American Museum in Britain

Experience the American way of life from the 17th to 19th centuries.

In the Folk Art Gallery there are paintings, metalwork, and wood carvings, all showing the vigour and diversity of American Folk Art.

The museum's large collection of quilts includes a fine example of African-American art, the Chalices Quilt. It was made by slaves on the Mimosa Hall Plantation, Texas, for the Anglican bishop who visited once a year to baptise, confirm and marry.

The Stencilled Bedchamber, from a house in Windham, Connecticut, was decorated around 1830, probably by an itinerant painter in return for bed and board. Stencilled wall designs were a substitute for wallpaper in the 19th century.

The Mount Vernon Garden is a replica of George Washington's flower garden at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

The Dallas Pratt Collection of Historical Maps consists of printed maps of the world and the western hemisphere dating from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Special Events

Throughout the summer months the American Museum is host to a number of groups who demonstrate a variety of events and lifestyles from America's past. These vary from displays of Native American dancing and 18th century military drills to very realistic re-enactments of engagements in the French and Indian War and the American Civil War.

For Easter Saturday, Sunday & Monday: explore the springtime delights in the museum grounds following the Bunny Trail. Follow the maps provided, answer the clues and win a prize!

Christmas Opening