Free attraction. High Wycombe used to be a centre for wooden furniture. As a newlywed I went there to buy an extending round dining table. Driving back to High Wycombe, I expected 'High' Wycombe to be high, on a hilltop, but although you drive uphill, it is in a hollow with steep, wooded green slopes all around.
The museum has a delightful display of carved wooden chairs, my favourite novelty being the reversible garden chair (my photo below) which you can turn upside down. Why? If your chair's wet from rain or a pigeon used it first. Chairs, like the other displays, appeal to all ages. The low kiddie commode chair is near the teacher's high chair. The tall teacher's chair reminded me of high chairs at swimming pools and tennis matches.
I loved the video showing how chair legs were turned with a foot-operated string, like a treadle sewing machine.
Plenty for children to do and touch. Novelty toys to buy included small marionettes and tiny turning monkeys.
I was pleased to see the museum at the 2013 location, a peaceful old house with a lawn. Steep stairs mean the upstairs galleries are not accessible to some visitors so the council plans to move the whole caboodle to their more modern central location.
The old kitchen is another joy with useful explanations of how the servant bell panels worked. My late parents had one of those in Edgware. Loved the explanation of how electricity changed the domestic house. No wonder all the men had beards before electricity.
Useful timelines tied in with displays. I learned that both Disraeli and Churchill gave speeches in High Wycombe.
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