Pauline's Lodge) 023 80 405151

Educational Visits

Manor Farm Country Park offers a wealth of easily accessible ‘hands-on’ educational activities to aid delivery of Key Stages 1 and 2 of the National Curriculum. Our farm-based education programme, created by teachers for teachers, and developed by our interpretive staff, offers a wide choice of guided or self-guided activities. We are happy, wherever possible, to tailor the activities to meet the size and requirements of your particular group. In addition to the farm education programme, part of which is detailed below, the woodlands, ponds, hedgerows, grassland and riverside of the country park combine to offer a remarkably diverse, yet compact outdoor classroom for the self-guided field-based study.

VICTORIAN SPECIAL ACTIVITY KS2

This specially developed activity beings history alive as the children spend the morning working alongside ‘Victorian’ farm staff to experience life in the past at first hand. The children learn about Victorian life while actively involved in farmyard tasks such as feeding, bedding and cleaning the farm animals, or in domestic work such as washing, cleaning and cooking in the farm cottage. Groups are split to participate in either the farmyard or domestic activities. Teachers and helpers are actively encouraged to assist with delivery of the sessions under the guidance of farm staff.

VICTORIAN SPECIAL ACTIVITY KS1

A Victorian Special Activity, similar to the one above, is also available for younger children. The children will spend the morning working in two groups alongside staff in the farmyard and the cottage. However, the nature of the tasks undertaken will reflect the abilities of the younger child and the groups will also be able to swap over.

VICTORIAN SCHOOLROOM ACTIVITY KS1 & 2

A faithful re-creation of a turn-of-the-century rural schoolroom is available for use by teacher-led groups wishing to experience a typical Victorian school day. The schoolroom is equipped with all necessary period accessories, including slates, ink dip-pens, hymn books, teacher’s cane and even dunce’s cap! Children are each given a penny upon arrival to use as payment for their lesson at the schoolroom door, and each receives a certificate as a souvenir of their visit. Outside, a flagstone playground complete with a selection of traditional games offers the opportunity for drill as well as informal play. For younger children we recommend the Schoolroom Activity be combined with the Self-Guided Farm Tour. A teacher’s pack, giving historical background and operational information, together with a selection of copy exercises, is provided upon booking.

SELF-GUIDED FARM TOURS - All ages

Children can enjoy the special atmosphere of the working farmyard and farmhouse while learning about rural life in the early part of the 20th century. Several resources are available to assist teachers leading self-guided groups.A variety of aspects of farmyard life are described by child-friendly interpretive panels, while the colour guide book and Visitor’s Guide provide comprehensive background information.

SENSORY TRAILS 1 & 2 KS1

Guided by sets of laminated instruction cards, small groups are encouraged to explore various aspects of the farmyard by using each of their senses. The emphasis is placed on speaking and listening, with the children encouraged to express opinions and feelings. The group is led by the teacher, who should invite discussion of what the children see, feel, hear and smell as they go round.

DISCOVERY TRAIL KS2

The Discovery Trail offers a little more independence in the way children explore the farmyard, but still directs their attention to certain key areas. Guided by the trail booklet, the children search the farmyard, rickyard, church, wheelwright’s shop and blacksmith’s forge for information and answers. An accompanying work sheet poses a series of questions, both closed and open-ended, to encourage the children to find the answers by thinking for themselves. As they learn about life on the late Victorian farm, they are required to record their discoveries in either written or numerical notes or by illustrations. This record then provides a useful link for follow-up work back at school.

DISCUSSION TRAIL Suitable for KS2

The Discussion Trail concentrates on exploring the Victorian farmhouse and cottage garden. Guided by laminated trail cards the children’s attention is directed to particular aspects of domestic life one hundred years ago. Working in teacher-supervised groups the children use the sets of questions and instructions to discover how people lived during Victorian times. The questions are both closed and open-ended to provide a framework for increasing the children’s understanding and to encourage further discussion and study back at school following the visit.

FURTHER DETAILS AND BOOKING INFORMATION

All activities and support materials must be pre-booked. For details of current charges and availability, together with further information about our educational programme, please contact Manor Farm reception at the postal address above or the phone number/email address above.

For further details about Manor Farm please visit their web site (see above).