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Plans to replace 'Horrible Histories' roundhouse

Tony FisherBedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
News imageChiltern Open Air Museum An Iron Age roundhouse with a straw roof and shaped like a large tent. There is a fire burning inside and smoke is coming out of the entrance. The roundhouse is surrounded by trees, grass and a fence with wooden slats.Chiltern Open Air Museum
The current roundhouse at the Chiltern Open Air Museum will be left to decay naturally

An open-air museum is looking to build a new replica Iron Age roundhouse to replace its current one, which has featured in the BBC's Horrible Histories comedy series.

The Chiltern Open Air Museum in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, said the new roundhouse would be historically accurate, including a floor made of "chalk and cheese" - an early form of concrete.

Learning manager for the museum, Jon Gibson, said the current roundhouse gave the 12,000 schoolchildren who visited every year "a real sense of what life was like" in ancient times.

About £10,500 has been raised so far for its replacement, with the attraction setting a £50,000 fundraising target.

The Horrible Histories franchise started out as a series of books and later became a popular CBBC show, enjoyed by children and adults for its dark humour and surreal parodies.

The existing roundhouse featured in the show in 2009 but the structure is now 30 years old and needs to be replaced, with the museum adding that roundhouses in the Iron Age were not built to last forever.

News imageChiltern Open Air Museum Filming taking place by an Iron Age Roundhouse. There is a man dressed in Iron Age costume holding the end of a wooden rake with his right hand, and his left hand is near his mouth. He has long brown hair and a beard. There is a member of the film crew pointing from the entrance of the roundhouse and there is a white screen next to her.Chiltern Open Air Museum
An episode of Horrible Histories being filmed by the roundhouse in 2009

The museum is planning to base the new roundhouse on the most up-to-date archaeological research.

The new structure will have a roof made of cereal straw, similar to that seen in local Iron Age sites.

It will also have naturally curved timbers which will be set into the ground, and connected with wooden nails to make arches.

The walls will be made of hazel and brushwood wattle and daub, and will be painted with designs based on local pottery, metalwork and other Iron Age artefacts.

The "chalk and cheese" floor will also include cheese curds, known as casein, which when mixed with the chalk creates a natural reaction that sets hard.

News imageChiltern Open Air Museum Two children squatting on the ground by a pot which they are mixing with wooden sticks. They are both wearing hi-vis vests and Wellington boots. In the background there is an Iron Age Roundhouse.Chiltern Open Air Museum
Schoolchildren take part in many experiences at the site, including milling grain to produce flour

Throughout construction, visitors will be able to watch the roundhouse take shape and learn about the materials, techniques and skills involved.

Gibson said schoolchildren were "always amazed at how dark it is inside" the current roundhouse, "and how warm the fire is".

"They go home slightly grubby, smelling of wood smoke, having had a fantastic day," he added.

News imageChiltern Open Air Museum A woman in Iron Age clothes holding a pot with one hand inside the round building. There are chains hanging down from the roof.Chiltern Open Air Museum
Various school workshops take place inside the roundhouse

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