Old Forge Wartime House

I can’t recommend this place enough!
Each room has a different staff member in character or with a specialist area and they are so knowledgeable on their topics, it’s brilliant.
Every month there is a new theme and each member of the team researches and explains it to you as you travel through the house. This month they were celebrating black history month, it was fantastic to see how heavily researched each had gone into the topic from their own area of interest - food & drink, entertainers of the time, soldiers, home making and fire wardens etc. Their passion for the topics made it so interesting and the building itself is wonderful to see.
The museum staff managed social distancing and hygiene procedures really well, ensuring each group was kept separate and communicating with us as we went. They all had face shields or clear barriers to protect visitors without impacting the experience.

Visited here earlier today (5/3/22) and had an absolutely fantastic afternoon. The staff were incredibly knowledgeable and filled with the natural charisma that a passion for the period brings.

Having been to historic properties across the world, I didn't expect my favourite to be In my hometown, right under my nose! My partner and I would have stayed a lot longer had time permited as the atmosphere was so naturally warm and welcoming.

Every room is as it would have been 80 years ago, decorated with original pieces. For £5 this is an absolute steal and I feel is worth at least double!

Next time we visit we will be stopping in for high tea too!

Local or not, if you are reading this and are contemplating visiting, do it! If there is a better way to spend a few hours in Sittingbourne, I'm yet to find it.

2 of us went here today, really enjoyed the seeing the 1940's house with all the old furniture, fittings and clothes etc. All the volunteers in the different rooms were very knowledgeable and made for a really enjoyable time , definitely worth a visit. And worth twice the entrance fee.

This is probably the best museum ever. Very informative and the (volunteer) staff are amazing. The tea room is excellent too. You need to book an appointment. It's only open on Saturdays. Well worth a visit 👍

Absolutely amazing little place, went with my friend and our daughters today. The kids had an AMAZING time, learnt so much and loved the quiz part. Everyone is so friendly and knowledgeable. 100% reccomend. The cake was incredible too!! Xx

Visited here on Saturday 6th August with family. Absolutely fascinating. Our visit was packed full of information from start to finish with very knowledgeable and extremely friendly staff. The actual tour of the house took 2 hours in total with a further hour spent in the tea room. The tea room had some very tasty treats and was extremely reasonably priced. All in all, a brilliant time spent.

We have visited the Old forge regularly since it very first opened. Our two children have ‘grown up’ visiting the house, and learning about the wartime period. The themed openings are brilliant, and cover most angles of the era, and we always come away having learnt something new. The timed slots mean you can stay in your group and enjoy the visit without being too busy. The re-enactors are all so friendly and have a wealth of knowledge they are happy to share with visitors. The 1930’s tea room serves delicious lunches, both hot and cold, followed by a fantastic selection of home made cakes (which are always to die for!) personally, we can recommend the savoury high tea!
A visit to the Old Forge Wartime House for us is part of our routine and we thoroughly look forward to each visit.
It’s a real step back in time, and you won’t be disappointed.

We had such a wonderful time yesterday at the Old Forge wartime house, what a treasure to find in our local area! Our booked slot meant we had each room and room guide to ourselves who had the most interesting conversations with us about the house, wartime, holidays at home in the 40s and more! We stayed nearly 2 hours and came out buzzing. It was such a feel good outing. We'll definitely be back and next time we'll leave time to try out the tearoom.