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Discover the dull-sounding things in London that are surprisingly great! First up: the Antique Bread Board Museum.
Sounds... interesting?
It actually is and it has a lovely story. The museum sits within the reception room of Madeleine Neave’s house in Putney. Her mother Rosslyn, an antiques dealer, developed Alzheimer’s and sadly passed away earlier this year. Madeleine set up the museum to allow her mother to enjoy her bread board collection safely. Now it’s open to the public.
And it really is all about bread boards?
Precisely. There are over 400 boards in the collection dating from 1848 to the 1990s and around 150 are on show. The beauty of this tiny museum is that you’re allowed to get your mitts on the displays and handle any board, knife or butter dish you please without setting off a siren.
So it’s an intimate affair?
Yep. Only four guests can fit around the table at one time (it’s a one-room museum after all). Best to bring a chatty mum or a really nosey mate if you’re scared of awkward silences.
Most importantly: will I get fed?
A tasty cream tea, no less, served on a bread board of your choosing. You’ll sit down with Madeleine, and perhaps her cat, and shoot the shit about bread boards, while scoffing a scone and drinking endless cups of tea.
Right. I’m spending a couple of hours in a stranger’s house full of hard objects and knives?
Well yeah, but it’s a lot more fun than you’ve made it sound. A warmer welcome would be hard to come by, and you’ll be showered with interesting facts (that ridge round the board’s edge is for catching crumbs!), and stories about a woman who was clearly pretty great.
The Antique Bread Board Museum. Putney rail. Next Airbnb Experience: Mon Dec 11. £15. Or by appointment only.
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