In 1999, the Grade II listed Old & Water Street Cottage, now known as Lenham Cottages, lay virtually in the path of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Union Railways (South) Ltd offered the Cottages and the necessary funding for re-location to Kent Life. Dismantling commenced in June 1999 and the reconstruction began in January 2000, which took fourteen months to complete. The Cottages were open at Kent Life to the public in July 2001.
WWII Cottage
The WWII Cottage displays the typical home of a wartime house wife. Furniture and fittings were in short supply and rationed, so the average wartime house was decorated in a 1930's style. Our WWII home shows sticky tape on the windows to reduce shatter, a basic kitchen equipped with a sink, cooker, mangle and bath tub showing the water-ration line, greenhouse and front rooms, and bedrooms displaying artefacts from an era past.
Anderson Shelter
A shelter was a sectional steel shelter erected in back gardens to hold four to six people in the event of an air raid. A typical air raid shelter would consist of an electrical lamp, hot water bottles, makeshift beds, food and drink and a small case containing gas masks, insurance policies, books, games and comics.
Wildlife Discovery Room
The Wildlife Discovery room can be visited as part of the Wildlife Discovery Trail or on its own. The room focuses on bringing nature to life and will feature live web cams, feely boxes and interactive CD-Roms, as well as quizzes and games to inspire naturalists young and old.
Construction
One side of the cottage displays and depicts the interpretation of the history of this building. The cottage was built with brick ground floor elevations and timber-framed first floor elevations. It has an oak frame, rag stone footings, daubed panel between the timber framing, daub being a mix of clay lime and chopped straw to create a panel wall. It also has mullion (vertically barred and shuttered but unglazed) windows and a thatched roof.