South West Treasures Scoop Silver Award in National Excellence Awards
Regional visitor attraction Oakham Treasures, based in Portbury near Bristol, has added yet another prestigious award to its growing collection by being awarded a silver medal at enjoyEngland’s National Awards for Excellence ceremony in the Best Small Visitor Attraction category. The unique visitor experience, which opened its doors in North Somerset to the public in July 2008, was created by Keith Sherrell, a 5th generation West Country farmer with an unusual lifelong passion for collecting memorabilia from days gone by, which he delights in sharing with visitors.
A truly unique collection of memorabilia from the last 100 years or so, Oakham Treasures is the result of 40 years of searching and collecting. The many thousands of items have been painstakingly catalogued and are displayed in purpose-built, climate-controlled facilities on Oakham Farm, creating one of the largest collections of vintage farm machinery and retail items in the country. The attraction also boasts a large on-site farm shop offering a wide range of delicacies including freshly reared meats, speciality cheeses, freshly baked cakes and breads, and organic fruit and vegetables, as well as a café serving hot drinks and refreshments.
This latest national award swiftly follows the venue’s recent gold award in the regional South West Excellence Awards. Oakham Treasures is the newest visitor attraction to ever be nominated for a national award, as these are historically given to more established attractions. Other regional attractions nominated for national awards in different categories include Brunel’s SS Great Britain in Bristol, and Cornwall Classic Car Hire in Bodmin, Cornwall.
“We are simply delighted to have won such a prestigious award,” says Keith. “Despite being a relatively new attraction, it’s taken years of hard work to create what you can see today, so it’s wonderful to be recognised at a national level. I hope that the award will mean more people hear about Oakham Treasures and come to see what we have here – we think it really is something quite special, and we are thrilled that our opinions have been confirmed by enjoyEngland’s judging panel.”
Oakham Treasures was visited by an enjoyEngland ‘mystery shopper’ before being nominated and was described in the report as an ‘attraction that goes the extra mile. It is quite unique and beautifully presented, with clocks on the wall from the past that tell the right time! Cabinets are stuffed full of materials and kids are well catered for with a quiz sheet and colouring. The attraction is clearly aimed at the nostalgia market and it does this so well. Staff go the extra mile, with great reception staff and a really nice atmosphere. We felt everyone was really pleased to see us there. Access is perfect, all accessible, with good toilets and some hands on stuff.’
The visitor experience at Oakham Treasures falls into 2 parts offering a unique snap shot of retail and farming history. The majority of the ‘museum’ presents the visitor with a range of fully stocked and equipped historic stores, including the countless items that could have been purchased, advertising, merchandising and point of sale materials from over the last 100 years or more. Stores include a haberdashery, pharmacy, off licence, hardware store, tobacconist, confectionery shop and a vast grocery store. Many of the packaged food and confectionery items are so ‘intact’ they still contain their contents – probably best left uneaten after such a passage of time!
The items are so many in number that not only does Keith have no idea how many individual items are on display, even the museum’s insurance company gave up when they tried to count them!
The smaller section of the museum is dedicated to a display of around 150 old and vintage tractors, together with an extensive display of old farm equipment and farm related engines. John Deere, Allis Chalmers, Titan … all the important names are here from a 1919 Fordson to a 1976 Massey Ferguson. There’s even an American fire engine and tender pump dating back to 1920!