Established | 1 December 2000 |
---|---|
Location | Basingstoke, Hampshire, England |
Coordinates | 51°15′59″N1°06′41″W / 51.2665°N 1.1115°W |
Type | Heritage centre |
Public transit access | Route 8 bus |
Website | Milestones |
Milestones Museum of Living History is a museum located on the Leisure Park in Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK. Milestones is made up of a network of streets that have been recreated according to those found in Victorian and 1930s Hampshire.
It was opened on 1 December 2000 by Duke of Edinburgh [1] [2] as a joint project between Hampshire County Council and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
In the year running 2007/8 the museum received 88,338 visitors. [3]
In 2014, ownership of the Milestones Museum was transferred to the Hampshire Cultural Trust as part of a larger transfer of museums from Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council. [4]
Features include recreations of: [5] [6]
A new addition for 2021 is Mr Simpson's Teddy Bear museum, featuring more than 260 examples dating from 1905 onwards. [7]
Many of the shops and workshops feature sound tracks of appropriate conversations and sound effects.
There is a large collection of road vehicles, notably by local manufacturers, Thornycroft of Basingstoke and Taskers of Andover. These cover examples of human powered, horse drawn, steam and motor driven vehicles.
Include two road rollers by Taskers and two by Wallis & Steevens. There are also two Taskers Little Giant traction engines, one displayed with a log trailer.
There are some 25 commercial vehicles along with private cars, two generations of motor buses and a coach.
The Museum fire station has a selection of hand-propelled, horse-drawn and motorised fire engines.
Between February and April 2014 the museum hosted an exhibition of Lego models of extinct animals, constructed by Bright Bricks. [36] In 2018, the exhibition returned, focusing on mythical creatures. [37]
A Victorian themed Christmas Market is held in early December. [38]
Basingstoke is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status. It is located 30 miles (48 km) north-east of Southampton, 48 miles (77 km) south-west of London, 27 miles (43 km) west of Guildford, 22 miles (35 km) south of Reading and 20 miles (32 km) north-east of the county town and former capital Winchester. According to the 2016 population estimate, the town had a population of 113,776. It is part of the borough of Basingstoke and Deane and part of the parliamentary constituency of Basingstoke.
The Abbey Pumping Station is a museum of science and technology in Leicester, England, on Corporation Road, next to the National Space Centre. With four working steam-powered beam engines from its time as a sewage pumping station, it also houses exhibits for transport, public health, light and optics, toys and civil engineering.
A traction engine is a steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin tractus, meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engine is to draw a load behind it. They are sometimes called road locomotives to distinguish them from railway locomotives – that is, steam engines that run on rails.
A steamroller is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine. The leveling/flattening action is achieved through a combination of the size and weight of the vehicle and the rolls: the smooth wheels and the large cylinder or drum fitted in place of treaded road wheels.
SS Shieldhall is a preserved steamship that operates from Southampton. She is the largest operational historic steamship in Europe and one of the last reciprocating steam engined ships built, using technology that dated back to the last quarter of the 19th century and which was obsolete at the time of her construction. She spent her working life as one of the "Clyde sludge boats", making regular trips from Shieldhall in Glasgow, Scotland, down the River Clyde and Firth of Clyde past the Isle of Arran, to dump treated sewage sludge at sea. These steamships had a tradition, dating back to the First World War, of taking organised parties of passengers on their trips during the summer. SS Shieldhall has been preserved and offers cruises to the paying public.
The North Tyneside Steam Railway and Stephenson Steam Railway are visitor attractions in North Shields, North East England. The museum and railway workshops share a building on Middle Engine Lane adjacent to the Silverlink Retail Park. The railway is a standard gauge line, running south for 2 miles (3.2 km) from the museum to Percy Main. The railway is operated by the North Tyneside Steam Railway Association (NTSRA). The museum is managed by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums on behalf of North Tyneside Council.
Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries, buses and locomotives.
Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977.
Sir John Isaac Thornycroft was an English shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family.
Foden Trucks was a British truck and bus manufacturing company, which had its origins in Elworth near Sandbach in 1856. Paccar acquired the company in 1980, and ceased to use the marque name in 2006.
The Strumpshaw Hall Steam Museum in Strumpshaw, Norfolk, is home to a collection of traction engines, steam rollers, a showman's engine and a steam wagon which are run on special occasions and on the last Sunday of each month from April to October.
A showman's road locomotive or showman's engine is a steam-powered road-going 'locomotive' designed to provide power and transport for a travelling funfair or circus. Similar to other road-going traction engines, showman's engines were normally distinguished by the addition of a full-length canopy, a dynamo mounted in front of the chimney, and brightly coloured paintwork with ornate decorations. The dynamo was used to generate electricity to illuminate and power various fairground rides. Although originally the ride's motion was powered by an internal steam engine, some later rides were driven direct from the showman's engine via a belt drive.
Wallis & Steevens of Basingstoke, Hampshire, England produced agricultural equipment, traction engines and steam and diesel road rollers.
A steam wagon is a steam-powered truck for carrying freight. It was the earliest form of lorry (truck) and came in two basic forms: overtype and undertype, the distinction being the position of the engine relative to the boiler. Manufacturers tended to concentrate on one form or the other.
Sir John Edward Thornycroft, KBE (1872–1960) was a British mechanical and civil engineer. He worked for the family business of John I. Thornycroft & Company, a shipbuilder to the Royal Navy and others. He played a key role in the early development of destroyers and helped the business to branch into land-based transport as managing director from 1906. During the First World War Thornycroft developed the first coastal motor torpedo boats and launching systems for depth charges and was knighted for his work. He also played a key role in the Second World War, making technical decisions on warship armament. Shortly before his death his son, John Ward Thornycroft succeeded him as chairman and managing director of the company.
William Fletcher (1848–1918) was an English writer and steam traction engine designer.
Taskers of Andover were an Andover, Hampshire based metal works and engineering company, which became better known in the latter half of the 20th century for their lorry trailers. After 170 years in operation, the company became first part of the John Brown company, and then sold to Montracon, after which it closed.
Robey and Co. was an engineering company based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England which can be traced back to around 1849.
The Thornycroft J Type was a British truck built by the Thornycroft company, it saw widespread service with the British military and Imperial forces during the First World War.