Bayleaf House
Bayleaf House is the star exhibit at the Weald and Downland Museum.
The Weald and Downland is a showcase of old English buildings. The exhibits are all genuine period pieces which were moved from their original locations and rebuilt on the museum's land. Some of the farm buildings were simply ruinous and in dire need of tender loving care, but the houses were all "listed buildings" which, nevertheless, had to be demolished to make room for new roads or other modern development.
Bayleaf is a 15th century timber-framed building which seems to have been built for the "bailiff", or manager, of the local estate. Naturally enough, over the course of 500 years it had been altered and adapted, with a cat-slide roof tacked on here, and new windows added there, so that it eventually bore little resemblance to the house which its first inhabitants knew. Having been carefully demolished (to make way for a reservoir) it was re-erected at the museum in its original form, without any of the modern features. It has also been fitted, throughout, with mediaeval furnishings, and the staff occasionally dress in contemporary costumes. This greatly aids the visitor's appreciation of life in the Middle Ages.
The Weald and Downland Museum is at Singleton, near Chichester, in the county of West Sussex (England). To take a look at some of the other buildings which have been re-erected here, click on the link.