Vintage fire engine on show at Colnbrook History Museum

A fire engine built in 1832 took pride of place at Colnbrook History Museum as it threw open its doors as part of the Colne Valley Festival Fortnight (July 22 to August 4).

Museum volunteers even offered a car cleaning service – using a 1832 ‘jet washer’ – to help raise funds.

The museum, run by volunteers, opened in July 2021 in the grounds of Colnbrook Village Hall.

Exhibits chronicle when James Hunt won the Formula One World Championship for Colnbrook-based McLaren and the history of the Cox’s Orange Pippin apple, bred in the local orchards.

More exhibits include a Coronation clock and the original Town Charter signed by Henry VIII, marking its place as one of the most important towns in England at the time.

Many of the items came from private homes, stores and garages around the village.

A major fundraising campaign collected £111,000 – with grants provided by organisations including Grundon Waste Management, which donated over £16,000 for the building works.

Colnbrook Village Hall Trust, Colnbrook Residents Association, The History Group, the Community Partnership, two churches and two primary schools and the Parish Council were all involved in the project – while environmental charity Groundwork South managed it.

As such, both Kirsti Santer from Grundon and Michelle Jones from Groundwork South came by the museum and got to try their hand at some vintage firefighting.

“We had a fun day going back in time to see how the original fire engine worked,” said Kirsti.

“This is such a brilliant little museum which really shows off the heritage and stories of the village over the centuries.”

Peter Hood, who has been a key figure in the project, said:

“It was great to be able to show off our working fire engine and tell visitors about its history.

“We always describe the museum as small on the outside and big on the inside.

“There is so much history and storytelling for visitors to see and read about, it has a vast amount of treasure to explore.”

Michelle said:

“Groundwork is always pleased to work with local communities on projects such as this and we hope visitors to the museum will gain a great deal of pleasure from the exhibits on show.”

The museum is currently recruiting for more supporters to join the team.

For more details, see www.facebook.com/colnbrookmuseum