Agriculture

The Agriculture gallery is divided into three bays of exhibits. The first presents a history of agriculture told with the aid of delightful landscape dioramas and superb scale models. The many ways of powering the plough are explained alongside a working demonstration involving four tiny tractors.

The second bay is filled with wonderfully named tools – such as clodcrushers, sickles and reapers – arranged around an iconic grey Fordson tractor.

The final bay contains a diorama sequence which tells the story of the working life of an arable farm as the seasons unfold. It also features an original Ferguson tractor and a cut-away combine harvester with moving parts which can be operated by hand.

Above the bays, two murals and a series of ironwork friezes – artworks in their own right – draw the visitor down the central aisle.

Finally, two computer screens carry in-depth programmes on current issues, such as the industrialisation of the farm and genetically modified food.