The Bredy farm Museum was set up by Justin Mallinson in 1968. It came about at a time when Justin was Vice-Chairman of Dorset NFU. The NFU was taking part in the Thomas Hardy Festival and were allowed to set up an exhibition in the Walled Garden at Kingston Maurward. Farmers were invited to bring any old machinery that they had, such as threshing machines and steam engines. When the exhibition was over, Justin became enthusiastic about sorting out a lot of the old farming equipment he had found in his barns. The Museum was quite small to begin with but then people began to give him things and he went to farm sales to buy items for his growing collection.
The Museum was open from the Whit Spring Bank Holiday through to the end of September, on weekdays form 10.00 am to 5.30 pm. Justin encouraged School visits and many museum groups came to see the collection.
The main barn is dated 1878 and it had 'Privies' incorporated into it, with Privy doors on the outside wall to take the slops out. At first only the ground floor and walls were used to exhibit items in his collection. Then a set of stairs were made using Elm from Bredy Farm. This meant that a second upper section could be developed to better show the tools. All the display boards were bought from Humphreys Homestyle Final sale. The earliest tool displayed in this section is a Flail. The Oxen Yokes are original and one was sent to him from France.
Among the exhibits in the Machine Room, are a Wooden Horse Plough c.1800, Scales from Bradford's Coal Yard and a Red Horsedrawn machine - the forerunner of the Bamford One Horse Reaper. Justin said that he had never seen anything like this in any other rural museum. It just cut the corn and the women went behind binding the corn into sheaves. also on display is a Dutch Plant Barrow, made by Justin for the Craft Competition at Burton Bradstock Village Flower and produce Show. He won First Prize for it. Displayed too is a Corn Shelling Machine, on top of which are bundles of thatch which was used above the bar in the NFU tent at one of the Melplash Shows.
Among the items is a Parnell & Sons (Bristol) Barn Scales, painted by Jennifer Mallinson in its ariginal colours. An Egg Grading machine and an Automatic Bottle Washer are also exhibited.
There is a poem painted on baord at the top of the stairs and this was used on the Cider Mugs. Displayed also are the Table Names from Justin's Grandoughter's Wedding. All the tables were named after fields on the farm.
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