Little Woodham

The Living History Village of Little Woodham or The Seventeenth Century Village is a living museum dedicated to recreating life in a rural village in the mid-17th century. It is situated in ancient woodland in Rowner, on the Gosport peninsula, Hampshire.

History

The hamlet of Little Woodham was initially created in 1984 as a temporary reenactment of village life on the eve of the English Civil War by members of The English Civil War Society as part of their enactment of the fictional "Battle Of Stokes Bay". Following this, Society volunteers continued the exhibition during the summers of 1984 and 1985.

When the English Civil War Society announced they would be unable to continue, local residents formed the Gosport Living History Society to take over the running of the village to preserve it as an educational resource and tourist attraction. The Gosport Borough Council provided much of the financing and administration until 1995 when the Gosport Living History Society became a registered charity and took on sole responsibility for funding and administration.

In 2007, Little Woodham won the "Best Leisure & Tourism Venue" in the "Go Gosport" awards, beating Explosion! and the Gosport Discovery Centre.

Life In Little Woodham

The villagers are volunteers who dress in costume and act as if it is the summer of 1642. They talk about Charles I and the impending war between the King and Parliament as well as village life and their character's day-to-day existence. The village is home to soldiers preparing for war and visitors may see musket drills.

Visitors can also participate in period activities including wood crafts, lace-making, wool carding and spinning, cooking, medicine preparation and butter making.

The Living History Village is widely used by schools as a teaching resource for the study of history and other cross-curricular areas.

External links

* [http://www.portsdown.demon.co.uk/village.htm The 1642 Living History Village]
* [http://www.hants.gov.uk/villagers/htm/littlewoodham.htm Hampshire County Council article about Little Woodham]
* [http://www.gosport.info/History/Gosport_History_Archive/Gosport_History_Archive_Index/Little_Woodham/little_woodham.html Gosport.info article]