Eden Valley Museum, Edenbridge

Eden Valley Museum

Housed in a 14th-century farmhouse in the centre of historic Edenbridge, the Eden Valley Museum showcases the rich history of Kent's Eden Valley, including Edenbridge and its neighbouring villages. The museum showcases six galleries of ever-changing exhibits covering the story of West Kent, spanning the area from Surrey to Penshurst.

Highlight galleries look at local archaeology, blacksmithing, stately homes, the tanning industry, and the region's history of making the famous Duke cricket balls.

The museum is free to enter and is run by an enthusiastic team of local volunteers.

The museum building was begun around 1380 as a traditional hall house. It was rebuilt in the Tudor period with the addition of a chimney and a first-floor level. The brick facade is a product of the late Georgian period, but the brick hides a timber-framed interior.

The building was given to the parish church in 1913 with the specification that it be used by the local community. The museum opened in 2000 and is run by a registered charity.

Gold coin from the Chiddingstone Hoard

Chiddingstone Hoard

In 2016 a metal detectorist uncovered a cache of ten gold coins near Chiddingstone. The coins date to the period 50-60 BCE and were minted in Gaul. At that time, Gaul was under attack by legions under Julius Caesar and they used these coins to forge alliances and to pay mercenaries to resist the Roman advance.

There were close links at that time between tribes in Kent and the Gauls across the Channel. Some Kentish warriors fought with the Gauls, and many Gauls went into exile in Kent after the conflict was lost. Historians suggest that the coins may also have been used as marriage gifts or as offerings to British tribal leaders.

Unusually, the coins are stamped on only one face, while the obverse side is blank.

Mill Leat Hoard

Mill Leat Hoard

This exhibition displays finds from 2007, when the Mill Leat was refurbished. Among the finds are Tudor pottery, coins, glassware, clay pipes, and oyster shells.

Other displays include traditional agricultural tools, including sheep shears, a haystack testing rod, Victorian pitchforks, and a bone-crushing machine used to make fertiliser. One humorous artefact is a match box from the Crown Inn in Cowden. The box is printed with this rhyme:

The ancients of old drank water so cold
they soon perished and wasted away
But people round here
Drink Brook's Beer
And flourish like flowers in May

There is also a special exhibit of military history, holding medals granted to local service personnel.

Duke cricket balls exhibit

Cricket History

The Edenbridge areas has long been associated with cricket. A shoemaker named Thomas Duke founded a ball-making factory at Penshurst in 1809 (it later moved to Chiddingstone Causeway in 1841). George IV granted the Duke factory a royal warrant in 1820.

The Duke family is no longer linked to the factory, but the balls still bear the Duke name. The museum showcases the history of the Duke balls and has on display a ball used in the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

Ground floor museum room

Visiting

The Eden Valley Museum stands on the west side of High Street between Church Street and Lingfield Road. There is parking on Church Street, outside the churchyard, and at Market Yard (not available on market days). The museum was open when we visited.